[bloomcounty]

Not sure if this is the right board, but...

I have a Compaq v5310us laptop, and the fan turns on and off very often. Like every 30 seconds to a minute or so, stays on for about 20-30 seconds, then turns off. I was told that the fan can run often because stuff is so close together inside, but this seems like a lot. Is this normal?

It's happening under idle. I checked the CPU usage, and nothing but system idle is using the CPU and it is happening. I only have Firefox and Outlook Express open.

Also, how often should the hard drive be running? Mine seems to go on and off constantly. I can also feel a slight vibration all the time under my left hand where it rests when typing. Normal?

Thanks!

MORE:

Called HP, they said to go update the BIOS and that would take care of it. Here's the link for that:

http://h10025.www1.h...r...0047&dlc=en

...based on the description, I don't see how this would help. It says it's for Quick Launch Buttons updates, which I'm guessing has to do with this:

http://h10025.www1.h...r...0047&dlc=en

...which I did not do.

Thoughts? I'm unsure if I should try updating the bios here...

Edited by bloomcounty, 21 February 2007 - 06:32 PM.

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The fan(s) will run when the processor reaches a certain temp and then turn off when it is cooled down again. You may have dust in there that makes them run too often because the venting path is obstructed. The HDD can be set to spin down after a specified period of activity. This is in power management in control panel. The vibration sounds like the CD spinning up. Is there a CD in the drive? If so, take it out if you don't need it in there.

Edited by 98springer, 21 February 2007 - 11:53 PM.

[98springer]

The fan(s) will run when the processor reaches a certain temp and then turn off when it is cooled down again. You may have dust in there that makes them run too often because the venting path is obstructed. The HDD can be set to spin down after a specified period of activity. This is in power management in control panel. The vibration sounds like the CD spinning up. Is there a CD in the drive? If so, take it out if you don't need it in there.

Edited by 98springer, 21 February 2007 - 11:53 PM.

[Jack123]

01-bloomcounty [Laptop Fan question] 22nd FEB-2007

bloomcounty – I not that familiar with Laptops – They do amaze me how they keep on working ??

I see you are using WIN-98-SE – which means your Laptop has a few years on it – Here are some causes for your Fan Operation or thoughts on the subject

(1) Age is a factor - Batteries may be a source of – Heat – if are not efficient – They may need replacing
(2) Changing/Cleaning the Air Filter – May help in cooling
(3) They have Desk Pads that help in – Heat Dissipation and provides small gap between case and table surface to allow – Air Circulation
(4) Again I do not know if this applies to Laptop – But in Desktops there are BIOS Settings for Fan Control – They may be found in the – Hardware Monitor Menu – They control – Fan Speed Ratio – and the – Speed Up/Down Response Time – which in effect is what you are questioning – Check your Manual for BIOS Settings – It may be what the Manufacturer meant??
(5) Ambient Air is also a factor
(6) Could be very dusty inside – depends on how well seals are – Have you ever had it cleaned or repaired
(7) The vibration could be due to worn Fan bearings – might need new Fan as well as cleaning –
(8) Checking CPU Usage - Is it high – Dose it slow PC speed down – noticeably Of course Heat would slow down the PC as well – but you need to see if it is – cause or result –
(9) Just how long have you been experiencing this - Maybe you can relate - some event to this - Like dropping?
(10) Have you been experiencing any PC Shutdowns - & reboots because of the heat
(11) The vibration could also be from Hard drive – Bearings could be worn –
Do you have an Utility that can measure CPU Temperature – installed – Check your Source CD There may be a Utility on it that you could install

Like I said before – These are just my thoughts on the problem – weather it any applies to Laptops – directly – but all are causes of heat –
Jack123

Edited by Jack123, 22 February 2007 - 12:17 AM.

[bloomcounty]

Sorry about the OS mix-up -- I've got a new laptop with Windows XP SP2. Compaq Presario v5310us. No problems with it turning off due to heat. It does this fan thing even with the CPU at 98 for system idle. When I did some xvid conversions with AutoGK, the fan ran on high for like 4-5 hours at a time (as those are pretty CPU intensive, I think?) and no problems that I saw. No shut downs, etc. (A bit more on that below...)

