Why is my PC fan always on?

[Maz]

When I power up my PC, the fan kicks in. Makes a helluva racket.

The fan stays on for as long as the PC is powered. It used to be really quiet when I bought it about 4 years ago. It sits in a cabinet and there is limited ventilation at the back of the tower. Could it be collecting dust or something? Overheating?

 

[rusky]

dust build-up

 

[MossCommuter]

When I power up my PC, the fan kicks in. Makes a helluva racket.

The fan stays on for as long as the PC is powered. It used to be really quiet when I bought it about 4 years ago. It sits in a cabinet and there is limited ventilation at the back of the tower. Could it be collecting dust or something? Overheating?

could well be dust, open it up and get the Hoover out.

Does your PC look like any of these: http://www.theregister.co.uk/2009/11/13/ventblockers/?

(also check the "related stories" at the bottom of the page).

 

[Maz]

The tower sits in a cabinet and there's not that much clearance between it and the back of the cabinet. I wonder if that is a contributory factor to heat/dust build-up. I'll take the cover off the PC and clean off any dust. see if that improves things.

 

[dan_bo]

The bearing can also develop play, making it rattle. It is four years old!

 

[Maz]

could well be dust, open it up and get the Hoover out.

Does your PC look like any of these: http://www.theregist...3/ventblockers/?

(also check the "related stories" at the bottom of the page).

Whoa! PCs from Dell Hell!

 

[ColinJ]

Take a look at Quiet PC for a source of quiet replacement components.

My PC had a fan on its back panel which eventually became very noisy. It also has the usual CPU fan and one in the PSU (it has onboard graphics so no graphics card fan). I couldn't stand the noise so I disconnected it and monitored the PC temperatures displayed in the BIOS. Nothing in the PC seems to get stupidly hot so I've never bothered to replace the disconnected fan.

 

[swee'pea99]

Might be worth checking ebay for a cheap replacement. I just ordered one for my old Dimension 4400 - £6.50 incl delivery.

 

[Pauln]

I have also noticed that the new update from Skype seems to be grabbing more CPU than it should and then the fan kicks in to cool it, so check to see if there are some processes running that are causing high CPU load.

 

[fossyant]

My PC was loud from the start.

Deffo dust. I know when my PC needs cleaning as the graphics card sounds like a 747 on take off !

Hoover, but be careful around the motherboard/CPU fans.

 

[fossyant]

PS if the fan is getting rattly, finish line oil is great !

 

[MossCommuter]

Whoa! PCs from Dell Hell!

Good aren't they.

I once mended my ex-BiL's laptop that kept on shutting down - what I pulled from the fan could have been used to stuff cushions.

 

[MossCommuter]

PS if the fan is getting rattly, finish line oil is great !

Mickle Method?

 

[fossyant]

Mickle Method?

Aye. Wipe, wipe and even more wipe !

 

[Maz]

Well, I cleaned off the dust inside and out.
The vent holes on the casing panel/cover were all clogged up with dust. The I took the cover off and there was plenty of dust that had settled on the heat sink - as this was below the fan, i ended up using cotton bud sticks to clean it.
Noticeably quieter now, but not as good as i remember it. Fan still kicks in big time when daughter has facebook and twitter running simultaneously, that sort of thing.