fan is working almost all the time

[Caglar Tukel]

I posted this before but I didn't get a concreate answer.

I recently bought a HP ZE4100 notebook pc (P4 1.8 Mobile Processor, 512 MB RAM, 30 GB HD)

I installed XP Professinal.

Here is my question. Cooliong Fan is running almost all the time. Occasionally it stops, but after couple of minutes, it starts again. It sometimes run when I am not using PC. Does the computer produce that much of heat that keeps the fan running all the time?

I read from prevous reviews that there is bios upgrade for fan power management.

ok, lastly, there is nothing blocking fan openings so I already checked them.

Plese post if you have really good solution. Thanks.

[Roger Faucher · Accepted solution]

Hi:

It sounds like you have not updated the BIOS. That's probably your best bet. See:

http://h20015.www2.hp.com/en/softwareDownloadIndex.jhtml?reg=&cc=us&softitem=ob-19394-1&prodId=hppavilion238650&lc=en&plc=&sw_lang=en&pagetype=software

Roger

[Robert Lafayette]

please see the following discussion:

http://forums.itrc.hp.com/service/forums/questionanswer.do?threadId=551510

i seem to be having the same type dilemma

robert lafayette

[Roger Faucher]

Caglar (and Robert?):

Could you please launch Task Manager, select the Processes tab and click on the CPU Time column heading. This should sort the list by CPU Time (with the largest CPU time at the top of the list). Then drag the Task Manger to the top left corner of the screen and press the PrtScrn button. Now open Paint and do a Paste, save the file and post it here. It doesn't matter if the entire list is not visible. I'm most interested in the first few items and the labels at the bottom of the window. I am attaching mine as a model.

Thanks and Make a Great Day!

Roger

[Robert Lafayette]

thanks, here goes, hope you can read file. any help will be greatly appreciated. have found that from HP professional IT that a service call may be strongly required. but maybe not if you can advise,

cordially,

robert lafayette

[Roger Faucher]

Robert:

Sorry, I can't read your file. If you saved it from Paint, it should be a .bmp file but it's a .prn file.

Roger

[Robert Lafayette]

sorry about the confusion. i learned something today about my computer and print screen.
here is the file as a PDF file. that should be openable...

thanks in advance,
robert

[Caglar Tukel]

Hi everyone,

I am posting my taskmanager shot here. I don't have lots of CPU usage either. Fan is working even on logon screen which I believe system stays idle. My observations:

1. Time when fan is working is more than not working mode.
2. Fan sometimes work even there is no application with intensive CPU usage.
3. Fan always run at full throttle, there seems to be no rotation speed change. either no fan or full speed.

My observation about these HP pavilion notebooks:

1. As an engineer, I think these notebooks some desing problems. First, there is no lever that can lift the notebook up which make easier to type as well as provides open area for ventilation.(Almost all computer has some way to do this)

2. I think, fan problem is not a defect for a particular machine, rather it is a poor desing and quality issue. My pc has a Intel pentium MObile 1.8 Ghz processor, it is not suppossed to overheat; however, the fan working almost all the time indicates that it uses a poor fan management algoritm.

It occurs to me that fan only kicks in when CPU usage increases. It is not directly related to thermal probe. There is probably have a poor algoritm that triggers fan almost all the time.

Probably HP people came up a generic fan management algoritm which will work the same all processors like P4, P4 mobile. The quick and dirty solution is to have fan running all the time disregarding noise.

I tested another HP pavilion ze4100, and not surprisingly, fan was working same fashion.

I really wonder if HP ever had an entensive testing on these pc. I doubt it. For many users, this is not an issue since they are not even aware of that. They think that it is the same for almost all notebooks but it is not. I tried an IBM notebook with similar configuration. It runs quietly. To me, poor fan management is a quality issue. Would you buy an car which makes a lot of noise since they can not figure out how to cool engine properly?

I am really curious if there is solution to this fan problem. Lets wait and see.

Thanks for help.

Caglar Tukel

[Roger Faucher]

Hi guys:

I was hoping to be able to view the Task Manager processes sorted by CPU time but there will be a few problems, I see.

First, those time counters are reset with every reboot so they need to be allowed to accumulate for a while to be meaningful. Second, the CPU Time field is not displayed by default. It must be 'turned on'. I don't have WINXP up at the moment (don't ask!). Here's how it's done in WIN2K PRO. Open Task Manager and click on the Processes tab. Then select View/Select Columns and click on the CPU Time item. If you're willing to do that and let it run long enough, we might get an idea about which process(es) are hogging the CPU (or if that is not the problem). Looking at CPU is a dynamic view of things whereas looking at CPU Time is more static so it's possible to draw conclusions by viewing even at a moment in time that you're not experiencing the failure. (That's my story and I'm sticking to it). ;^))

Roger

[Roger Faucher]

BTW, if this is not a design flaw, it could be a 'heatsink' problem. I have heard some people report that the mounts for the heatsink (my Compaq notebook calls it a spreader or heat spreader, I can't recall which) have been loose. I had the same thing happen in my Compaq 1800. I found a service manual online and opened it up to solve a different problem and discovered the spreader mounting hardware had come apart. I put some thermal grease on it and put it back together. It's only a P3-700 so it doesn't get very hot and I can't hear the fan running (of course, my family tells me I'm deaf). ;^)

Just a thought.

Roger

[Robert Lafayette]

have had my ze4230 running over one hour. it is sunday morning, 18 april.
fan is/ has been running continuously, froma bout two minutes after i turned on notebook.

saved task processes a minute or two ago.

does this help?

fan is a bit noisy compared to my neighbor's HP notebook, different model, but much quieter. he even commented on consistency of my fan running and the noise.

hope you can read the pdf. file.

thanks in advance,
robert

[Scott Risner]

For what it's worth, I think I'm having the same problem with a ze4300 P4 2.4 customized. HP support hasn't really been any help, and there's no BIOS update available for me. They suggested sending it in, but being without the notebook for a week + would be a huge pain. Is that the only recourse?

[Robert Lafayette]

suggest you contact HP on line or call the 800 number.

i suspect there may be a defect with regards the fan, that is correctable by them only.

also you can contact HP via:
http://h200003.www2.hp.com/bizsupport/TechSupport/DriverDownload.jsp?pnameOID=353950&locale=en_US&taskId=135&prodSeriesId=373069&prodTypeId=321957&swEnvOID=228&cc=us

best wishes,
robert