CPU fan stopping and starting

RossG · 14 Dec 2007 at 11:38

Heard some strange noises from inside my PC. I took off the case and the CPU fan is constantly stopping and starting! I have absolutely no idea what this could be. Its a stock Core2 6300, stock heatsink on a DS3. Anyone know what this could be? Knackered fan?

RossG · 14 Dec 2007 at 11:47

It seems to be fine now. Something to do with a cold boot? Can't say I've ever experienced this before.

RossG · 14 Dec 2007 at 11:53

Ah right. Never seen it before. Maybe due to the fact it's so cold in here.

While I am here, mind checking my PSU rails? I've had a couple of spontaneous PC power off's recently. I have no understating of rails but the +12v looks suspicious compared to the rest?

RossG · 14 Dec 2007 at 12:19

Corsair 520W. I have a video of the fan but I'm trying to find some web space to upload it at the moment. The CPU fan hasn't stopped once since I started the thread though. As for the power offs, there is only one I know for sure about. The rest of the time I come to the computer in the morning and its switched off. There's nothing in event viewer about user-controlled shut-downs during the night, unless it doesn't log those things or someone is turning it off by pushing in thee power button.

RossG · 14 Dec 2007 at 19:18

I have established that no one has been switching off the PC at night. It's powering down itself. Just checking my temps now and the CPU is idling around 50C and when I posted this morning it was the low 40s. The Pc has been on all day.

Here is a video of the CPU fan behaviour:

http://www.bluesuncorp.co.uk/moar/DSCF2159.AVI

RossG · 14 Dec 2007 at 19:25

And here is an updated speedfan grab. The rails seem to have changed since this morning. Should I be worried about those stats?

RossG · 14 Dec 2007 at 19:37

It never used to do that. It always stalled for a second on boot but that's for the reasons you gave. It hasn't done it since today though. I'm damn tempted to just order an AC Freezer 7 Pro. Should I?

RossG · 17 Dec 2007 at 11:19

Woke up again this morning to find the machine has once again powered down by itself overnight and the CPU fan has commenced its stop\start routine again. I am really stumped. I have absolutely no clue what could be causing the power downs and the problem with the fan. Only thing I really know for sure is that the fan only plays up on cold boots. Anyone want to take a shot at it again?

RossG · 17 Dec 2007 at 11:22

I don't suppose you would know if it is normal behaviour for a DS3? Its never done anything like this since March when the machine was built. Cold temperatures due to the time of year? The fan is now acting normal again.

RossG · 17 Dec 2007 at 13:47

Gigabyte DS3

RossG · 17 Dec 2007 at 16:55

It must be a cold boot thing. Couldn't find a lot in the BIOS about the fan specific to this issue. It's just set to Auto and I didn't understand the other options e.g. Legacy. I'm not too worried about it as the fan is 100% perfect once the PC has warmed up.
What does worry me is the fact it seems to be turning itself off at night. A real mystery. Can computers do strange things like that if the temperature is too cold? :/

RossG · 18 Dec 2007 at 00:09

No download programs have been running and there are no power settings to tell it to turn off. I am on XP and there isn't a single log in event viewer to suggest any kind of shutdown, crash or instructed. It doesn't happen every night though. 3 out of 5 I think so far. This isn't standby either. It's a full power off.

RossG · 18 Dec 2007 at 11:18

And its the same story this morning. Last system log entry was around 1:30AM. After that it turned itself off. Is there anything I can do, any piece of software I can use to monitor the situation more closely?

RossG · 18 Dec 2007 at 14:02

This sounds like a long shot but it's the only thing I can think of. We have a Christmas tree in here with the lights attached to a timer and a surge protector. This was put in about the time the random shut-downs happened. Looking at my event viewer logs, the Pc usually goes down around 12:15 - 1:30 AM, which is about the time the automatic timer switches off the Christmas tree lights. I think the lights actually blew their fuse last night. This is literally the only thing I can think of which would cause the shut-downs. All the rails are within limits, all PC temperatures are fine and in performs perfectly under load such as games etc.

RossG · 18 Dec 2007 at 14:21

Case fans are plugged directly into the PSU. The fan isn't bothering me too much at the moment. It only seems to do it on a cold boot and works fien the rest of the time. I will probably replace it in the new year with a Freezer 7 but for the moment it's the odd power downs that are the main bother.

RossG · 18 Dec 2007 at 17:28

Okay cheers guys. I'll have a fiddle with the fan settings in the BIOS. AS I said I'll get a shiny new Freezer 7 when my next pay check comes through. Also, can spinning the fan while the power is off damage it? I cleaned out the heatsink recently with some compressed air and obviously the air span the fan round.

RossG · 18 Dec 2007 at 18:41

I've disabled smart fan control so it's just going a the full 1800RPM now. Let's see what happens with that.

RossG · 19 Dec 2007 at 11:58

Cheers for that. I think that must have been the problem for me too. The Pc stayed on fine last night.

RossG · 20 Dec 2007 at 00:31

It would appear that the problem is still not solved. Just returned home 5 minutes ago to find the PC off. The Christmas lights have been plugged in again tonight so I shall have to test that theory again.

Edit: Never mind. Was a genuine power cut that turned off the PC -_-