Question "CPU fan has Failed" message

wogfor

Distinguished
Jun 30, 2016
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Yes, the obvious would be that the CPU fan failed but this is not the case! This is an old pre-built HP running an Athlon II CPU. The cooler was upgraded some years ago from the stock unit to a Cooler Master low profile CPU cooler - I don't recall the model but it is one of those that has 3 heat pipes that arch up over the motherboard and the fan blows downward towards the MB (I'm thinking Gemini as the model?). The stock one was basically a block of aluminum with a fan on it, and yes it did improve the thermals a little when I switched up. I only use this thing mostly for storage - I am a little hesitant to fully retire it as this was my first PC, and yes, Windows 7!

Well, on to the issue: a few days ago I was on my way out the door when it began making a lot of noise so I shut it down and headed out. Later that day on my return, I started it back up and got the CPU fan message. So tearing it apart, I really could not see anything wrong with the fan, but I ordered another 92mm fan off Amazon. It is a Noctua fan.

When it arrived, I removed the cooler, cleaned the old paste off that was a little hard, but not horrible. Reapplied new paste, and remounted the cooler with its new fan, I also ended tearing apart the GPU, an old GT 730 as the fan on it was barely turning which I had to order from China rather than buy a new card! Arrives after Thanksgiving, so I can put the card back together. I've ordered fans before for another card I had. Stuck in another old GPU I have, a GT 710 (yes I'm going backwards!) and started it up! Same message!! CPU FAN FAILURE! I opened it back up, checked everything and even confirmed the new fan was turning on the cooler. Still the same message after some more attempts. Frustrated, I turned here.

What I am thinking is maybe this old motherboard may be failing? I can't see any other reason why I might be getting this message if I know the CPU fan IS working!

Here is a kicker! As I just about finished typing all this, just out of curiosity, I reached over and hit the start button on it, and it started up! Now it's sitting there laughing at me!

I still want to think motherboard. Any thoughts?
 

Lutfij

Titan
Moderator
Can you please state the SKU to your prebuilt HP system?

What I am thinking is maybe this old motherboard may be failing?
Either that or the BIOS on the board is corrupt. Anomalies of this nature tend to happen often with older boards, whether or not it's a prebuilt. Might want to check and see if there are any BIOS updates pending for your prebuilt(though I'm suspecting the prebuilt has been removed from their support site).
 
Yes, the obvious would be that the CPU fan failed but this is not the case! This is an old pre-built HP running an Athlon II CPU. The cooler was upgraded some years ago from the stock unit to a Cooler Master low profile CPU cooler - I don't recall the model but it is one of those that has 3 heat pipes that arch up over the motherboard and the fan blows downward towards the MB (I'm thinking Gemini as the model?). The stock one was basically a block of aluminum with a fan on it, and yes it did improve the thermals a little when I switched up. I only use this thing mostly for storage - I am a little hesitant to fully retire it as this was my first PC, and yes, Windows 7!

Well, on to the issue: a few days ago I was on my way out the door when it began making a lot of noise so I shut it down and headed out. Later that day on my return, I started it back up and got the CPU fan message. So tearing it apart, I really could not see anything wrong with the fan, but I ordered another 92mm fan off Amazon. It is a Noctua fan.

When it arrived, I removed the cooler, cleaned the old paste off that was a little hard, but not horrible. Reapplied new paste, and remounted the cooler with its new fan, I also ended tearing apart the GPU, an old GT 730 as the fan on it was barely turning which I had to order from China rather than buy a new card! Arrives after Thanksgiving, so I can put the card back together. I've ordered fans before for another card I had. Stuck in another old GPU I have, a GT 710 (yes I'm going backwards!) and started it up! Same message!! CPU FAN FAILURE! I opened it back up, checked everything and even confirmed the new fan was turning on the cooler. Still the same message after some more attempts. Frustrated, I turned here.

What I am thinking is maybe this old motherboard may be failing? I can't see any other reason why I might be getting this message if I know the CPU fan IS working!

Here is a kicker! As I just about finished typing all this, just out of curiosity, I reached over and hit the start button on it, and it started up! Now it's sitting there laughing at me!

I still want to think motherboard. Any thoughts?
Just because a fan is turning doesn't mean it sands RPM info to BIOS which now "thinks" it's not running at all and prevents boot or shuts down to prevent overheating. Could be problem in the fan, contacts on 3rd wire (RPM sender) or sensor on the MB.
 

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