Fan problem: Not usual suspects. IT repairer gave up

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Hey!
So is anyone up for a seemingly difficult case involving a computer that overheats slightly and a fan that has gone hay-wire only to some degree according to temperature?

Sent it to the repairer but after 1.5 months he gave up. And no answers from the HP forum.

So here it is: HP 6360b, windows 7 professional.

Fan is always running on high, but it starts (and very aggressively so) already immediately after you turn the computer on (i.e: that’s not because of high temperature…). Fan has been changed: no difference, heat paste changed: no difference, CPU changed: no difference (clean out of course.. no difference). No difference if the computer is plugged in or on/off the internet. CPU is i5 and temp. is above 60c even though the computer is commanded to do nothing at all (using less than 5% cpu). So what is this? A motherboard problem? I heard that was almost impossible – or is that wrong? It’s not a thermometer problem while the heat sink does certainly heat up a quite a bit.

Anyone? Would be much appreciated!

Best, Emilie

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Sounds like a mobo problem as the fan is doing what it should with a CPU temperature over 60C.
Boot the laptop to the BIOS and see if the fan / temp is still high. This will confirm it’s not Windows causing the problem.
If it’s OK in BIOS then create a Ubuntu live CD and boot from that to test an OS that is not installed on your hard disk.
If that’s OK you probably need to re-install Windows.

cheers, Paul

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Thank you for your reply! Yes the fan is somewhat working in accordance with temp. but not 100% since it goes absolutely crazy as the first thing when I turn the computer on (from a cool state). And yes the BIOS tells me temp is around 60-70C. I have already attempted to update the BIOS. About reinstalling: I already did this not long ago, it was before this problem occured though. Could it be linked you think? A faulty reformatting causing the issues? My consultant/repairer didn’t think so, but still…?

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I assume the tech has done http://www.lifehacker.co.uk/2011/12/07/control-computers-fan-speeds-better-performance-need-silence-dont other than using an external fan and that you have checked for a BIOS update.

Resetting the BIOS may also be beneficial.

You can use HWMonitor to confirm the temps the BIOS is reporting as they may not be accurate and this is the link for Speedfan

As an afterthought, do you still get the high temps in Safe Mode with Networking should it be graphics related.

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And Sudo15 (thank you!), yes the BIOS has been updated, and yes I think he did something similar to the “lifehacker.co.uk – thing.
I’ll check out the HWMonitor though.
And could it really be graphics related? I never use much graphics: I only use my computer for general internet searches and document editing… Basic low -requirement stuff.

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And Sudo15 (thank you!), yes the BIOS has been updated, and yes I think he did something similar to the “lifehacker.co.uk – thing.
I’ll check out the HWMonitor though.
And could it really be graphics related? I never use much graphics: I only use my computer for general internet searches and document editing… Basic low -requirement stuff.

When you boot up normally your graphics card is in use whereas in Safe Mode etc. it uses the on board VGA and the card’s drivers won’t be loaded.

If the temps are around the 50 mark in that mode then there could be something wrong with the card or the motherboard.

Perhaps removing it, cleaning the pins then reinstalling could have an effect.

I think if the BIOS update had been the cause, you would have known about it straight away, but resetting it could eliminate that as the cause and if there’s no change – update it again.

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Fans often start up fast as a check, then settle back to idle, but an idle PC running at 70C is too high. My CPU running at over 50% utilization has a temperature of about 50C.
Are you sure the temperature reading is at idle?

cheers, Paul

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Fans often start up fast as a check, then settle back to idle, but an idle PC running at 70C is too high. My CPU running at over 50% utilization has a temperature of about 50C.
Are you sure the temperature reading is at idle?

cheers, Paul

70 C is a little high but I wouldn’t be concerned until it got over 80 C. It does indicate that it would be a good idea to try to clean the CPU heatsink/fan assembly via compressed air in all the intake/exhaust ports.

Jerry

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70 C is a little high but I wouldn’t be concerned until it got over 80 C. It does indicate that it would be a good idea to try to clean the CPU heatsink/fan assembly via compressed air in all the intake/exhaust ports.

Jerry

70 at idle would be a major concern. I know my laptops run between 50 – 60 when idle as opposed to my desktop which sits at about 40c, but under normal operations, ie. general browsing, system usage, most lappy’s sit in the mid 50’s from my experience.

