6807 fan problems?

[Eagle1]

Hey all,
I too joined the ranks of emachine owners...I do have a questions about the fan. Mine seems to cycle off and on almost constant and is always on when any game or dvd is playing. I had the machine just sitting there with my desktop up with nothing running and it would cycle on and off with the fan running between 1 1/2 to 2 minutes at a time. It would be off for about 6 to 8 minutes. I would like to know if this is normal or if this seems to be a little out of charactor for the emachine. The air it does blow is a little warm but never hot it just seems to run a little more than what the other emachine computers on these threads seem to. Also, the area just above the emachine logo above the keyboard does seem very warm...almost hot. Thanks for any and all input......steve

[.andrew.]

hey steve...

my fan also cycles on and off at about those same intervals, but really only when it's running @ full speed. when i am using it uplugged (@ 800 Mhz) it very rarely, if at all, comes on.

i wouldn't worry too much about it. remember, there's a lot going on there...processor heating up, graphics card heating up, HD heating up...better to be on the safe side i suppose.

just my opinion... :)

.a.

[tallan]

Hey all,
I too joined the ranks of emachine owners...I do have a questions about the fan. Mine seems to cycle off and on almost constant and is always on when any game or dvd is playing. I had the machine just sitting there with my desktop up with nothing running and it would cycle on and off with the fan running between 1 1/2 to 2 minutes at a time. It would be off for about 6 to 8 minutes. I would like to know if this is normal or if this seems to be a little out of charactor for the emachine. The air it does blow is a little warm but never hot it just seems to run a little more than what the other emachine computers on these threads seem to. Also, the area just above the emachine logo above the keyboard does seem very warm...almost hot. Thanks for any and all input......steve

Totally normal in terms of my M6807... there is a lot of HP in a small space, heat is going to be an issue but the fan never spins up to obnoxious levels and the bottom of the case stays pretty cool even when OC'd.

:cheers:

[Eagle1]

Ok......I was just wondering but I guess when you think of a desk top running 24/7 and blowing like a tornado this isn't so bad...the fans are actually pretty quiet....Well thanks for the info guys....Now I just need to reinstall and get rid of all that junk software that the comp comes with....then down load some updated drivers....ect ect ect....LOL Thank for the responses!!

steve

[bcowart]

I'm digging into this re my 6809. I downloaded PowerNow! Desktop (see AMD site for this) to monitor my CPU speed, and noticed that it would/could stay low after a fresh reboot. BUt once I hibernated or went into Standby, then resumed, it would be running full bore. So that is why the fan was running almost all the time (even on battery). I have found that if I unplug and replug the AC adapter, it will reset the PowerNow driver and the CPU will chill. Is this a BIOS bug, or what?

Bob
M6809 stock unit

[Compman55]

Perfectly normal. I always blow out my vents every week. Once the dust piles up, good luck getting it out.

Also the heatsink temp is 40-50 degress C. Fans come on at 50 and shut off at 40. Plan on the CPU core being 5 degrees hotter.

[bcowart]

I think you're missing my point. If I fresh boot, the fan isn't on much at all. Also the PowerNow! dashboard indicates that CPU usage is low, as is voltage. BUT, if I suspend or hibernate the machine and wake it back up (not a full reboot), the CPU pegs at full, Dashboard shows it maxed out, and the fan takes off and cycles very frequently. THis is very annoying, since I use hibernate all the time. Anyone have a fix?

Bob Cowart
Author of 44 books about computers
including "Using Windows XP" (Que Books)

[The Anaconda]

Hmm.. No, doesn't sound like a BIOS issue, I think it may be something with the AMD driver. I'll have to look into it and see what I can find out.

*wonders when ITC will finally approve him bring in his notebook to work*

Daniel
Author of no books about computers
though I did author some training documents
as if stats mean anything anyway :rolleyes:

[The Anaconda]

Okay, monitoring it with MobileMeter, it's throttling as normal after hibernating. Power scheme is Portable/Laptop.

[bcowart]

Don't know what happened, but it's working ok now. Once it didn't, and plugging/unplugging AC fixed it. Anyway, I'm using Dashboard to monitor it. What is strange is that it DID sometimes stick on high. I would then check Task Manager and see what might be causing this. There was nothing of note. I just think the PowerNow! driver in XP is acting flaky. So I recommend that anyone wondering about the fan should download PowerNow! Dashboard from the AMD site and keep their eye on it. It should typically hang out at the low end of the meter, such as 40% utilization and .95 volts, even when on AC.

For example, here's a scenario I just ran: The eMachines 6809 was on until it shut off (hibernated) due to battery run down. (I set that action preference in Control Panel/Power Options) Before shutting down, PowerNow Dashboard said CPU was at 40%. Fan was off. I then plugged in AC and pressed the Power button. Machine came up, with fan blowing. Dashboard was pegged at 100%. I waited a few minutes to see if it would change. No change. I unplugged and replugged the external power from the back of the computer. The consumption dropped to 40% instantly, and remained low. The fan stopped. Fan cycled a bit as necessary after this. Scrolling a complex window shows that the CPU will still throttle up to 100% as needed.

Can anyone repeat this scenario? Are all of our machines doing this? If so, this seems to be a bug.

Bob

[Thunder_PC]

Are all of our machines doing this?Never happened to mine (m6809)

[olyteddy]

Never had a throttling issue on mine, even with tweaked Power Now.

[bcowart]

I have discovered that only if I hibernate does this problem occur. I can right the situation and get the fan to chill via two approaches:

1. Plug and unplug the AC.
2. Go into Standby and then wake it up again.

I suspect this is a BIOS problem. I'll try upgrading the BIOS and report back.

Bob

[Mobile_Hackbox]

Oh geesh! Can't believe I missed this.

I was wondering why my fan was hardly ever running! Same problem here. Looks like an AMD driver issue. I am gonna install the last AMD driver and see what it does.

[Mobile_Hackbox]

Fixed. Downloaded the latest AMD driver again and reinstalled Windows XP SP2 (in repair mode). I set the power profile to always on and it don't throttle anymore. It will still drop to 800MHz when unplugged. Normal ops!

Just to let you guys know I am getting no more standby/hibernate issues after doing this. Any other power profile setting screws something up and I will get random errors of all kinds. But using "Always On" profile keeps it rock solid stable. Hope you don't mind hearing the fans running all the time with the AC connected.