Re: Not sure I understand the semantics of BIOS settings.

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babel17 wrote:
Vanguard wrote:
"babel17" wrote in message news:RwMoi.14$oO.7@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
I have been told by technical support that I need to upgrade the BIOS on my Gateway FX530XM desktop to a newer version.

I have been told this in response to a problem I described to them involving one of the computer's fans intermittently making a lot of noise.

A tech support person told you to update the BIOS because of an intermittently noisy fan? You need to call back and get a different support rep as this one is obviously on drugs.

If the fan is bad (out of balance because of dust, worn bearings, blades hitting something) then a BIOS change will do absolutely nothing to fix the fan. However, we don't know what you mean by "intermittent noise". Could be when the CPU gets hot the fan speed gets increased to keep the CPU cool, and it is the increase fan speed that you claim is "noise". Fans spinning faster always make more noise. Monitor your CPU temperature to see if the "noise" appears when the CPU temperature reaches some threshold.

Although possible, I haven't see a BIOS that has variable speeds for the fans based on temperature. Instead it is probably some software that you load on Windows startup that monitors the CPU and case temperatures and will up the fan speed to keep temperatures from reaching critical and destructive levels.

If the "noise" increases with fan speed increases then that noise is normal. However, a fan with worn bearings, out-of balance blades, or smacking a wire with the blades will also make more noise as fan speed increases but there is additional noise beyond just the air turbulence. Hard to say what noise you are hearing but a BIOS upgrade won't fix it, anyway.


I think you are right, Vanguard. This cannot be a BIOS problem. By "intermittent" I mean on for ten seconds, off for ten seconds, or one for ten minutes, off for ten minutes. It is not simply when the machine heats up. You're right. All these techs I have e-mailed or "e-chatted" with seem to be mirroring each other. This is definitely a mechanical problem. I will have to convince them to authorize a shop visit. Even though I have paid for "on-site" service, they have informed me that "on-site" applies only to replacement of parts they have diagnosed as defective by phone or on-line. Apparently it does NOT apply to on-site diagnosis. So I'll have to convince them the problem is mechanical.

Be back tomorrow.

OK - I just entered BIOS setup and changed the setting Advanced > Boot Configuration > System Fan Control from <ENABLE> to <DISABLE>.
Due to the odd semantics of the missing "D" I can't tell if I turned system fan control on OR off, but I can tell you that I turned an annoying sound into a load roar. I have just reversed what I did and I am back to an annoying noise. The fan that got louder appears to be the large one connected to the shroud which is connected to the large heat sink, Even with the screwdriver trick I am not sure because the screwdriver appears to change the pitch of the sound.

In any case I agree with all that I can't see a BIOS update (preceded by a time-consuming recording of settings) as fixing this problem, a problem which seemed to have followed a technicians replacing a drive adjacent to a fan.

I think your advice is correct and I will have to bite the bullet and bring the machine. First I must convince Gateway to take it.

--
Kindly remove "notme" to reply.
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  • Re: Not sure I understand the semantics of BIOS settings.
    ... I have been told this in response to a problem I described to them involving one of the computer's fans intermittently making a lot of noise. ... If the fan is bad then a BIOS change will do absolutely nothing to fix the fan. ... Monitor your CPU temperature to see if the "noise" appears when the CPU temperature reaches some threshold. ...
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