MORE:
So the fan seems to operate normal for the first few minutes, then my guess is that the laptop is reaching a certain temperature (?) and then it's kicking on and going off, on and off -- off for about 42 seconds, on for about 23, over and over and over again. It happens even under idle when the CPU is like at 96 for system idle. I am getting REALLY worried about this... sad.gif

I have done some XviD converstions with AutoGK, and that runs the processor fairly hard (I think?), so the fan ended up running on high for a few hours or more while that's going on. I did that a few times. I assumed the computer is supposed to be able to handle that, as people do it all the time. But could that be the cause of my fan problem now?

I've also turned some things off in msconfig (like auto HP updates and crap that I checked and made sure didn't need to run on startup), so I don't see how that could have an effect either...

HP tech support (yeah, right) said to update the BIOS and that would take care of it. Except I don't see how, seeing that here's the link to the update (scroll down to BIOS):

http://h10025.www1.h...product=3330047

Then look at the past versions link in the versions column next to the newest one in this link above and look at each of those... none of them say anything about the fan turning on and off. The most current BIOS update version references "Updates the BIOS to support the new Quick Launch Button (QLB) Application (Version 6.10.D1)" -- yet on the update page linked above, the the quick launch buttons update is version 5.20 H. Maybe they're two different things, but I don't now... One of the earlier versions of the BIOS update was for Windows Media Center... which my laptop doesn't even have, so why would a past version of the bios be an update for that? And, again, no mention of the fan.

And why would HP tell me updating the BIOS is going to take care of the problem? I wonder if they're just giving me a blanket text book answer that actually makes no sense. Thoughts?

Any help is appreciated -- thank you!

[bloomcounty]

Sorry -- double post. See below for post...

Edited by bloomcounty, 22 February 2007 - 12:14 PM.

[bloomcounty]

MAJOR UPDATE:

Okay, I have two logons on my computer, one for me and one for my wife. The fan thing is ONLY happening on MINE! What the heck? When I log in under her, it doesn't happen AT ALL. The fan will turn on if I open, say, Word on her logon, but only for a couple seconds, then turns off. As soon I logon under MY ACCOUNT, the fan starts up and does it as described above. If I'm logged in as me, then SWITCH to her account (without logging out of mine), when I'm on her account it STILL DOESN'T do it. Some more info:

1. I have my Windows XP "look" set up differently than hers.

1a. I also have my own personal start-up, shut-down, and error sounds that I use. Hers are the standard. I don’t think that would matter?

1b. I “tweaked” my settings on my XP look by using this guide:
http://www.tweakguides.com/TGTC.html
...but I don't think any of the settings I changed would cause the fan thing (I only changed things that you can do by selecting or unselecting something in a menu, I did not manually change any registry keys or anything). However, I'm going to go through the entire list and make a list of the things I did change and post that here once I have it.

1c. I have a password for my logon. She does not. But both accounts are Administrator (because certain older programs won't work right if they're not, like Photoshop version I have).

1d. UPDATE: When I go to Control Panel > System > System Properties > Advanced > User Profiles - Settings -- Both our profiles show up. Mine says it's 3.02GB, her's says 400MB. Could this be something telling?

2. I have installed a number of free programs having to do with dvd burning, ripping, shrinking, and XviD conversion. I researched to make sure all programs were spyware free. These programs are: AutoGK, DVD Decrypter, DVD Shrink, ImgBurn, pgcedit, RipIt4Me, and VobBlanker. Some of these show up in the "Show All Programs" menu on her logon, and some don't (see #3 below for more details). I also downloaded MPEG4Modifer and DVDFabDecripter, but never installed them.

2a. I also downloaded and installed Firefox, AVG Free, and ZoneAlarm Free.

2b. I have FireFTP on my Firefox, but not on hers.

