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Fans really loud
I own a Alienware aurora and over the past few months every now and then when i turn on my machine the fans are really loud, to the point where it's hard to have a conversation with someone stood in the same room.
Normally after opening up the case and a few restarts it dies down and goes back to normal. So i've been cleaning it as i assumed it was dust that would cause this. It has been fine for the passed week or so then yesterday when i got home and turned it on it was back to being loud again.
So i spent about two hours last night rebooting with the side of the case off and trying to get the thermal control settings to respond to me but i had no luck so i turned it off and left it for the rest of the evening.
Now the pc itself seem to work fine, i can boot it up and log on etc and use it as i normally would. But on boot up i get cpu fan failure press f1 to continue.
So came back to it today and when turning it on it's still continuing to make this noise. So i cleaned it all out and vaced it out etc and still no joy.
Looking at the thermal controls none of my sensors are recording anything. everything is just set to 0. Now during the past two days i've seen the RPM on the fans go up very high but now everything is just on 0 and the cpu pump says failed. I've tried to change these to see if it does anything but nothing happens.
I'm torn between leaving it on to blow the dust out and get it out its system and turning it off to not do more damage.
Any suggestions would be appreciated as the pc isn't really usable when it is this loud. As i can't hear anything, even with my headphones on and it's giving me a headache to use for more than about 30 mins.
Thanks for your reply.
I ran the Diagnostics and nothing failed. I have also now uninstalled the command center and reinstalled it and it's still the same.
A friend has suggested that because it starts as soon as i hit the power then it may be bios related.
I ran the Diagnostics and nothing failed.
You did a Custom test and specifically tested the MIO-Board, fans and lights?
Dell Rockstar
Microsoft Windows and Apple iOS Developer (Retired)
- Like many of you, I can appreciate a good game-engine.
- I answer questions here, but I'm not a Dell employee.
- Consider giving posts you like a "thumbs-up"
- Posting models-numbers and software versions speeds trouble-shooting.
- Click "Mark as Accepted Answer" on any post that answers your question best.When you run Dell Diags (outside of Windows) do you see the specific test for MIO-Board? Does it test good. Do you see the test for the Lights in there also? Do they test good?
Press F12 on Boot
Boot to Utility Partition
Test System - Diagnostics
Custom Test
Master IO USB Device
CPU Fan on/off
- This test will speed up and slow down System/Radiator fan. Mine shows between 1200-4000 rpm
- - You might have to exit Diags and reboot to get fan speed back down to normal.
There is another test right below it that will show stats on all sensors/fans. Maybe run that one first. In this test, the "CPU Fan" is correctly called "System Fan".
You can also play with the lights while in there to make sure the MIO-Board is working.
You can also burn a bootable CD with the latest version of Dell-AW Diagnostics, and use that instead.
Details about each test:
Sensors Test
-------------
- System Fan (Correct name for Radiator fan)
PWM 100 , RPM 1188- CPU Pump
PWM 100 , RPM 1404- the above are correct, but I notice some others are incorrect or miss-placed.
A newer version might have fixes. This is the old version loaded on my Aurora back in 2009.CPU Fan Test (Incorrect name for System/Radiator fan)
------------
RPMs should be 1200-4000
On-Off test will work (low to high) but might leave fan on high and require a reboot to get back down to normalMaster IO USB Device
-------------------
This test is at the very bottom (might have to scroll down) ... but only if the MIO-Board is detected and not locked upDell Rockstar
Microsoft Windows and Apple iOS Developer (Retired)
- Like many of you, I can appreciate a good game-engine.
- I answer questions here, but I'm not a Dell employee.
- Consider giving posts you like a "thumbs-up"
- Posting models-numbers and software versions speeds trouble-shooting.
- Click "Mark as Accepted Answer" on any post that answers your question best.The fans, lights and sensors are connected to the MIO-Board. The MIO-Board is connected to the motherboard via internal USB cable.
I don't recommend removing or re-installing side cover with the power on.
I suggest you keep power going to machine even when off. Turn on-off with power switch on top or Windows Shut-down selection.
Glad to hear it's working better.
Dell Rockstar
Microsoft Windows and Apple iOS Developer (Retired)
- Like many of you, I can appreciate a good game-engine.
- I answer questions here, but I'm not a Dell employee.
- Consider giving posts you like a "thumbs-up"
- Posting models-numbers and software versions speeds trouble-shooting.
- Click "Mark as Accepted Answer" on any post that answers your question best.Again, thank you for your swift response.
It's actually gone back to normal since my last post, but there's no real reasoning behind it.
I ended up doing some work on it as i needed to, so i sat through the noise and just as i was about to turn it off for some piece and quiet and decided i would put the case side back on and just as i did the noise just stopped.
I have book marked this thread so i have some things to try if it does it again (it may do it again today, i've not had chance to try it yet) so thank you for your reply.
Any idea where the fans/sensors connect to the motherboard? as i noticed some connect to the side of the case and i was wondering if maybe one of the sensors had come lose and when i placed the side back on it gave it the push it needed back in place. It seems unlikely but i really can't see why suddenly placing the side back on would cause it to stop completely.
Update: Back to how it was before. There doesn't seem to be a Utility Partition on boot up so will have to burn a disk and try it later.
I've about had it now though so most likely just going to use warranty as i have it and get someone out.
Is this an Aurora R4? What Intel processor is installed?
How old is it?
Dell Rockstar
Microsoft Windows and Apple iOS Developer (Retired)
- Like many of you, I can appreciate a good game-engine.
- I answer questions here, but I'm not a Dell employee.
- Consider giving posts you like a "thumbs-up"
- Posting models-numbers and software versions speeds trouble-shooting.
- Click "Mark as Accepted Answer" on any post that answers your question best.Im having the same problem when I play fsx the fans are running at 100 per cent ive tried everything ive come to the conclusition that alienware aurora is a piece of <ADMIN NOTE: Substitute character removed as per TOU> that cant cope with older software I paid 3 grand for this
<ADMIN NOTE: Substitute character removed as per TOU>I could of had a great machine for lessor money alienware r4 what a flop big time!
Tesla1856
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Posted February 23rd, 2013 12:00
See my post here:
en.community.dell.com/.../20128296.aspx
Paying special attention to "Power Dissipation" fix and testing MIO-Board (outside of Windows) with Dell Diagnostics (PSA - ePSA).
Verify that MIO-Board is still working outside of Windows.
Dell Rockstar
Microsoft Windows and Apple iOS Developer (Retired)
- Like many of you, I can appreciate a good game-engine.
- I answer questions here, but I'm not a Dell employee.
- Consider giving posts you like a "thumbs-up"
- Posting models-numbers and software versions speeds trouble-shooting.
- Click "Mark as Accepted Answer" on any post that answers your question best.