Spektyr

Okay, so I started the general discussion of this problem in the Motherboard section mainly because I didn't know where precisely where it belonged.

The computer in question was running normally up to a few weeks ago. Then, it started making the "hello, I have an unhappy fan" noise. Being a bit of a Neanderthal when annoyed I gave it a firm but polite open-handed smack on top of the case. The computer immediately rebooted.

"Hrm... we won't try that again," I thought. But the noise stopped and the computer worked perfectly for a couple more weeks.


Then a few days ago the computer just decided to restart on me for no apparent reason. Rapidly it began doing this with increasing frequency until it wouldn't even boot XP completely before it was starting all over again. (And, this was the last working desktop in the house, so I'm stuck with my wife's archaic laptop at the moment.)

So I figure it's got to be the memory, Motherboard, or PSU, right? I swap memory in and out and determine that it's not the memory. I get ticked off and try to pretend the computer doesn't exist and is, therefore, not broken. (This obviously doesn't help.)

Finally, I break down and decide to fully disassemble my baby and clean her up like new. (There was a lot of dust, and I'm getting over a cold, so if I was going to be doing a lot of trading parts back and forth I didn't want to be breathing in the dust all the time.) I get to the power supply and it's a nice clear top Aspire unit I dropped about a hundred bucks on a couple years ago and it has some dust inside. I think for a second and grab the screwdriver.

Now I know what everyone's thinking - capacitors can hold a charge for a long time. I know, I've been trained to play with electricity, so don't read this and decide to try it yourself. Especially don't try it and decide to lick it clean.

Anyway, I get to cleaning the inside and the fans are filthy. So I pull them out and start poking a cleaning rag through the holes to get them all nice and clean. First one goes no problem, second one I notice about halfway through the job is harder to turn than the first one.


Here's the thing: I'm not sure that it was that stiff when I started. Part of my memory swears that if it had been like that at first I would have noticed, and another part of my memory insists I'm not as observant as I'd like to believe. Perhaps I managed to get extra crud jammed into the motor and make it not want to turn, but it's possible (and even likely) that it was like that to begin with.


So here's the question: could a fan that's stiffening up cause the problems I was having? What I mean by "stiff" is that the fan can be turned, but offers resistance and does not spin freely. Could that have been triggering the computer to continuously reboot somehow?

Power supply in question is an Aspire model number ATX-AS500W

Eddsch

It could certainly have explained the noise being created at the beginning of your problems. Unfortunately I cannot offer any solution to this (but don't lose hope, I'm just not very knowledgable in these areas) but have you tried checking your BIOS on bootup? If the fan isn't spinning fast enough (and progressivly getting worse) then your system could be getting hotter and therefore rebooting. In your BIOS there will be a measurement of fan rotation per minute (RPM) which should maintaine above 2000-2500 and the temperature shouldn't be much greater than room temperature. Also check wether or not you have a reboot temperature (should also be somewhere in the BIOS).

If you have tried this, or this does not help I appologise, but it's just my 2cents. :)

But in general, fans should put up no resistance when being spun even with no power.

- Edd.

Spektyr

I haven't checked the BIOS, but I thought it checked the system temperature and fan, not the PSU's temp and fan. Plus, there's two fans, does it check both of them?

But it seems that things just keep getting worse: if I thought that fan was a bit stiff, you should see the one on my Radeon. It's literally difficult to turn at all by hand. Maybe if I'm lucky I can salvage the card by replacing the bad fan. (Which is more likely if it was the component forcing the restart - if it was doing that there's a good chance it was saving it's electronics from harm in the process.)


I've got everything clean now and I'm debating the best plan of attack for reassembly. I could simply put it together with a different PSU, motherboard, CPU, and video card, but I'd rather know exactly what of the existing equipment is good and what is bad.

Any recommendations on what I should try first?

dragonember

It sounds like the problem is either your CPU or PSU or vid card overheating. I doubt its the CPU if the CPU fan is working properly. I've never taken apart a PSU, but if you know how to do that, replacing the fan in that might be a good place to start as well as any other less than 100% functional fans. If you added any hardware recently it might be overloading the PSU and that could be causing the computer to reboot. If it were me I'd replace the PSU with a good one and any malfunctioning fans. I dont suggest continuing to use that PSU with a faulty fan: fire + computer = not good.

That may solve your problem. If the computer was turning on its probably not the motherboard or the CPU (unless the CPU fan is malfunctioning causing the CPU to overheat)

bobmck

I do fan maintenance all the time as a last resort; either frame or power supply, doesn't matter. Thay all have a little plug or sticker covering the hub on the back side. Carefully remove this covering (don't forget where you put it, 'cause you'll need it in a few minutes). Get some hi-quality oil, usually comes in a skinny tube that you could fit a thermometer into. Once you've removed the plug, you've exposed the fan's main little spinny thing. Put a few drops of oil down in there, spin the fan a few times to work it in, and let it set for awhile (usually some Pogo gets involved).
Alot of times this will free up a sticky fan, so put the plug/sticker back on the back and re-install the fan.
If it doesn't help, the thing is too far gone, so replace the fan.
Remember, you can't fix everything; the Gods would never allow the competition.

magnethead

I'd say stick a silent but deadly 80mm fan in there and replace the fan on the radeon (easier said than done...aftermarket?).

nonamedsomebody

There is usually a a little clip on the backside of fans that can be removed with a tiny flat blade careful some fans have o-rings under this clip. this lets the blades be removed. I usually use a q tip and clean the magnet. Then lube the shaft with vasoline