# Start-up probs: CPU fan like a jet engine, no display on monitor etc...



## daminox (Jul 5, 2006)

Oh jeeze i think i did it this time :sad: 

I just got my SATA HDD working, and being curious as i am, i hooked up my old SATA as well (to the same PC), for some reason thinking i could hook it up as a slave or something. I powered on the PC and before the "Dell" logo even appeared, 1 line of white text on black background appeared at the top of the screen. I should have written it down- all i remember was it was a bunch of unfamiliar sets of letters and numbers, but i do remember seeing "P/N" somewhere in there (looking at some of my hardware, i now know a "P/N" number is probably important). 

Anyway, I rebooted several times and got the same result each time. I then completely unhooked the second SATA drive and tried to reboot, but with the same result (NOTE: each drive, booted independantly and seperately to this same PC, boot just fine). I also noticed that my CPU heatsink was HOT as Hell (a result of hooking up 2 HDDs, no?), so i shut everything down and used a fan to cool off the heatsink and my CPU. Once _everything_ was cool to the touch, i unplugged the main HDD (so now no HDDs are connected to anything) and tried to reboot again. Now i get _no_ display on my monitor (it is properly plugged into my surge protector and my graphics card) at all- it doesnt even come out of sleep mode. But the scary part is: when i power-on, my CPU fan starts out at normal speed for about a second, then quickly speeds up until it sounds... like a jet engine, getting faster and faster and louder and louder (louder than my window-mounted air-conditioner!). At this point i freak out and unplug the PC before something worse happens (i fear something is fried :sad. Also, everytime i boot up, my CPU and CPU heatsink heat up FAST. Like, going from very cool-to-the-touch to searing-hot to the touch after being powered-on for only 10 seconds. 

So techies, please break me the news... is my PC fried? 


3.0 GHz P4 processor
1 gig RAM
350W PSU (set on 115V)
ATI PCI-E x800 graphics


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## chauffeur2 (Feb 7, 2006)

Hello daminox,



> Also, everytime i boot up, my CPU and CPU heatsink heat up FAST. Like, going from very cool-to-the-touch to searing-hot to the touch after being powered-on for only 10 seconds.


When was the last time that you cleaned all the dust and fluff from inside the case?
Also please tell us how old your machine is, as its possible that you might have to renew the thermal paste on the CPU, but we'll get to that once we can establish its age.
It would also be handy to know exactly what the 'error' message is.


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## Geekgirl (Jan 1, 2005)

Try connecting the master drive up again without the slave drive, but before booting reset the cmos/bios settings.

Also follow chauffeur2's instructions to clean the dust bunnies out

Most times the cpu will as hot as hell but as long as the cpu is properly set and thremal paste is applied there should not be an issue.


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## daminox (Jul 5, 2006)

How do i reset my BIOS settings with my PC in this condition? =\

PC is a 2yr old Dell, with only thin layers of dust on fans. No "bunnies" in sight =)

PC worked fine until i tinkered with it -_- Dust isnt the prob, but there is definitely a surplus of heat. I think the fan (and probably everything else?) is getting too much power, that's why it's speeding up like that. 

Guys, should i be afraid of frying my PC when rebooting at this point? My instincts tell me that the fan is a good indicator of way too much power being put into my system. Im very worried at this point =(


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## Geekgirl (Jan 1, 2005)

Purchase a more powerful power supply if you feel your system is lacking power. An underpowered system will cause overheating and system failure


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## daminox (Jul 5, 2006)

I'm afraid of _too much_ power going to my fan and possibly all other components of my PC... =\


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## Indoril Nerevar (Jan 7, 2006)

You cannot give your system "too much" power. It will only use what it needs. You can damage components by under-powering them, but not by over-powering them.


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## spongmonkey (Jun 6, 2006)

Does the PC have the diagnostic lights on the back/front? They are lettered A-D and change colour. if you have these you/we can find out what's wrong with your system by the colours of the lights.


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## daminox (Jul 5, 2006)

The A-B-C-D lights dont come on anymore. When i was tinkering with the drives, tho, i noticed A, B, and C were green and D was yellow. That was before the fan and monitor started acting up. I've left it on longer, and all that happens is the fan speeds up until it sounds identical to a vacuum cleaner (no exaggeration there...). The monitor still stays in sleep mode, like it's receiving no signal from the graphics card or something.


btw, what would happen if i changed the voltage setting on my PSU from 115v to 230v? It's always been on 115v, though.


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## spongmonkey (Jun 6, 2006)

DO NOT change the PSU voltage!!!! 

what model is the PC and we can see what the lights mean, although none at all sounds pretty terminal!