3. Our "Show All Programs" menu has slightly different stuff on it. But I think that's because I probably deleted some stuff off of hers and added some stuff to mine. I had some weird issues when trying to delete stuff or add stuff to this menu. Sometimes it would add a folder to the top where Windows Update is at, even though I dropped it down below. And sometimes when I'd delete something from hers, it would say it would affect all users, and sometimes it didn't say that (which may be why I ended up leaving some stuff on hers I'd normally take out, like the DVD ripping stuff). Screen caps below. "Programs" is hers and "Programs2" is mine. I'm not sure where the Xvid folder came from on mine, but I'm guessing it was part of AutoGK.

4. Early on, I had an issue where I had my logon on and switched to hers and had hers on, with a program open on each, and when I tried to switch back to mine, it kind of froze. It went extremely slow, was hanging on a black screen, and I waited like 5 minutes and nothing was happening. But the hard drive light was going on and off during that time. I eventually just held down the power button long enough to shut the whole thing down. Now, if the hard drive light happened to have been on when it actually shut down, I'm not sure. And I'm not sure if this could have caused some kind of problem...

5. Something else weird, on my logon, when I right-click and get properties, and go to the settings tab and then choose advance, when I click either okay or cancel, and also when I click okay or cancel to close the main properties window, I can HEAR a little "sfftt" noise coming from the computer if I put my ear close. When I do this on her logon, I do not hear this noise. (???)

So any thoughts so far as to why this would only be doing this on my logon? Could I have some kind of spyware or infection only on my logon? I'm not sure how I would have gotten that, as I don't think I went to any site that would download that, nor have I got any emails from people I don't know that I opened (and emails from someone with a virus, etc.).

Edited by bloomcounty, 22 February 2007 - 01:19 PM.

[Jack123]

02-bloomcounty [Laptop Fan question] 22nd FEB-2007

That is a wild tale – I think the answer may be in the following statement -

2. I have installed a number of free programs having to do with dvd burning, ripping, shrinking, and XviD conversion. I researched to make sure all programs were spyware free. These programs are: AutoGK, DVD Decrypter, DVD Shrink, ImgBurn, pgcedit, RipIt4Me, and VobBlanker. Some of these show up in the "Show All Programs" menu on her logon, and some don't (see #3 below for more details). I also downloaded MPEG4Modifer and DVDFabDecripter, but never installed them.

I am not indicating that you have done any questionable acts – But you have several programs that do permit you to operate on the outer edge – Now the Manufacturer of – Games – Music CD – and other proprietary CD are not very friendly – They use Malware practices on their own –

Do you or have you used – DAEMONS Tools – If so this may contain the error/problem -

These Manufacturers of Games & such have a Safe Disc Copy Protection – that detects these Copy Programs and installs – variant drivers that can cause these wild events –

I am no malware expert, but do a search for these files – sptd*.sys and secdrv*.sys – and see how many variants you have installed on your PC – I guess you have to use different logons – Did you partition your disks to obtain the different logons? Or even have separate disks?

You need to search entire PC – for these files

(1) Click on Start Button
(2) Move Cursor up to – Search – Then Open – Files or Folders
(3) Type – sptd*.sys – in the block titled – Search for Files or Folders named
(4) Check drives required
(5) Check – Advanced Options and Check – Search Subfolders
(6) Click – Search Now

Repeat with – secdrv*sys – typed in the – Search for Files or Folders Named – Block

See if you have instances/variants of these 2 drivers – If you variants like – sptd8557.sys – or secdrv995.sys[/b] - I think that is a problem – Just deleting may not be the smart thing to do –

I would go Post – in Malware Forum – And mention – Possible RootKit – Invasion – and follow the directions as indicated – In the Forum Page -

____________________________________________________________________

See definition of RootKit below

http://en.wikipedia....tkit#column-one

Rootkit
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Jump to: navigation, search
A rootkit is a set of software tools intended to conceal running processes, files or system data from the operating system. Rootkits have their origin in relatively benign applications, but in recent years have been used increasingly by malware to help intruders maintain access to systems while avoiding detection. Rootkits exist for a variety of operating systems, such as Linux, Solaris and versions of Microsoft Windows. Rootkits often modify parts of the operating system or install themselves as drivers or kernel modules.
The word "rootkit" came to general public awareness in the 2005 Sony BMG CD copy protection scandal, in which Sony BMG music CDs surreptitiously placed a rootkit on Microsoft Windows PCs when the CD was played on the computer. Sony provided no mention of this on the CD or its packaging, referring only to security rights management measures.