I have a DELL XPS16 and run a graphic intense game and it ranges from 75 – 88c, but that is absolutely pushing it to the max.

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Some laptops run hotter than others. I have one which is warmer than the other. Went to Altex [Austin TX], purchased an $80 4-usb-port laptop fan assembly, the laptop sits on top of this device, a giant fan spins underneath. The device takes up one laptop usb port, so the device gives three back. And, because the proc area was hotter than what I was comfortable with — I bought a Walmart AC-powered 5″ fan which is aimed at the proc area. A very good work-around for me

"Take care of thy backups and thy restores shall take care of thee." Ben Franklin, revisted

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Some laptops run hotter than others. I have one which is warmer than the other. Went to Altex [Austin TX], purchased an $80 4-usb-port laptop fan assembly, the laptop sits on top of this device, a giant fan spins underneath. The device takes up one laptop usb port, so the device gives three back. And, because the proc area was hotter than what I was comfortable with — I bought a Walmart AC-powered 5″ fan which is aimed at the proc area. A very good work-around for me

This takes away a lot of the mobility advantages of a laptop. If all this is necessary, you would have been better off with a desktop. I’ve run my laptop over three years now without any additional cooling.

Jerry

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This takes away a lot of the mobility advantages of a laptop. If all this is necessary, you would have been better off with a desktop. I’ve run my laptop over three years now without any additional cooling. Jerry

True, however, I was several months into using the laptop, well past any returnToSeller point, when I realized “hot-running” was not a normal thing — however, you remember the earlier days of hot batteries and hot laptop bottoms. Being too late, and being the only Windows 7 laptop — I simply applied a couple of fixes. Now, I can carry the laptop to other places, sometimes with or without the large cooling fan.

"Take care of thy backups and thy restores shall take care of thee." Ben Franklin, revisted

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Temperatures of 60C at 5% CPU utilization (idle) is high, but not outrageously so.
After all, this is a moderately powerful laptop device you have.

What are the performance issues you are experiencing in everyday usage?
What is the typical operating environment temperature?
How old is the laptop and at what point in time did these temps become an issue?

Use HWMonitor and tell us what your temperatures are before stress and under load.
Prime95 can be used to stress the CPU, but keep a close eye on the temps with the above utility.
Unless I’m mistaken, that laptop model of yours should not have an add-on graphics card, so this should not be an issue.

The fans should NOT be running full at all times. It’s either an issue with the BIOS or a hardware problem (a bad heatsink or fan, or both)
*(a bad heatsink is one in which the mounting surface is either convex or concave, which means replacing the thermal paste is not going to help)

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My bad on that – should have Googled the model to see if it was a laptop or desktop regarding the graphics, but in Safe Mode etc. not as much will be running and will lessen the load.

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I have a question: Has the laptop been cleaned from dust/lent from all vents/exhausts/intake ports? Has the laptop been taken apart and had the fan/heatsink cleaned?

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Had a similar problem with a friends ASUS F3 i think it was did the same thing. As soon as it booted up fan would start spinning. Went over several of the things suggested here but never managed to get it fixed.

These type of problems can be a nightmare to pin point and fix especially if its the mobo. Would it even be worth repairing an older laptop??

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Checked my Lenovo laptop which has slightly newer Core i5 @ 2.6GHz with 8GB RAM and a 240GB SSD. Using HWMonitor (free utility prog.) the cpu core temps. are around 38/39 deg. C. when idling and around 50-55 deg. C. when the cpu utilisation is at 50% for several minutes. Your laptop should run similarly cool. You said that the heatsink (or is it a copper sheet?) has been removed and new thermal paste applied. However, if that were so, it would almost certainly have a noticeable effect on your core temps. It may be worth revisiting that procedure to thoroughly clean off the existing paste with a soft cloth or Q-tips and rubbing alcohol then apply a dab of premium thermal paste such as Arctic Cooling MX2 or MX4. Take special care when reseating the heatsink or copper heatshield (which you also cleaned) to ensure that it makes intimate contact with the top of the processor where you applied the new paste. Although drastic, i know of no other procedure that can assure proper heat dissipation from the cpu. This, of course, assumes you have already blown compressed air through the air vents on the bottom, sides, or rear of the laptop! Another poster’s suggestion to use a laptop cooling pad with a built-in fan will certainly prove to be very useful but, as you said, it limits mobility of the laptop if you want cool running.

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