HP Envy Fans Run Constantly, Always Noisy

[M_under]

HP Envy fans run constantly. Sometimes quietly, usually semi-loudly, and sometimes very loudly. Is there a way to make them quiet? I don't think it's overheating, it just bothers me. This laptop is brand new. My old laptop, when new, was silent.

Details:

- Fans make noise even when I only have browser open

- I'm only using <10% CPU right now and the fans are whirring

- Laptop is on level, flat surface, but it makes noise no matter what I put it on

- Laptop is brand new, only about a week old. It has always made noise

- Laptop is NOT hot to the touch

Tried:

- Did a BIOS update yesterday, 26th August. Didn't make a difference

- All other updates are up to date as of today

- I've run the fast HP system test, passed everything

- The "quiet mode" option in the HP Command Centre doesn't exist. I can't seem to find a way to turn it on

Is there anything else I can do?

[WAWood]

@M_under 

Old laptop was probably NOT running Windows 10.

With a Win10 PC, you're going to experience a variety of problems not typical of the older PCs. Unlike with older OS versions, Win10 FORCES updates and patches on folks every week. This can cause problems not seen in the older OS versions.

First is sluggishness. You may experience a very slow PC at times because Windows Update (WU) is hogging your PC, searching for, downloading, and installing updates -- to bring your PC up to the most current version of Windows. This can also contribute significantly to high processor temperatures, as it is being heavily used.

Second is fan noise. That's directly related to fan speed, which is the result of processor heat, and WU is known to drive up the processor load -- sometimes to 100%. That can cause the fan to run loud and continuous for some time.

Third is disk usage. WU can easily force the disk usage to 100% and and keep it pinned there for some time. That's because it writes WU files to the drive, then it turns around and reads them, then it overwrites existing Windows System files. All of that takes a lot of disk usage to complete.

These processes are compounded by Win10 because new Win 10 patches coming out nearly every Tuesday. Since you can't stop Updates like you did with Win7, this means you're going to get updates, regardless of what you do.

To find out what version and build of Win10 your PC is running, do the following:
1) enter "cmd" (without the quotes) into the search area and select the Command Prompt option
2) enter "winver" into the command window (again, without the quotes)
3) The most current Win10 versions as of 8/20/20 are the following:
a) v1809: Bld 17763.1432
b) v1903: Bld 18632.1049
c) v1909: Bld 18363.1049
d) v2004: Bld 19041.450.

If yours is older than that, most likely WU is hogging your PC trying to update it.

Some folks have been told that resetting your PC will fix this. but, if you reset your PC, you only make matters WORSE! Why? Because you will reset Win10 back to the original version that came preloaded on the PC and that will restart Windows Update all over again.

To disable WU temporarily, do the following:
1) Enter "services" in the search area (again, without the quotes)
2) When the window opens, scroll down until you see Windows Update
3) If it say Running under status, that indicates that WU is running
4) To change that, double-click on that task, select Stop under the Service status, and then Apply
5) That should stop WU -- and you should see an immediate improvement in performance.

If not, then WU is not the problem.

WU will restart itself automatically later on, so you basically have no choice than to bear with it until it finishes.

[M_under]

Hi, thanks for taking the time to reply.

My old laptop (a Surface Pro 4) was running Windows 10.0.18362.752.

The current HP runs on Windows 10.0.19041.423. I followed your instructions and disabled WU. This seemed to work immediately, with the fans going quiet, but after half an hour they're back on again. Not loudly, but louder than I expect considering the only app I have open is my browser - I expect them to be silent!

[M_under]

Hi, just thought I'd return with an update.

This morning (3/Sept/2020) my laptop developed an issue with the audio - it wouldn't play any sound. I trouble shooted with HP Support Assisant for ~2 hours, going through every step including uninstalling and reinstalling drivers, hard resetting, and a system restore.

Nothing worked, so I took it in to Currys PC World where I purchased the laptop (as HP will not provide chat support to UK customers). Tech support there (KnowHow) weren't sure of the issue but they suspected there was something wrong with the sound card, especially when he asked if the laptop was having overheating problems and I explained about the fans. Apparently, the fans making noise from the get-go, no matter what I'm doing with the laptop, is an issue!

Since the laptop was only 2 weeks old and was not damaged by me in any way, I was told I probably had a faulty laptop and received an exchange for a HP Pavilion. Let's hope this HP laptop lasts a little longer.