what is the problem here (fan??)

Hey!
Nobody here mentioned anything about the thermal connection between
the CPU and the heatsink. Maybe cheep dried up thermal grease?
ZaXXoN

On Tue, 20 Nov 2007 21:18:09 -0500, "MZB"
wrote:

I know these topics have come up before, but I haven't paid much attention
to them, so hopefully some patient soul can explain this for the umpteenth
time.

My son just called. He has a Dell Dim 3000 desktop. It is out of warranty.

It keeps shutting off. In general, it might go 30-50 minutes.

When he turns it back on, it mentions it went off due to a thermal event.

OK, I need some suggestions as I really am not a hardware person.

He can remove the hard drive cover. Now, is there more than one fan? Where
is/are the fan(s)? What should he look for? Could it be excessive dirt that
is impeding the fan? Or is it most likely the fan is shot and if so, is
there a generic replacement he could buy somewhere? Is there something he
can do to see if the fan is shot (should he be able to turn/rotate the fan
easily by hand)?

If he has to remove the fan, how easy is that?

Thanks for any help

Mel

I know these topics have come up before, but I haven't paid much attention
to them, so hopefully some patient soul can explain this for the umpteenth
time.

My son just called. He has a Dell Dim 3000 desktop. It is out of warranty.

It keeps shutting off. In general, it might go 30-50 minutes.

When he turns it back on, it mentions it went off due to a thermal event.

OK, I need some suggestions as I really am not a hardware person.

He can remove the hard drive cover. Now, is there more than one fan? Where
is/are the fan(s)? What should he look for? Could it be excessive dirt that
is impeding the fan? Or is it most likely the fan is shot and if so, is
there a generic replacement he could buy somewhere? Is there something he
can do to see if the fan is shot (should he be able to turn/rotate the fan
easily by hand)?

If he has to remove the fan, how easy is that?

Thanks for any help

Mel

start with the obvious... there are 2 fans. one in the shroud
surrounding the processor, and one in the power supply.
he has to make sure they are both spinning when the power is turned on.
i suspect one is not, (burned out).
also, vacuum for dust around the fins of the heat sink and around the fan.
be careful not to static shock the system.
how does he get "thermal event"? does he see that somewhere on his
screen? event log? bsod?

replacing the fan near the processor is not bad.
i wouldnt replace the one in the power supply, just replace the power
supply.


MZB wrote:
I know these topics have come up before, but I haven't paid much attention
to them, so hopefully some patient soul can explain this for the umpteenth
time.

My son just called. He has a Dell Dim 3000 desktop. It is out of warranty.

It keeps shutting off. In general, it might go 30-50 minutes.

When he turns it back on, it mentions it went off due to a thermal event.

OK, I need some suggestions as I really am not a hardware person.

He can remove the hard drive cover. Now, is there more than one fan? Where
is/are the fan(s)? What should he look for? Could it be excessive dirt that
is impeding the fan? Or is it most likely the fan is shot and if so, is
there a generic replacement he could buy somewhere? Is there something he
can do to see if the fan is shot (should he be able to turn/rotate the fan
easily by hand)?

If he has to remove the fan, how easy is that?

Thanks for any help

Mel

this is a common problem due to a brief stint of defective power supplies
that were shipped in dell dimension models 3000 and 4600. you can order a
replacement power supply from dell spare parts for $29.95 plus shipping
(about $8 if you ask for the least expensive shipping, if you spend over $50
they waive the shipping fee). the last time i ordered a replacement power
supply for this model it was part number n2286. you can ask for that part
and tell them your system tag number and they will confirm compatibility.
dell spare parts 1-800-357-3355

"MZB" wrote in message
...
I know these topics have come up before, but I haven't paid much attention
to them, so hopefully some patient soul can explain this for the umpteenth
time.

My son just called. He has a Dell Dim 3000 desktop. It is out of warranty.

It keeps shutting off. In general, it might go 30-50 minutes.

When he turns it back on, it mentions it went off due to a thermal event.

OK, I need some suggestions as I really am not a hardware person.

He can remove the hard drive cover. Now, is there more than one fan? Where
is/are the fan(s)? What should he look for? Could it be excessive dirt
that is impeding the fan? Or is it most likely the fan is shot and if so,
is there a generic replacement he could buy somewhere? Is there something
he can do to see if the fan is shot (should he be able to turn/rotate the
fan easily by hand)?

If he has to remove the fan, how easy is that?

