grichie5

Since our computers are a vital part of our digital imaging experience, I thought I would share a recent experience.
My computer is less than a year old with an i7 processor and 32 gb of memory. Some months ago, the fan noise become very noticeable and varied in intensity from a moderate hum to a very loud roar.
A call to Dell support resulted in them sending out a technician who changed out all of the fans in the machine, including replacing the video card. The noise did subside, but recently the issue surfaced again. For another unrelated reason, I downloaded a fresh copy of Google Chrome without uninstalling the existing copy. A short time later, the fan noise came back with a vengeance.
A call to Dell Tech support did not resolve the issue. A diagnostic check did not show any issues. The tech suggested it might be a software issue and suggested a complete reinstall.
On a hunch, I uninstalled Chrome and then downloaded a new copy.
Now there is absolutely no fan noise; even with both Photoshop and lightroom opened, images displayed, and my browsers and e-mail program opened.

An internet search confirmed that this is a frequent issue.

adedeluca Loc: holbrook ny

Wow that fooled me

grichie5

I hope it helped.

johngault007 Loc: Florida Panhandle

The fan spinning up is usually in response to increased heat on the CPU and to a lesser degree the graphics card. I usually use that as an excuse to clean dust off all the fans, the chassis and all internal components and that usually does the trick.

If it is not directly hardware related, then the operating system and/or BIOS might be having issues communicating with the fans.

I would always start with a good cleaning first, then make sure the computer is in a well ventilated area before mucking around with the BIOS/motherboard or reloading the operating system.

Sunnely Loc: Wisconsin

Good point. Thanks for sharing.

A couple of questions. 1. Do you do the cleaning yourself? Never done it myself. I don't trust me. How often would you suggest to clean it?

Haenzel Loc: South Holland, The Netherlands

Software (settings) can have great impact on CPU/GPU resources. Chrome for example can be set (under advanced settings) to make use of hardware acceleration. A fresh install will change settings to default after complete removal, thus using less or more resources.

Also Microsoft is known for excessive use of resources. My laptop is dual boot. I normally use Linux => no fan noise at all, even when using Darktable. Once Microsoft has booted => fan noise, without any program running...Microsoft will start lots of services that you don't need though..

This is why Linux can be run on older hardware and still run fluently..

johngault007 Loc: Florida Panhandle

I do clean my computers, have been for the better part of 20+ years. How often depends on how much dust/dirt is around the computer. My area is pretty clean so every 6 months or so.


As to how, there are plenty of youtube videos that probably provide a much better demonstration than I could ever explain in text form. But some things that I do personally:
1. Unplug the power cord and all peripheral cables from the computer.
2. Use compressed air to blow out all external vents/fans. Then use a vacuum cleaner with the soft brush attachment to pick up all the leftovers.
3. Open up the case and use compressed air to get into all the tight spaces and nooks.
---> Very carefully use the vacuum cleaner like above on all parts that are not electrical. I'm a little more aggressive with where my vacuum goes, but I don't suggest it for anyone who doesn't understand the components inside.

Usually canned air and light vacuuming is all a computer needs. Overheating is primarily caused by built up dust, which prevents the fans/heat sinks to work at lower efficiency (e.g. High fan usage).

rehess Loc: South Bend, Indiana, USA

I opened the case, then scraped dust off the fan and vacuumed the area.
This is not brain science - your eyes will tell you when it is needed.

authorizeduser Loc: Monroe, Michigan

Sounds like the bearing of a fans going out they don't last forever. Fans cost between $10 and $30 just replace it. Fans are very easy to replace usually four screws and a plug.

rehess Loc: South Bend, Indiana, USA

Depends on which fan you are talking about.

I have a fan which is part of the power supply - replacing it requires replacing the power supply.

I have a fan which is glued to the MPU - replacing it requires replacing the MPU.