How to disable or change fan check RPM settings at boot?

[jkalbin]

Hello all...

My system specs:

HP p6180t

Prod#: AV129AV#ABA

Q9550 Processor

8 GB RAM

IPIEL-LA3 Motherboard

Upgraded:

Corsair HX650W Power Supply

Asus GeForce GTX560

My original processor cooling fan stopped working recently and I chose to replace with a better heatsink while I was at it. I used a Cooler Master Gemini II M4 because it was the only increased capacity cooler that would fit in my current case. 

After install, I got the "Error: CPU fan has failed, computer will now shut down to prevent damage to CPU. Etc..." 

My guess is the motherboard doesn't like the new fan that came with the new heat sink. The fan is larger and I'm sure spins at a lower RPM than the stock fan. I checked my BIOS settings and do NOT have the "Hardware Monitor" section under the "Advanced" tab. My BIOS is at a newer level than what the HP site will provide for updates (mine is: 

BIOS Version/Date American Megatrends Inc. 5.09, 8/19/2009).

Is there another way to change the RPM fan speed settings to avoid the error at boot other than in the BIOS?

I am able to boot the computer by using a similar sized 4-pin fan plugged into the motherboard while the proper sized fan (actually mounted to the heatsink) is unplugged. Even with no fan, the new heatsink is keeping the processor at 45 C or lower across all 4 cores under medium load. 

I suppose I could always leave this small fan plugged in to the motherboard for the BIOS to be happy and power the CPU fan off of molex power (along with an additional case fan). This would be a last option as I would rather know if my CPU fan isn't working...

Any and all help is very appreciated, thank you!

John

[Cloud_Strider · Accepted solution]

I understand that your new fan is not detected as working properly by BIOS.  The BIOS doesn't provide all that many options to control functions such as fan speed and there isn't a way to access this feature to the best of my knowledge.  I am afraid that the workaround you mentioned might be your only option with the existing fan without access to this setting in BIOS.  

You mentioned you connected a similar sized fan to bypass the error.  Does the fan have a higher RPM than the fan sitting on top of the heat sink?  Reviewing the images located here, it looks like the fan is detachable and could be replaced with the fan that works with the BIOS.  This is provided that the fan that gets past BIOS will fit the heat sink.

[jkalbin]

I was hoping that wasn't the issue, but I suppose it all worked out anyway. I wound up adding another fan (120mm) on the removable section of the case for additional cooling and wired it and the heat sink fan to the molex, works just fine.

I thought about using the smaller fan on the heat sink, but it kind of defeats the purpose. I'm using the smaller fan (same size as stock heat sink) to cool the hard drives instead. So I now have a 120mm case fan feeding the heat sink 120mm fan and an 80mm expelling air from the hard drives and an 80 mm expelling air out the back of the case, plus the two fans on the GPU exiting the back.

So far, so good... the CPU temps are staying between 30-40 C mid-load and the GPU at high 20's. Now to wire in a controller for the 120mm case fan... all this extra air is a bit on the loud side. 🙂

[Cloud_Strider]

It sounds like it worked out better this way. As long as it doesn't sound like a small airport, I think it'll work out.  

Thanks for updating the community. 🙂