CPU Fan problem

[Hot-Text]

Smart Fan
Make your system cooler and quieter
http://www.gigabyte.us/MicroSite/117/tech_20060605_smart.htm

Support Intel
http://www.intel.com/support/idyp.htm

Gigabyte Utility
http://www.gigabyte.us/products/product-page.aspx?pid=2629&dl=1#sp

http://www.gigabyte.us/MicroSite/117/tech_20060605_speed.htm

 

[Antares 531]

Most mother boards have add'l fan power headers

try another

I did try another cooling fan connection and the fan worked very well,
but the beeping was constant. I guess I could silence this in the BIOS
but I'd like to get the original problem figured out. I'm thinking
some recent update or other software chance made some modifications in
the BIOS settings and this may be the cause of the CPU fan problems.

Gordon

 

[glee]

I did try another cooling fan connection and the fan worked very well,
but the beeping was constant. I guess I could silence this in the BIOS
but I'd like to get the original problem figured out. I'm thinking
some recent update or other software chance made some modifications in
the BIOS settings and this may be the cause of the CPU fan problems.

Gordon,
Did you find any of the CPU fan control settings in the BIOS, that I
mentioned in my earlier reply?

 

[Antares 531]

You were correct and I was wrong. I thought for sure it was the fan.

No problem. I had an extra fan in my junk box, and it was worth the
trouble just to "prove" the fan was not the problem. I'm concentrating
on BIOS settings, now, but haven't made any headway. I change one item
at a time and observe the results.

CPU EIST Function was enabled. I changed it to disabled but observed
no change in the fan malfunction.

CPU Thermal Monitor 2(TM2) was enabled. I changed it to disabled,
after restoring the above change to its original enabled setting. No
change in the fan malfunction.

What should I try next?

I'm going to buy an external hard drive in a box and back up all my
important files, then I'll be free to do some extreme things...like
re-installing my Windows XP Pro SP3 slipstream. I think this will
work, but I could end up with a total failure.

Gordon

 

[Antares 531]

You can try looking in BIOS Setup for Smart Fan Control or CPU Smart Fan
Function, and if found, write down what it's currently setings are, then
set it to Disabled, save and exit, and see if it has any effect.

On AMI BIOS it is in the PC Health screen, like this:
http://www.overclock.net/amd-motherboards/527002-automatic-cpu-fan-cpu-smart-fan.html

With other BIOS' it may be found in the "CPU," "Advanced," or
"Overclocking" options.

I've tried some of these, but I haven't done anything that involves
overclocking. The changes I've tried are;

CPU EIST Function was enabled changed to disabled and tried it for a
few hours. No change in the CPU fan's start-up behavior. After several
shut-down...cool off...re-start tests I gave up on this one and
restored the setting to enabled.

CPU Thermal Monitor 2(TM2) was enabled changed to disabled. Several
cycles of shut-down...cool off...re-start but no change in the fan's
performance.

I'll keep on trying things in this area and hope for the best.

Thanks, Gordon

 

[Paul]

No problem. I had an extra fan in my junk box, and it was worth the
trouble just to "prove" the fan was not the problem. I'm concentrating
on BIOS settings, now, but haven't made any headway. I change one item
at a time and observe the results.

CPU EIST Function was enabled. I changed it to disabled but observed
no change in the fan malfunction.

CPU Thermal Monitor 2(TM2) was enabled. I changed it to disabled,
after restoring the above change to its original enabled setting. No
change in the fan malfunction.

What should I try next?

I'm going to buy an external hard drive in a box and back up all my
important files, then I'll be free to do some extreme things...like
re-installing my Windows XP Pro SP3 slipstream. I think this will
work, but I could end up with a total failure.

Gordon

ftp://download.gigabyte.ru/manual/motherboard_manual_ga-p35-(d)s3l_2.0_e.pdf

CPU Smart FAN Control
CPU Smart FAN Mode

You could set the Smart FAN Control to [Disabled],
and then the CPU fan should run 100%.

If you leave Smart FAN Control [Enabled], then a Mode of [PWM] would
be appropriate for a four wire Intel retail fan. A setting of [Voltage]
is the option to use with a three wire after-market CPU cooler. The
difference between those two, is PWM mode delivers constant 12V power,
and a varying duty cycle PWM control signal, to control the fan.
On a "dumb" three wire fan, the [Voltage] option causes the motherboard
to vary the level on the +12V supply pin.

If a Smart Fan Control setting of [Disabled], isn't making
your fan run full speed, either replace the motherboard or
use the special adapter cabling I described. It might cost
me $15 on the outside, to make that cable, using things I
can buy in town in an hour's shopping time. Or as little
as $3, if all I need is an LP3 connector and wire.

Paul

 

[Antares 531]

I have an older desktop computer that I built a few years back. I'm
still running Windows XP Pro SP3 on this computer. It has a Gigabyte
GA-P35-DS3L motherboard with an Intel Core 2 Duo 2.66 GHz CPU setup.
This computer has two Western Digital WD5000 hard drives and both have
about half the drive space available.

This computer has worked very well over the years but recently, the
CPU fan will do a start - stop - start - stop over and over again when
I try to start this computer up or bring it out of hibernate. When
this occurs there is a loud beep that is synchronized with the CPU
fan's on again, off again pattern. I can remove the side cover of this
computer and use my finger to twirl the CPU fan when it stalls out.
This usually gets it going and all is well until the next time I start
this computer.

Is this a failing CPU fan or is it a motherboard fan control circuit
failure?

Any time I put my finger on the fan and stop it the same beep pattern
occurs. Then, if I twirl the fan and get it going the beeping stops.

Thanks for any suggestions. I can go buy a new fan if this seems the
most likely source of the problem, but I don't know about trying to
repair or replace the motherboard. Gordon

To keep everyone posted as to the developments, here, I have changed
the CPU Smart Fan Control to Disabled and have cycled the computer
through several shut-down...cool off...start-up processes and there
has been no problem with the cooling fan. I'll go ahead and test this
for a few more days and let you know if this truly resolved the
problem. Then, I will re-enable the Smart Fan Control and see if the
problem pops back up.

Thanks to all who have responded. This has been a very tedious problem
and I'm glad/hopeful that it has been resolved.

Gordon

 

[glee]

To keep everyone posted as to the developments, here, I have changed
the CPU Smart Fan Control to Disabled and have cycled the computer
through several shut-down...cool off...start-up processes and there
has been no problem with the cooling fan. I'll go ahead and test this
for a few more days and let you know if this truly resolved the
problem. Then, I will re-enable the Smart Fan Control and see if the
problem pops back up.

Thanks to all who have responded. This has been a very tedious problem
and I'm glad/hopeful that it has been resolved.

Yep, that's the setting I said to look for 3 days ago....I'm glad you
finally found it!

 

[Antares 531]

Yep, that's the setting I said to look for 3 days ago....I'm glad you
finally found it!

Thanks, Glee, I did find it and started checking it out when you
suggested, but it took 3 days of testing to verify that this was
successful. Gordon

 

[Antares 531]

Yep, that's the setting I said to look for 3 days ago....I'm glad you
finally found it!

For further follow-up on this, I operated this computer for 3 days
with the Smart Fan Control set to Disable, as mentioned above. Then,
last night, I chanced it back to Enabled. As I expected, the first
time I started this computer the fan problem was back and persisted
through three shut-down...cool-off...start-up processes. Then I
returned the Smart Fan Control to Disabled and everything worked fine
again.

I'm now 100% convinced that the Smart Fan Control function was/is the
cause of this problem.

Thanks, Glee, and all the others who have helped me through this
problem. Gordon