"CPU fan has failed" But is operational

[CandorousRex]

I'm attempting to fix my in-laws computer which has been operating slower than snails in a time warp. I've opened the case, and cleaned out the large accumulation of dust that was present. I believe this was the problem, as the heat sink was so clogged that it was preventing the fan from spinning. So after blasting the dust, reconnecting the fan, and bolting the thing back together, I power it on and get the error message: "ERROR: CPU Fan Has Failed! PC will automatically power down in a few seconds. Service the PC immediately to prevent damage to the PC."

I checked inside the case when I powered it up, and the fan is running strong, but no matter what I've tried, I still get the error. The list of things I've tried includes: disconnecting and reconnecting the CPU power cable. Cleaning the pins, and finally going to this link https://support.hp.com/us-en/document/c00013522.

The link tells me to press F10 to access the hardware manager, or F1 if the PC was built before 06 (I'm unsure which it is). Neither worked. The only thing that HAS worked is pressing F2 will cause the PC to boot and operate. However, when you power the thing down and then back up again, you get the same message. This is VERY frustrating, because I'd like to finish the job, and so long as they're getting this very disturbing message upon boot, I don't feel like the jobs done, even if I inform them about the workaround. 

I do think it's worth mentioning that even though the fan runs well, sounds like a model plane prop. Before cleaning it would do this pulsing cycle where it would spin up fast then subside, but it is now a constant drone, one which is very loud.  I'm considering just buying them another fan for it to run more quietly, but I don't think that would solve the issue of what I believe to be an error is POST. 

HALP PLZ!

[mdklassen]

> I do think it's worth mentioning that even though the fan runs well, sounds like a model plane prop.

> Before cleaning it would do this pulsing cycle where it would spin up fast then subside,

> but it is now a constant drone, one which is very loud. 

This is important information.  Thanks for providing it.

When you power-on the computer, it runs the fan at its maximum speed.

Then, when the BIOS senses that both the motherboard and the CPU are not "hot", it tweaks the fan, to slow it down, which, of course, quiets it down.

> I'm considering just buying them another fan for it to run more quietly,

> but I don't think that would solve the issue of what I believe to be an error in POST. 

You have 4 choices:

1. replace the fan, since it is not responding to "throttle-down" requests,

2. replace the motherboard, since it is not telling the fan to "throttle-down",

3. both #1 & #2,

4. teach the parent to press F2 everytime, tell the parent to ignore the sound-level, or to adjust their hearing aid.

Certainly, #1 is the second-least-expensive, but #4 may get you fewer/worse Xmas Presents.  🙂

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[CandorousRex]

Considering this computer is several years old (It originally ran Vista), it would probably be more economical to simply buy them a new PC rather than drop money on both a new MOBO and CPU fan. Also, what is causing the error message and the inability to turn it off?

[mdklassen]

> what is causing the error message ...

The fan.

It is not responding to the requests (carried through the 3rd wire into the fan) to report a "healthy" status, and to respond to "please slow down" request.

> the inability to turn it off?

There may be a BIOS SETUP option to "ignore", instead of the current "monitor", the speed/health of the fan. Maybe.

But, if it is "roaring", just replace it.  Under $10.  Good price to obtain "peace of mind". 

[SamirD]

The fan, while spinning, is trashed now and needs to be replaced.  Once you replace the fan with another one and plug it into the motherboard, it should detect it and boot without the message.

The other thing to do is to go into the bios (which is what the f1 f10 stuff was about) and there's a setting there to tell the system to ignore the state of the cpu fan.  You could do this as well, but I would advise on replacing the fan as your cpu could burn up without proper cooling.