My laptop fan is going nuts, how do i make it stop?

[Polarbert]

The fan on my laptop is going non stop and its doing my head in. I have nothing running but the window I am typing in now. It has been going constantly for ages. Before I have changed the power settings and that seems to have made it stop, but it hasn't been as successful this time.

Is it just a case of letting it do its thing? Or is there a way to make it stop?

Thanks

[GreenV8S]

Has the desk/surface it is sitting on got hot? Try moving it onto a 'cold' bit.

[omitchell]

is it a dell?

[falcemob]

Sounds like my Packard Bell

[Polarbert]

it doesn't feel hot at all.


Its a Time

[lockstock2sb]

There is a free program called fanspeed that you might be able to use to control the fan's speed but be aware if you change the settings and force the fan onto a lower setting than it needs then you could possibly fry the motherboard....just use teh settings in small doses and monitor the temp of the laptop. Aas you get to know the usual load temp then you can knock it down some more. No too sure what temp laptops can go at but my desktop has an alarm set for about 70 degrees. I wouldn't let it go much above that to be honest !

Other than that have you tried resetting properly? ie. battery out for 10 mins. You could even do a bios/cmos reset but be prepared for a few niggles to get it back 100%..

[_dobbo_]

Like any fan on any heatsink on any PC/laptop (almost) anywhere in the world, over time the fan and heatsink will attract dust, which will build up, filling the gaps in between the vanes on the heatsink and slowing down the fan. This reduces the efficiency of the heatsink/fan, which has the net result of the processor running hotter, resulting in the fan running faster and longer.

If you are feeling brave, take the lappy apart and clean the heatsink and fan.

If not.... er.... learn to live with it!

Or take it into your local PC shop and let them take the blame if they break it!

[Polarbert]

bugger, ah well its been alright today, i thought about giving it a bit of blow as that has worked before. have to see

[oldskool]

Check what processes you've got running. Some of them are probably hammering the CPU, and may be safe to kill...

Try also reducing processor speed - less speed = less power = less heat.

[Polarbert]

how can you reduce the processor speed? its been okay today, so think it will be something i'll have to live with if it happens again

[oldskool]

Polarbert said:

how can you reduce the processor speed? its been okay today, so think it will be something i'll have to live with if it happens again

Can't speak for windows, but on apple laptops there is an energy management option to set processor speed to "reduced performance". This drastically cuts down the heat given off by the processor (hence no need for fans to cut in), although you might notice some applications will run a bit slower.

There should be an option soomewhere in Windows control panel that lets you do the same - most modern laptops have the ability to underclock, I believe.

[r988]

oldskool said:

Polarbert said: how can you reduce the processor speed? its been okay today, so think it will be something i'll have to live with if it happens again Can't speak for windows, but on apple laptops there is an energy management option to set processor speed to "reduced performance". This drastically cuts down the heat given off by the processor (hence no need for fans to cut in), although you might notice some applications will run a bit slower. There should be an option soomewhere in Windows control panel that lets you do the same - most modern laptops have the ability to underclock, I believe.

Yeah there are power saving features, usually they only come on only if it's running on battery though.

I find if I start up limewire and it wont connect (just the connecting message for ages) the fan goes mad until I shut it down.

Dont get me started on the DVD drive spinning up all the time either

[Polarbert]

^^^^ I've noticed that the fan on mine stops when i remove the power cable.

Blew into the fan slot last night and it hasn't been on for ages like usual so seems like its done the trick.

[_dobbo_]

Removing power usually results in the laptop reducing the processor speed to conserve energy. This would in turn reduce temp, thus no fan required.