PCs fan keeps coming on - driving me mad

myjugsarehuge

Would there be a reason why my Packard Bell PC's fan is continually running? Its driving me mad lately and I'm worried its going to die on me which would be a disaster. I've put all my photos onto disks and got my address lists of outlook express as I'm convinced its about the blow up half the time.

Every 3-5 minutes it comes on for a minute or 2 then goes off again. Some days are worse than others ? There is plenty of space around the tower. I don't download anything or watch movies etc, just use it for browsing the web. It is on for say 12 hours a day, used for about 4 or 5 hours a day and put in standby/hibernate mode when not in use.

newbie2

need more info - model, make, age, software, cpu, psu ???

Sounds like it's getting to hot, have you ever cleaned the inside?

Overheal

aye, if its getting that hot and youre doing that much nothing, then its probably gotten dusty on you. You'll want to get a can of compressed air from your local pc shop and give it a good blast.

myjugsarehuge

Overheal wrote: »

aye, if its getting that hot and youre doing that much nothing, then its probably gotten dusty on you. You'll want to get a can of compressed air from your local pc shop and give it a good blast.

Thanks for the advice guys, maybe I'll get the better half to blow into it !!!! Seriously do I have to dismantle it? It a less than 2 year old tower Packard Bell with Celeron processor? Since I posted the message yesterday it hasn't been half as bad - does it know I'm talking about it?

I run my own business and am fairly computer literate but the hardware side of things is a no no. What do I have to do to take it apart, what if I can't put it back together?

Khannie

Whip the top off and get your vacuum cleaner out. Be gentle. People will give out to me for saying that (compressed air is the better option), but I've never had any trouble doing it (10+ years now).

Overheal

Yeah Ive done the vaccume before too but for precautions regarding static electricity I dont advice making contact between the machine and the vaccum nozzle - keep it about 6 inches away from anything and just give it a good mouthblow and let the vaccum suck up whatever comes off. Prefferably though get an anti-static cloth and gently wipe off the components, like the heat sink.

this might help you get an idea for whats happening in the PC:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pIsbh6SqfhQ

muggyog

Just because your not doing stuff does not mean that the computer is idle. Do a control+alt+delete and check the Performance tab. The fan comes on when the machine gets hot and it gets hot if the CPU usage is high. If you find high CPU usage go to the processes tab and sort CPU usage column to find the culprit. Otherwise it needs a good spring cleaning!

myjugsarehuge

muggyog wrote: »

Just because your not doing stuff does not mean that the computer is idle. Do a control+alt+delete and check the Performance tab. The fan comes on when the machine gets hot and it gets hot if the CPU usage is high. If you find high CPU usage go to the processes tab and sort CPU usage column to find the culprit. Otherwise it needs a good spring cleaning!

Did what you suggested, CPU usage high occasionally and fan does seem to come on then. Checked on processes like you said and its iexplore.exe which has the highest CPU ? Anything to be done?

Jackovarian

remove your fan + heatsinks. remove old paste, apply new paste.

check your bios for fan speed settings.

Jackovarian

myjugsarehuge wrote: »

Thanks for the advice guys, maybe I'll get the better half to blow into it !!!! Seriously do I have to dismantle it? It a less than 2 year old tower Packard Bell with Celeron processor? Since I posted the message yesterday it hasn't been half as bad - does it know I'm talking about it?

I run my own business and am fairly computer literate but the hardware side of things is a no no. What do I have to do to take it apart, what if I can't put it back together?

just noticed you said its a celeron. strangely enough, i had this problem with a celeron before. when id check cpu usage it would be maxed out, even with feck all background programmes. the fan was constant and sounded like a tractor. anyways, i never tried to repaste the heatsinks! could be the problem.

check my other post above

muggyog

Before you get out your screwdriver try a different browser. Download Firefox and see if there is an improvement.

By the way, whats the OS and amount of RAM?.

Jackovarian

it could be a virus causing all the cpu usage.

could you throw linux on it via live cd and see if the problem persists?

go down your local magazine shop and see if there are any handy linux distros downthere, follow the instructions, you wont need to install it, or shouldnt at least, and if the fan is still mental its not your software! its the fact that its not able to cool itself!

also, motors get old, the fan could just need to be replaced, maybe you have not noticed the noise before and now it sounds like a tractor.

could be many reasons.

have you tried antivirus and spyware?

Overheal

true, your computer could have always been zombified. Real condition, where after the virus installs itself on your system your PC becomes a slave to a master computer somewhere else on the internet; usually to perform tasks in the background, like launch Denial of service attacks, send spam-mail, etc. The likelihood is rare if you have any sort of virus-protection thats up to date but you never know.

As for further cooling issues if youre not squeamish... the computer's Power Supply Box is a nest of dust. Unplug the computer from the AC, (actually I'd Ground the power cable for this by touching the Earth pin in the cord to something grounded), dismount the power supply and open up its internal casing. You should find a whole bunny colony in there. PSU is a prime source of heat and it might be driving its neighbor CPU a little wonky.