Not sure I understand the semantics of BIOS settings.

  • Thread starter Thread starter babel17
  • Start date Start date
Vanguard said:
in message news:[email protected]...

A tech support person told you to update the BIOS because of an
intermittently noisy fan? You need to call back and get a different
support rep as this one is obviously on drugs.

If the fan is bad (out of balance because of dust, worn bearings, blades
hitting something) then a BIOS change will do absolutely nothing to fix
the fan. However, we don't know what you mean by "intermittent noise".
Could be when the CPU gets hot the fan speed gets increased to keep the
CPU cool, and it is the increase fan speed that you claim is "noise".
Fans spinning faster always make more noise. Monitor your CPU
temperature to see if the "noise" appears when the CPU temperature
reaches some threshold.

Although possible, I haven't see a BIOS that has variable speeds for the
fans based on temperature. Instead it is probably some software that
you load on Windows startup that monitors the CPU and case temperatures
and will up the fan speed to keep temperatures from reaching critical
and destructive levels.

If the "noise" increases with fan speed increases then that noise is
normal. However, a fan with worn bearings, out-of balance blades, or
smacking a wire with the blades will also make more noise as fan speed
increases but there is additional noise beyond just the air turbulence.
Hard to say what noise you are hearing but a BIOS upgrade won't fix it,
anyway.
Click to expand...
OK - I just entered BIOS setup and changed the setting Advanced > Boot
Configuration > System Fan Control from <ENABLE> to <DISABLE>.
Due to the odd semantics of the missing "D" I can't tell if I turned
system fan control on OR off, but I can tell you that I turned an
annoying sound into a load roar. I have just reversed what I did and I
am back to an annoying noise. The fan that got louder appears to be the
large one connected to the shroud which is connected to the large heat
sink, Even with the screwdriver trick I am not sure because the
screwdriver appears to change the pitch of the sound.

In any case I agree with all that I can't see a BIOS update (preceded by
a time-consuming recording of settings) as fixing this problem, a
problem which seemed to have followed a technicians replacing a drive
adjacent to a fan.

I think your advice is correct and I will have to bite the bullet and
bring the machine. First I must convince Gateway to take it.
 
OK - I just entered BIOS setup and changed the setting Advanced >
Boot Configuration > System Fan Control from <ENABLE> to <DISABLE>.
Due to the odd semantics of the missing "D" I can't tell if I turned
system fan control on OR off, but I can tell you that I turned an
annoying sound into a load roar. I have just reversed what I did and
I am back to an annoying noise.
Click to expand...

Disabling the fan speed control in the BIOS means the fans will always
run at full speed. The noise got louder because the fan is always
spinning faster. You have a bad fan.
The fan that got louder appears to be the large one connected to the
shroud which is connected to the large heat sink,
Click to expand...

This is probably the fan and heatsink atop the CPU.
Even with the screwdriver trick I am not sure because the screwdriver
appears to change the pitch of the sound.

In any case I agree with all that I can't see a BIOS update (preceded
by a time-consuming recording of settings) as fixing this problem, a
problem which seemed to have followed a technicians replacing a drive
adjacent to a fan.
Click to expand...

I don't know what is the screwdriver trick (I don't shove metallic
objects into fans but I have shoved in popsicle sticks, heavy-duty
toothpicks, or ear swabs which are non-metallic). If you stop the CPU
fan, it is likely the BIOS will detect the lack of speed and immediately
shutdown the computer to prevent excessive heat from frying the CPU
(which can accumulate in a few seconds). The trick of stopping or
slowing the fan blades should be performed on case or PSU fans but not
on CPU fans. I suppose you could press an ear swab against the solid
hub of the CPU fan to slow it down (but not too much) to vary its speed
to see if the noise also changed, but by testing the other fans and
finding they weren't the cause would lead to the only remaining fan
making noise was on the CPU.
I think your advice is correct and I will have to bite the bullet and
bring the machine. First I must convince Gateway to take it.
Click to expand...

Since this is a desktop, why not remove the side panel and look inside?
Maybe a wire is slapping against the blades. Have you yet opened it up
and used an air can on the blades to clean off the dust that might
unbalance the fan? After blowing off the dust, also use an ear swab to
loosen to stuck-on dust and blow off again. Clean both sides of the
blades. There are some that might recommend taking off the sticker and
lubing the spindle but very little gets in that way, usually too much
oil is left and splatters around, and it is only a temporary fix if it
works at all, and replacement fans are pretty damn cheap to bother with
the temp fix.

Might be something you can replace yourself. The problem you will
encounter is finding a fan that fits properly on the old heatsink. You
might instead get a HSF (HatSink with Fan) and thermal paste to remove
the old HSF, clean the CPU of old paste, and install the new, bigger,
and perhaps more quiet HSF (check the noise rating as some are meant to
be very loud because they are meant to be used in a server in a lab
without users sitting beside them to harm their hearing). If you don't
feel comfortable doing all that, especially if this is your only
computer, then have a shop do it.
 
