Hey all, I have an HP Pavilion that has just died. When I try to turn it on, I get an error message that says the CPU fan has failed so the computer will shut down to avoid serious damage. The odd thing is, both the fans are working. I sent it back to HP for a warranty repair, but am curious as to what the problem could be - what they will do to fix it. I have tried to get my questions answered by the customer service department, but can't understand them. They may be able to read English, but they sure can't speak it! I just wonder what kind of shape this thing will be in when I get it back, and will the machine last. Thanks for any insight!
HP Pavilion CPU fan trouble
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One of the biggest killers for HP's that I've dealt with fixing, has been heat. As long as that unit is getting proper airflow, it should last a while. (nothing lasts forever)
My friend had an HP laptop that died because the GPU was known to overheat (GPU being video signal) That machine needed a new motherboard, but it came with a heatsink installation kit for the GPU and has been problem free since.
It is also important to not suffocate laptops. The name "laptop" makes people think they can just put it anywhere, but be careful never to block air inlets for the CPU fan. (some are in terrible spots)
My Lenovo intakes on the rear of the laptop, so it can safely be used on a bed, couch, etc. Some are not so well designed.
My friend had an HP laptop that died because the GPU was known to overheat (GPU being video signal) That machine needed a new motherboard, but it came with a heatsink installation kit for the GPU and has been problem free since.
It is also important to not suffocate laptops. The name "laptop" makes people think they can just put it anywhere, but be careful never to block air inlets for the CPU fan. (some are in terrible spots)
My Lenovo intakes on the rear of the laptop, so it can safely be used on a bed, couch, etc. Some are not so well designed.
gathermewool
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I had to hang up and call back to get some one from HP customer service who spoke english just well enough to be intelligible. I ended up having to speak with a manager to resolve my issue, and he was not understandable. He reminded me of my college Electrical professor, Dr. Patel. I could either spend all of my energy copying the notes from the board or listening intently to what he was saying, but never both at the same time.
HP customer service miscommunication cost me time and money, and cost them my future business.
I have a feeling you'll need a new motherboard.
HP customer service miscommunication cost me time and money, and cost them my future business.
I have a feeling you'll need a new motherboard.
There are 3 pin cpu fans with an rpm sensor, and 4 pin pulse width modulation fans. So, even though it was obviously getting power it may not have been reporting that correctly. Also, though, the heatsink may have come loose and the cpu probably has a thermal sensor on it as well.
I wonder how they will diagnose the problem. I wish they would just transfer my hard drive to a new CPU. After dealing with their customer service department, I fear that they will just rig the unit and it will fail once the warranty expires! I can't even figure out how to contact the warranty repair department to make such a request. Thanks for your responses.
Their call center/customer service department may be in India or some other "low cost" off shore country, but I'd think the repair facility will be somewhere in the US, so some of your concerns could be moot.
Working at best buy, I can say that 75% of the computer failures I see people coming in for new computers, (laptops 99% of the time) are HP laptops with failed motherboards. It boggles my mind.
OVERKILL
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Originally Posted By: Nick R
Working at best buy, I can say that 75% of the computer failures I see people coming in for new computers, (laptops 99% of the time) are HP laptops with failed motherboards. It boggles my mind.
I've got one sitting on my desk at work right now, LOL! 17" model, AMD CPU, NVidia chipset. Needs a motherboard.
Working at best buy, I can say that 75% of the computer failures I see people coming in for new computers, (laptops 99% of the time) are HP laptops with failed motherboards. It boggles my mind.
I've got one sitting on my desk at work right now, LOL! 17" model, AMD CPU, NVidia chipset. Needs a motherboard.
The fan could've been on its way out. HP's bios is set to detect a minimum fan speed on boot up, if it's below that threshold, even if the fan still spins, the fan error will pop out. Pressing F2 a couple of times during that screen will proceed with the boot.
I found that out when I upgraded the stock heat sink to Scythe Katana 3. I got the error right away, but unfortunately HP's BIOS has a lot of features locked out, so you cannot disable the fan speed check. Scythe's fan was so slow (600RPM at idle) that BIOS was giving the fan speed error, when I swapped the fan to the stock one the error went away.
Stuff like that swayed me away from prebuild PC's for good. Silly limitations like that make even simple stuff like changing the heat sink problematic.
I found that out when I upgraded the stock heat sink to Scythe Katana 3. I got the error right away, but unfortunately HP's BIOS has a lot of features locked out, so you cannot disable the fan speed check. Scythe's fan was so slow (600RPM at idle) that BIOS was giving the fan speed error, when I swapped the fan to the stock one the error went away.
Stuff like that swayed me away from prebuild PC's for good. Silly limitations like that make even simple stuff like changing the heat sink problematic.
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I'm on a 5 year old HP Pavilion zv6000 that has been mostly trouble free since I got it. The few problems I have had were operator induced.
If it quits today I can't complain as the price was great...free!
If it quits today I can't complain as the price was great...free!
I appreciate all of the responses! The CPU is at the HP warranty facility as we speak. I have no idea what they will do, or when I will get it back. Every time I call HP to check the status, I get someone who I can't understand and has no information for me.
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