Computer fan kicked on for the first time in 6 years. WTF?
 

What would cause this? I've had this computer for like 6 years since it was brand new and it has never came on and now it's like a ------- hurricane in here with it running. It's not hot, and even if I turn it off and leave it off it will come back on when I turn it back on. ??? It's like ~70* in here and no matter what it stays running. :S
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Re: Computer fan kicked on for the first time in 6 years. WTF?
 

if your fan has never came on in 6 years i would think something is wrong. weather or not the pc is used with high end video games or just common usage such as surfing the web the fan should have came on. i dont think this it true dr.boost, just doesnt sound right at all to me :-\ all i do is program pretty much and mine still comes on after a bit.

Re: Computer fan kicked on for the first time in 6 years. WTF?
 

Wiring?

Re: Computer fan kicked on for the first time in 6 years. WTF?
 

Well it scared the ---- out of me when it came on. I don't play any games or do anything except surf the web. I've never heard this thing come on before. I'm pretty sure it has 2 fans, and I'm pretty sure the other one has came on before, but this one is definitely louder and moving more air than anything I've heard in the past 6 years. :S
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Re: Computer fan kicked on for the first time in 6 years. WTF?
 

are you sure thats not your secondary kicking on. how old is this pc were talking about? now the fans you hear all the time is usually the cpu fan and the power supply fan. if a louder fan comes on its usually you case vent fan if you have one. i know my moms tower is loud as hell but thats because i put 3 fans in it aside from the factory 2 it comes with. :P

Re: Computer fan kicked on for the first time in 6 years. WTF?
 

I looked and it's a bigger fan with like a vent shroud on it that goes to something that looks like a radiator? It's like 6 years old. It's a Dell 4550 tower.
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Re: Computer fan kicked on for the first time in 6 years. WTF?
 

It's probably a heatpipe type heatsink. There are tubes with a little bit of water in them. The water evaporates and moves around in the heatsink and condenses when it cools. Supposedly they worked well when they came out like 6 or 7 years ago as a cheap air to air heatsink. Anyway if the can hasn't come on in that long there's something majorly wrong. Typically the fans are hardwired to a 12v line and they come on as the computer is started. Unless you know what you're doing with some kind of temperature control software or hardware they won't come on and off. Bad wiring it sounds like. I highly doubt a 6yo Dell tower is watercooled though.

Re: Computer fan kicked on for the first time in 6 years. WTF?
 

it might have a temp switch to only come on when it gets hot.

maybe its getting hot from a shitload of dust in there, or maybe the sensor is f'd and it thinks its hot

Re: Computer fan kicked on for the first time in 6 years. WTF?
 

thats the cpu fan then.... maybe it needs to be replaced. i know they tend to get loud after a while from excessive use. i have an old gateway that the fan was dieing on me and it would shake back and forth real bad and sound like a pos ford with a few rods knocking. replaced and was quiet once more. if you have easy access to it, try turning off the pc sometime later, and shake the fan back and forth and see if there is any side to side movement. should be slight up and down movement.

Re: Computer fan kicked on for the first time in 6 years. WTF?
 

Be careful though when you buy a new fan. Deltas are notorious for cooling well, but they also sound like a jet turbine. Back when I OCed I had a 120mm Delta on an 80mm copper thin finned heatsink... that ish was tight. I miss having a desktop now :'( Laptops are so gay.