overheating

[Zbigniew Koziol]

Oh, well. Thanks for all comments arround.

This is no doubt a fan problem (the one on power supply).

I am somewhat confused though and do not understand well how this 
overheating is treated by the system.

The temperature 41 here is temperature measured by external multimeter 
with termocouple well fixed to the metal wall of power supply. Hence, 
this is not exactly the temperature which is inside of the power supply 
and may be used only as an approximation of what is going on there.

The computer itself is old (I bought it 3 years ago from a second hand, 
for $ 100). However, it has a fast processor 2.8 GHz and works for me 
very well otherwise. Hence, I would like to use it.

My first idea was that it turns off due to overheating of power supply. 
But this was probably a wrong idea.

No, I can not adjust any settings related to overheating in BIOS because 
there is no any entry there for that.

I use Psensor. It shows me one only temperature, which is from /dev/sda 
and it seems that this is temperature of CPU. (should not I be able to 
see more temperature sensors there?) Right now it reports 43 degrees. 
That is fine, the machine still works (I doubt though if for long yet).

I wonder where physically the temperature sensor is located on motherboard.

I guess that not only temperature itself decides about turn-off feature 
but possibly also the time rate of change of it. And, possibly, this is 
not only temperature of CPU, but also from other sensors.

I do not feel any particularely hot elements on the motherboard after it 
turns off.

My guess is also that these boxes are designed to work on the border 
line. That the air flow inside must well determined. If the fan is dead 
or works improperly, nothing helps. Opening it does not help, rather.


On 11/25/2012 10:46 PM, dbmacg-HLeSyJ3qPdM at public.gmane.org wrote:
> 41 seems very low for a CPU limit.
>
> Make sure that the clamps that hold the CPU fan assembly are tight.
> Sometime the plastic CPU retention plates break. CPU retention plates can
> be purchased on ebay. (I have an AMD AM2 motherboard, and got an AM2 CPU
> retention plate for 4 bucks. I had to remove the whole motherboard, replac
> the plate, and reinstall the motherboard, but it worked.)
>
>
> I find that fans need to be cleaned perhaps once a year, and heat sinks
> need to be cleaned as well. They get slow and noisy and out-of-balance.
> Noisy or locked fans can be removed, and the blades cleaned with wd40 or
> fantastik and Q-tips. A drop of oil on the fan bearings help.
>
> Compressed air cans can be used to blow dust out of heat sinks.
> Make sure that no wires are interfering with the fan blades
>
> good luck.
>
> Duncan
>
>
>
>> On 12-11-25 06:30 AM, Zbigniew Koziol wrote:
>>> This is a somewhat old compact Dell machine that I use as my home
>>> workstation. It serves me well for a long time. Except of one problem.
>>>
>>> It recently turns off due to overheating.
>> How old is the machine? The computer turning off due to heat is most
>> likely
>> an indication that one (or more) fans have failed or are not working
>> properly.
>>
>> Based on my experience with a Pentium II computer I used for 9 years I
>> would
>> check the fan in the power supply. My Pentium II ran nicely all those
>> years
>> (and would still work if I plugged it in today), but during the time it
>> was
>> getting a lot of use every day I had to replace the power supply twice due
>> to a failing power supply fan.
>>
>> When a fan is on its way out it usually lets you know by a change in the
>> noise level from the system. It might get noisier, or you can hear the fan
>> struggling (like it is almost starting and stopping), or it might make a
>> sort of squealing noise if the bearings are going.
>>
>> --
>> Cheers!
>>
>> Kevin.
>>
>> http://www.ve3syb.ca/           |"Nerds make the shiny things that
>> distract
>> Owner of Elecraft K2 #2172      | the mouth-breathers, and that's why
>> we're
>>                                   | powerful!"
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