Thanks for any help

Mel

well, that's the solution, but you asked what the problem was... the
problem is the thermal sensor in the powersupply that incorrectly determines
that the machine is overheated so shuts down. oddly, i would find that
machines with this defective powersupply would refuse to start if it was in
a cold room... but they sometimes also demonstrated the random shutdown that
you described.

"Christopher Muto" wrote in message
...
this is a common problem due to a brief stint of defective power supplies
that were shipped in dell dimension models 3000 and 4600. you can order a
replacement power supply from dell spare parts for $29.95 plus shipping
(about $8 if you ask for the least expensive shipping, if you spend over
$50 they waive the shipping fee). the last time i ordered a replacement
power supply for this model it was part number n2286. you can ask for
that part and tell them your system tag number and they will confirm
compatibility. dell spare parts 1-800-357-3355

"MZB" wrote in message
...
I know these topics have come up before, but I haven't paid much attention
to them, so hopefully some patient soul can explain this for the
umpteenth time.

My son just called. He has a Dell Dim 3000 desktop. It is out of
warranty.

It keeps shutting off. In general, it might go 30-50 minutes.

When he turns it back on, it mentions it went off due to a thermal event.

OK, I need some suggestions as I really am not a hardware person.

He can remove the hard drive cover. Now, is there more than one fan?
Where is/are the fan(s)? What should he look for? Could it be excessive
dirt that is impeding the fan? Or is it most likely the fan is shot and
if so, is there a generic replacement he could buy somewhere? Is there
something he can do to see if the fan is shot (should he be able to
turn/rotate the fan easily by hand)?

If he has to remove the fan, how easy is that?

Thanks for any help

Mel

i tend to agree. if the fan atop the cpu is spinning, then regardless of
the PS fan, i would swap out the Power supply, and if that kept the
computer up, problem solved.
of course i have spares here.
find a nice honest tech to bring the computer to to try swapping the PS.

Christopher Muto wrote:
well, that's the solution, but you asked what the problem was... the
problem is the thermal sensor in the powersupply that incorrectly determines
that the machine is overheated so shuts down. oddly, i would find that
machines with this defective powersupply would refuse to start if it was in
a cold room... but they sometimes also demonstrated the random shutdown that
you described.

"Christopher Muto" wrote in message
...
this is a common problem due to a brief stint of defective power supplies
that were shipped in dell dimension models 3000 and 4600. you can order a
replacement power supply from dell spare parts for $29.95 plus shipping
(about $8 if you ask for the least expensive shipping, if you spend over
$50 they waive the shipping fee). the last time i ordered a replacement
power supply for this model it was part number n2286. you can ask for
that part and tell them your system tag number and they will confirm
compatibility. dell spare parts 1-800-357-3355

"MZB" wrote in message
...
I know these topics have come up before, but I haven't paid much attention
to them, so hopefully some patient soul can explain this for the
umpteenth time.

My son just called. He has a Dell Dim 3000 desktop. It is out of
warranty.

It keeps shutting off. In general, it might go 30-50 minutes.

When he turns it back on, it mentions it went off due to a thermal event.

OK, I need some suggestions as I really am not a hardware person.

He can remove the hard drive cover. Now, is there more than one fan?
Where is/are the fan(s)? What should he look for? Could it be excessive
dirt that is impeding the fan? Or is it most likely the fan is shot and
if so, is there a generic replacement he could buy somewhere? Is there
something he can do to see if the fan is shot (should he be able to
turn/rotate the fan easily by hand)?

If he has to remove the fan, how easy is that?

Thanks for any help

Mel

"MZB" wrote in message
...
I know these topics have come up before, but I haven't paid much attention
to them, so hopefully some patient soul can explain this for the umpteenth
time.

My son just called. He has a Dell Dim 3000 desktop. It is out of warranty.

It keeps shutting off. In general, it might go 30-50 minutes.

When he turns it back on, it mentions it went off due to a thermal event.

at most, open the lid and clean the dust and dirt out
if this doesn't fix it
most likely a fan has failed and needs replacing, take it to someone who
knows how to do it

"MZB" wrote in message
...
I know these topics have come up before, but I haven't paid much attention
to them, so hopefully some patient soul can explain this for the umpteenth
time.

My son just called. He has a Dell Dim 3000 desktop. It is out of warranty.

It keeps shutting off. In general, it might go 30-50 minutes.

When he turns it back on, it mentions it went off due to a thermal event.

OK, I need some suggestions as I really am not a hardware person.