Jack123

Edited by Jack123, 22 February 2007 - 02:23 PM.

[bloomcounty]

Thanks for the post, Jack123. Here's more info and the results:

I do not have nor have I ever used DAEMONS Tools -- I don't even know what that is.

I've only used the programs mentioned to rip back-ups of a couple dvds and also do XviD .avi conversion.

When doing XviD conversions with AutoGK, the fan runs on high for a few hours or more while that's going on. I did that a few times. I believe the process uses most of the CPU power. I assumed the computer is supposed to be able to handle that, as people do it all the time. I've read that if there was a problem with overheating, your laptop would shut down. I never had that happen. And if that process were the cause (from having it run so much), then it would be doing the same thing on my wife's logon, I'd think.

I searched for sptd*.sys and secdrv*.sys as you stated. It's slightly different on my machine when searching, it says search for "all or part of the file name". I also had it search in hidden folders. Here's the results:

sptd*.sys -- nothing found
secdrv*.sys -- It found a file called "secdrv.sys" in C:/WINDOWS/system32/drivers

That's it... So I'm guessing there's no reason yet to go post in the malware forum? Thoughts?

Logons: I just created two accounts on the laptop, so you get that screen with the two pictures, and you pic one for which account you want to logon with. Know what I mean? I just set that up in Windows like normal. As far as I know, I did not partition my disks to obtain the different logons, and I don't have separate disks. There's just the C: drive (and the D: "drive" which is really just the part of the hard drive that's the "restore to factory settings" backup or whatever).

Also, when I go to Control Panel > System > System Properties > Advanced > User Profiles - Settings -- Both our profiles show up. Mine says it's 3.02GB, her's says 400MB. Could this be something telling? This seems very odd! Someone else told me that their profile is only 320MB! Thoughts? UPDATE ON THIS ITEM: I have just about 3GB of files in my MY DOCUMENTS folder and on my DESKTOP, so that's why mine is so large, I believe...

When I startup fresh and log in as me, I had 32 process running in Task Manager at first, then it goes down to 31. The one that goes away is userinit.exe -- and that's after a few seconds or so. With my wife's logon, she had 33 process at first, the two that went away were userinit.exe and imapi.exe, and that was after a few seconds, to go down to 31. And I believe each of our 31 processes are the same.

I am in the process of compiling the list of tweaks I did in XP and I will post those soon. But, again, I don't think I really changed anything major...

Another clue: I also noticed that if I switch users, staying logged on as me, but just switching and then logging on as my wife, the fan thing stops when I'm logged on as her, even though my profile is still logged on and I'm just switched over to her.

Any other thoughts? Thanks!

Edited by bloomcounty, 22 February 2007 - 03:48 PM.

[bloomcounty]

PROBLEM SOLVED:

This makes no sense, but:

I had changed my Power Scheme from Portable/Laptop to Home/Office Desk. And that's what did it. Huh?! I figured this out because I logged on as my wife, and was going over the things I changed with the tweaks guide, and this was one of them, so I changed hers, then suddenly the fan started turning on and off.

The default settings for Portable/Laptop are:

Plugged in: Turn off monitors after 10 minutes, Turn off hard disks after 30 minutes, System Standby after 25 minutes.

Battery: Turn off monitor after 5 minutes, Turn off hard discs after 3 minutes, System Standby after 10 minutes

The default settings for Home/Office Desk are:

Plugged in: Turn off monitors after 20 minutes, Turn off hard disks never, System Standby never.

Battery: Turn off monitor after 5 minutes, Turn off hard discs after 10 minutes, System Standby after 5 minutes

So how could this possibly make a difference for the fan to start running on and off, especially since it starts right away and not when it reaches one of the time limits where something would happen as described above.

Is there some "hidden" thing in the Home/Office Desk setting that you can't see that's pushing your CPU harder or something?

Ugh... Well, at least I figured it out. But what a major waste of time and stress. So much for my health...

Thanks for all the help -- and if you have any thoughts on this, I'd love to hear them.