Question Sleep mode and computer fans turning on and off intermittently ??

[lionheart12x]

I recently purchased a Dell Inspiron 24 All in one PC with windows 11, AMD Ryzen 3 with onboard graphics for a family member, but it's exhibiting a strange problem that I've never encountered.

After putting the computer to sleep, the computer would randomly run the fans at a very low speed for a few seconds with the status LED lighting up when that happens. It happens may every 20 min or so I think.

I've updated the BIOS and have gone through the power settings, using suggestions from various forums but it is still happening. All drivers are updated and the latest Windows patch was installed. No additional software was added except Microsoft office 2021 suite and printer drivers.

Has anyone experienced this before and have a solution? Other forum posts I've read said their fans would run a max speed but mine is just a low hum, like something is waking it up and keeping it cool. I tried powercfg lastwake to see if anything was waking it up, but no records were reported.

 

[Secret-Squirrel]

As long as the screen stays off then your issue sounds like normal Windows 11 behaviour for sleep mode. The sleep state is called "Modern Standby" and works with newer hardware. It may be appear to be asleep but it periodically checks for Windows updates, installs them, and can even download your emails if the client has been left open.

If it bugs you then use Shut down or Hibernate instead.

 

[Ralston18]

And maybe the insides get a bit warm and the fans start up to cool it all down agaIn....

= = = =

Take a look in Reliability History/Monitor and Event Viewer.

Either one or both tools may be capturing some related activity.

 

[lionheart12x]

And maybe the insides get a bit warm and the fans start up to cool it all down agaIn....

= = = =

Take a look in Reliability History/Monitor and Event Viewer.

Either one or both tools may be capturing some related activity.

I did an experiment though. I shutdown the computer for an hour then put it in sleep mode right after to test and the fans run at low speed still and then stops and it happens at least 10 min after sleep. I would think it is cool enough from an hour shutdown.

 

[Secret-Squirrel]

Well yes

And maybe the insides get a bit warm and the fans start up to cool it all down agaIn.............

Well yes, the computer is actually running. It's all normal behaviour for the newfangled sleep mode. It can be an issue for laptop users because it can drain the battery and also cause thermal issues if it's in a laptop bag. Personally, it doesn't affect me nor bother me. I quite like having all my Windows update applied overnight.

 

[Ralston18]

"I shutdown the computer for an hour then put it in sleep mode right after to test and the fans run at low speed still and then stops and it happens at least 10 min after sleep".

Not so much a matter, I think, of how long the computer was cool.

What matters is how long it takes the computer to get warm enough inside again for the fans to kick in.