He can remove the hard drive cover. Now, is there more than one fan? Where
is/are the fan(s)? What should he look for? Could it be excessive dirt
that is impeding the fan? Or is it most likely the fan is shot and if so,
is there a generic replacement he could buy somewhere? Is there something
he can do to see if the fan is shot (should he be able to turn/rotate the
fan easily by hand)?

If he has to remove the fan, how easy is that?

Thanks for any help

Mel


Mel -

The error message indicates to me that the CPU is overheating and that the
system is shutting down due to that.

1) The heatsink and fan could be terribly dusty and in need of cleaning with
air.

2) The CPU fan could be entangled, unplugged or might have failed altogether

3) The heatsink itself may be loose or somehow become unseated.


The fan/shroud assembly is very easy to access and clean or remove/replace
if necessary.

Stew






"When he turns it back on, it mentions it went off due to a thermal
event."

If his CPU fan is working

THANKS a lot for your comments.
I got this email from my son:

Thanks for forwarding the responses. I took the computer apart, gave it a
good cleaning and had a look. The top fan (attached to the power supply)
does not spin when I power it up. It was a little too difficult for me to
take out without completely dismantling a lot of circuitry, so I couldn't
really inspect it beyond that...


So, my question:

I'm wondering if this is the fan that comes WITH the power supply. So if
you get a new power supply then you get the new fan???

I assume if the fan does not come on when the computer if powered up, then
that is the problem??

Please provide suggestions on how to proceed and I'll forward that to my
son.


Mel






"Jay B" wrote in message
...
start with the obvious... there are 2 fans. one in the shroud surrounding
the processor, and one in the power supply.
he has to make sure they are both spinning when the power is turned on.
i suspect one is not, (burned out).
also, vacuum for dust around the fins of the heat sink and around the fan.
be careful not to static shock the system.
how does he get "thermal event"? does he see that somewhere on his screen?
event log? bsod?

replacing the fan near the processor is not bad.
i wouldnt replace the one in the power supply, just replace the power
supply.


MZB wrote:
I know these topics have come up before, but I haven't paid much
attention to them, so hopefully some patient soul can explain this for
the umpteenth time.

My son just called. He has a Dell Dim 3000 desktop. It is out of
warranty.

It keeps shutting off. In general, it might go 30-50 minutes.

When he turns it back on, it mentions it went off due to a thermal event.

OK, I need some suggestions as I really am not a hardware person.

He can remove the hard drive cover. Now, is there more than one fan?
Where is/are the fan(s)? What should he look for? Could it be excessive
dirt that is impeding the fan? Or is it most likely the fan is shot and
if so, is there a generic replacement he could buy somewhere? Is there
something he can do to see if the fan is shot (should he be able to
turn/rotate the fan easily by hand)?

If he has to remove the fan, how easy is that?

Thanks for any help

Mel

that is certainly worth looking at. if the front of the processor heat sink
(the end exposed at the end of the green shroud) is impacted with dust then
this could be causing the system to shut down. but if it is reasonably
clean i would not look any further than the power supply. if you buy the
power supply from dell sapre parts you ave 21 days to return it and a 90 day
warranty so you really can't go wrong...

"S.Lewis" wrote in message
...

"MZB" wrote in message
...
I know these topics have come up before, but I haven't paid much attention
to them, so hopefully some patient soul can explain this for the
umpteenth time.

My son just called. He has a Dell Dim 3000 desktop. It is out of
warranty.

It keeps shutting off. In general, it might go 30-50 minutes.

When he turns it back on, it mentions it went off due to a thermal event.

OK, I need some suggestions as I really am not a hardware person.

He can remove the hard drive cover. Now, is there more than one fan?
Where is/are the fan(s)? What should he look for? Could it be excessive
dirt that is impeding the fan? Or is it most likely the fan is shot and
if so, is there a generic replacement he could buy somewhere? Is there
something he can do to see if the fan is shot (should he be able to
turn/rotate the fan easily by hand)?

If he has to remove the fan, how easy is that?

Thanks for any help

Mel


Mel -

The error message indicates to me that the CPU is overheating and that the
system is shutting down due to that.

1) The heatsink and fan could be terribly dusty and in need of cleaning
with air.

2) The CPU fan could be entangled, unplugged or might have failed
altogether

3) The heatsink itself may be loose or somehow become unseated.


The fan/shroud assembly is very easy to access and clean or remove/replace
if necessary.

Stew






"When he turns it back on, it mentions it went off due to a thermal
event."

If his CPU fan is working