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## daminox (Jul 5, 2006)

It's a Dell 8400.


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## Doby (Jan 17, 2006)

Sounds to me like the heatsink maybe loose so inspect it carefully, grab a hold of it and see if its loose, sometimes the plastic retainers that hold it in place crack. This would cause the cpu to heat up very quickly but I doubt it would make the fan spin that fast and loud. 

I also would not power it on again with that psu in case its over volting. I am not sure if a standard psu will fit that model or if its a special dell proprietary psu. If its standard you could possibly test it with a volt meter but if its proprietary I don't know. I will see what I can find out


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## daminox (Jul 5, 2006)

No, the heatsink is very secure. The heatsink is about 4" tall and the entire thing gets very hot if i boot the system for about a minute. 

"over volting"? So i CAN have too much power?.....


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## spongmonkey (Jun 6, 2006)

take a look at this page, it's the manual for the PC, check the section on ADVANCED TROUBLESHOOTING

http://support.euro.dell.com/support/edocs/systems/dim8400/SM/adtshoot.htm#wp1052313

It doesn't look good though, looks like a mainboard/CPU problem (as suggested by some of the other members)


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## Doby (Jan 17, 2006)

> over volting"? So i CAN have too much power?.....


No its not to much power, it is a condition that the psu is putting out more volts then the spec for the rail calls for.

In this condition the psu is bad and needs replaced, I am not sure if this is the problem but if the heatsink is down tight and the fan is spinning, this means the heatsink is transfering heat away from the cpu just like it is suppose to but its just to hot and maybe the cpu is getting to many volts.
This coupled with the high rpm the fan is spinning at makes me suspect the 12v rail on the psu is overvolting

The only way to be sure would be to test it with a volt meter or replace it.


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## daminox (Jul 5, 2006)

Does the 12v rail overvolting make sense considering what caused it? (which, apparently, was hooking up the second HDD)

In your honest opinion, do you think any of my hardware (besides the PSU) is permanently damaged? 

I'll see if i can get my hands on a volt meter.


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## Doby (Jan 17, 2006)

> Does the 12v rail overvolting make sense considering what caused it? (which, apparently, was hooking up the second HDD)


No that would not cause it, but it could be a coincidences.



> In your honest opinion, do you think any of my hardware (besides the PSU) is permanently damaged?


Yes if the cpu got that hot it is certainly possible but it is not easily tested without swapping parts.



> I'll see if i can get my hands on a volt meter


That is the best thing you can do at this point


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## daminox (Jul 5, 2006)

So how do i use my voltmeter to test my PSU? Sry im a bit of a noob at this =\


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## daminox (Jul 5, 2006)

bump...


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## daminox (Jul 5, 2006)

A local techie is picking up the PC at 9am tomorrow, and at $65 an hour i think now would be a good time to speak up if anyone else has any suggestions >_>


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## -LONGBOW- (Mar 30, 2008)

daminox said:


> The A-B-C-D lights dont come on anymore. When i was tinkering with the drives, tho, i noticed A, B, and C were green and D was yellow[...]


Was the computer on while you were tinkering? :4-dontkno:4-thatsba

I know many products claim to be "hot-swappable", but my experience tells me to never-ever-ever make changes to live circuits. The tiny power surges formed when making/breaking connections, and partially connecting circuits for mSecs can be hard on components. 

Not to mention the fact that humans are also conductive, and can make temporary shorts and resistance changes if they accidentally touch anything

As a side note, static electricity =~ 10000V. Always touch your case before/while making changes. 



daminox said:


> [...]The monitor still stays in sleep mode, like it's receiving no signal from the graphics card or something.


I can recall this happening once, but I think it was from a backwards IDE connector.... pretty unlikely with your SATA drives...



daminox said:


> So how do i use my voltmeter to test my PSU?


This isn't too hard. for the +5v and +12v rails anyway.

1.set your voltimiter to 20v DC. Black wire on common, Red on Vdc.
2.Look for a free connection on your psu.. */0000\*
3.The red/black pair is +5V. Connect PSUred/red and PSUblack/black. 
4.Your meter should read ~05.00v
3.The yellow/black pair is +12V. Connect PSUyellow/red and PSUblack/black. 
4.Your meter should read ~12.00v

A certain amount of deviation is expected. Although I honestly doubt what this is where your issues lie.

I hate to say it, but In my opinion, your motherboard might have kicked the bucket, although the components attached to it may still be ok. You can try testing out your components on a different motherboard/PC if you happen to have one lying around...


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