'Ken Blake' wrote:
| Like you, I am well into my sixties (almost out of them, in fact). But
| I find the getting down part easy; it's only the getting up again
| that's hard. ;-)
_____

There is a good joke in there somewhere, but I will refrain B^)

Well, I just can't resist. If it's hard, what's the problem with getting
up?

LOL!



| On Mon, 23 Jul 2007 05:20:39 GMT, "Phil Weldon"
|
| > If you are going to be going inside your computer, place it on TOP of
your
| > work table or desk. No one is designed to work on electronic equipment
| > while prone. Even before entering my sixties I avoided that (not that
the
| > prone position was a problem, it was all the getting up and down B^)
|
|
| Like you, I am well into my sixties (almost out of them, in fact). But
| I find the getting down part easy; it's only the getting up again
| that's hard. ;-)
|
| --
| Ken Blake, Microsoft MVP Windows - Shell/User
| Please Reply to the Newsgroup
Click to expand...
 
babel17 said:
OK - I just entered BIOS setup and changed the setting Advanced > Boot
Configuration > System Fan Control from <ENABLE> to <DISABLE>.
Due to the odd semantics of the missing "D" I can't tell if I turned
system fan control on OR off, but I can tell you that I turned an
annoying sound into a load roar. I have just reversed what I did and I
am back to an annoying noise. The fan that got louder appears to be the
large one connected to the shroud which is connected to the large heat
sink, Even with the screwdriver trick I am not sure because the
screwdriver appears to change the pitch of the sound.

In any case I agree with all that I can't see a BIOS update (preceded by
a time-consuming recording of settings) as fixing this problem, a
problem which seemed to have followed a technicians replacing a drive
adjacent to a fan.

I think your advice is correct and I will have to bite the bullet and
bring the machine. First I must convince Gateway to take it.
Click to expand...
No, I don't know why my last post is there so many times except that I
got an error message from Thunderbird a few times and had to hit "send"
a few times.

So here's the latest: Despite my paying Gateway good money for a
four-year warranty AND paying them extra for "on-site" service, in their
reply to my latest e-mail they have informed me that there are NO
local repair places that they will authorize and that all authorized
off-site warranty work must involve my SHIPPING MY COMPUTER TO THEIR
SITE IN TEXAS !!!

So I guess my options are bringing the computer to a local shop and
paying for the work or doing what they say and updating the BIOS, though
I doubt that's the problem. The fan itself is in a case; I can't even
see it. I am not sure enough of my skills to open the fan casing and
work on it. My doing the work myself is not really an option. So I
guess next chance I get, likely next weekend, I will do the BIOS thing,
and when it doesn't work, find a reputable shop.

By the way, the problem is very intermittent. At the moment, although a
bit louder than it used to be, the fan noise is quite tolerable.
 
Phil Weldon said:
'Ken Blake' wrote:
| Like you, I am well into my sixties (almost out of them, in fact). But
| I find the getting down part easy; it's only the getting up again
| that's hard. ;-)
_____

There is a good joke in there somewhere, but I will refrain B^)

Well, I just can't resist. If it's hard, what's the problem with getting
up?

Phil Weldon
Click to expand...
LOL.
 
babel17 said:
I have been told by technical support that I need to upgrade the BIOS on
my Gateway FX530XM desktop to a newer version.

I have been told this in response to a problem I described to them
involving one of the computer's fans intermittently making a lot of noise.

Before I install the update I know that I have to record all the present
BIOS settings. Therefore, I am in the process of writing down all of
the settings in the BIOS, and I have an important question about the
settings.

I see some settings listed as either <ENABLE> or <DISABLE>.

Does <ENABLED> mean that the item referred to is already enablED or that
if I use the BIOS Setup to change the setting, then it will be enablED?

In other words, when it says <ENABLE> is it "ON" or is it "OFF"?

Thank you.
Click to expand...
Interestingly, the fan's not been as loud the last 36 hours or so. It
is still a bit louder than previously (or am I more attuned to it now?),
but not bad. I just wonder, could turning the speed of the fan up high
when I turned of "system fan" control while looking through the BIOS
setup have anything to do with it or is it just a coincidence?
 
Cannot be a coincidence. If you change the running of the fan you also
change the noise it makes. You of course are much more conscious of the fan
now so it will seem louder.
 
Unknown said:
Cannot be a coincidence. If you change the running of the fan you also
change the noise it makes. You of course are much more conscious of the fan
now so it will seem louder.
Click to expand...
You may well be right. I actually have not yet heard the loud noise
since I briefly turned up the fan speed in the BIOS then turned it back
down. Who knows? I'm not going to do anything different until and
unless the problem recurs.
Thanks, everyone!
 
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