# getting error message about system fan



## demonikal (Jan 1, 2011)

I have a Windows XP Home SP3 based OS on an HP Pavilion a1110n. My old PSU fan stopped working. After about 3 to 4 months of not doing anything about it (my bad), I finally bought and installed a 500w Diablotek power supply, up from a Bestec 220w power supply.

BEFORE I installed the new PSU, this error message came up (with quotes):

"ERROR: System Fan Has Failed! Service PC to prevent damage to the system. Press <F2> to continue"



I press F2 and it boots up just fine.

Even now, AFTER installing the Diablotek PSU, the same error message comes up every time I take my PC out of hibernation in the morning. I don't leave it running 24/7.

Strange thing is that I wasn't receiving this error message about two weeks ago. About two weeks ago, I decided to take apart the entire computer, mobo, and everything including the fan/heatsink off the CPU. I cleaned the old thermal paste off there with a soft cloth and put some new thermal paste on there and clamped the heatsink back down on the CPU. After everything was back together and I turned the PC on for the first time after having no PC to use for 3 days, this error message came up.

When it says "System Fan", does it mean the fan cooling the air coming off the heatsink or the fan inside the PSU?? Those are the only two fans my system have.

Thanks for any feedback!


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## spynoodle (Jan 1, 2011)

I think I've seen this message before on a Compaq. Is your CPU fan spinning when the computer is on? If you have a case fan, is it spinning? If not, then that's the problem.


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## demonikal (Jan 1, 2011)

spynoodle said:


> I think I've seen this message before on a Compaq. Is your CPU fan spinning when the computer is on? If you have a case fan, is it spinning? If not, then that's the problem.



Yeah, I opened up the side panel to see if the CPU fan was spinning and it is. The only two fans in the case are the fan on top of the heatsink and the fan inside the PSU which is brand new. I know that one is spinning becuz I can feel air coming out when I put my hand behind the mesh. I'll try tinkering around with it some more, but there's really nothing I can do that I haven't already done (like turning the CPU fan 180 degrees so that the company name of the fan is upside down and the wire to the mobo just barely makes it to the three pins.

But thanks for answering.


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## Hsv_Man (Jan 1, 2011)

If the CPU Heatsink Fan is spinning reset the Cmos and tell us if you are still recieving the error message.


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## demonikal (Jan 1, 2011)

Hsv_Man said:


> If the CPU Heatsink Fan is spinning reset the Cmos and tell us if you are still recieving the error message.



I reset the CMOS by removing and then replacing the little CR2032 (watch) battery on the motherboard, right? Or is that to reset the BIOS? Sorry.


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## johnb35 (Jan 1, 2011)

Usually just removing the battery won't reset it.  You remove the power from the power supply, remove the battery, push the power button on the case a few times to discharge any remaining power on the board and then wait a minute, then reinsert battery, reconnect power and boot up.  

However, if you are getting a system fan error message on bootup instead of cpu fan error message then either you have a case fan somewhere that is malfunctioning or your motherboard has a faulty sensor.


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## spynoodle (Jan 1, 2011)

johnb35 said:


> Usually just removing the battery won't reset it.  You remove the power from the power supply, remove the battery, push the power button on the case a few times to discharge any remaining power on the board and then wait a minute, then reinsert battery, reconnect power and boot up.
> 
> However, if you are getting a system fan error message on bootup instead of cpu fan error message then either you have a case fan somewhere that is malfunctioning or your motherboard has a faulty sensor.


^+1. There might be one more highly improbable possibility. I guess that maybe your CPU fan's tachometer broke, forcing the motherboard to think that there is no CPU fan. You might want to try downloading SpeedFan:
http://www.almico.com/sfdownload.php
It will tell you the RPMs at which your fans are spinning. For example, if your CPU fan's tachometer is working, then it would say something like "FAN0: 3200RPM", I think. If the tachometer is in fact working, then is it possible that you had a case fan and it got unplugged?


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## Zangetsu (Jan 1, 2011)

Just put a fan om the mobo (I don't mean the CPU fan, the other fan), and the error will disappear. 

Zangetsu


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## JHM (Jan 1, 2011)

I would go into the bios and check to see what fans are being monitored. There will usually be One setting for each of the following :

1) PSU Fan
2) CPU Fan
3) System Fan 1
4) System Fan 2

"System Fans" are case fans, e.g. "Front Chassis Fan"; since your machine does not have any of them, alter the bios settings for them to "Disabled" or "Ignore". That should solve your ""Error Message" problem.


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## demonikal (Jan 2, 2011)

spynoodle said:


> ^+1. There might be one more highly improbable possibility. I guess that maybe your CPU fan's tachometer broke, forcing the motherboard to think that there is no CPU fan. You might want to try downloading SpeedFan:
> http://www.almico.com/sfdownload.php
> It will tell you the RPMs at which your fans are spinning. For example, if your CPU fan's tachometer is working, then it would say something like "FAN0: 3200RPM", I think. If the tachometer is in fact working, then is it possible that you had a case fan and it got unplugged?



I fixed the problem. It was my absent-mindedness that allowed that error to come up.

Previous to the error coming up, I had disassembled this PC and another PC that I was not using. This PC I bought back in 2005. I knew the PSU was bad and needed replacing, which I did do, and yet the error kept coming up. After putting back together everything on both PCs, there was an exhaust fan left over. I was so sure that it belonged in the Gateway PC I don't use that I took apart and put back together, but the screw holes didn't line up on the back of the case.

Well, today I decided to see if it would fit on the back of my HP Pavilion case. Sure enough, it did. I had opened up my PC to check to see if there were any more pins for cables that needed to have plugs in them coming from the power supply. There were no plugs that fit the one three-pin coming off the mobo. So, I screwed this exhaust fan in and plugged the cable into this three-pin on the mobo. I turned the PC on and NO ERROR MESSAGE!!

So, thanks for all your feedback. I'll use it when and if I ever get the same or similar problem again. But, this error message was all due, like I said, to my absent-mindedness. Sorry if I wasted anyone's time that replied to my problem.

Thanks again.


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## Hsv_Man (Jan 2, 2011)

No time wasted glad you fixed the problem. So just clarifying it was an exhaust case fan that was unplugged and missing and not a processor heatsink fan. Its weird the error message would come up at all if its sole purpose is just a case fan plugged into a case fan slot on the motherboard. Great to see its all fixed and running normal again


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## demonikal (Jan 2, 2011)

Hsv_Man said:


> No time wasted glad you fixed the problem. So just clarifying it was an exhaust case fan that was unplugged and missing and not a processor heatsink fan. Its weird the error message would come up at all if its sole purpose is just a case fan plugged into a case fan slot on the motherboard. Great to see its all fixed and running normal again



Clarification: Yeah, it was this case fan pulling air from in to outside the back. At first I didn't think the cord would reach the case fan slot, but it did, just barely.

Ordering a new AM3 mobo & AMD Phenom II X4 CPU plus everything else barebone kit tomorrow. This will be my first build. Looking forward to putting the time into it. I had fun just taking apart my Pavilion and Gateway PCs and putting everything back together, of course forgetting that case fan. Hopefully I'll never make a mistake like that again, but I know where to come if I have any other issues. Thanks to all for the help!!


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## spynoodle (Jan 2, 2011)

demonikal said:


> Clarification: Yeah, it was this case fan pulling air from in to outside the back. At first I didn't think the cord would reach the case fan slot, but it did, just barely.
> 
> Ordering a new AM3 mobo & AMD Phenom II X4 CPU plus everything else barebone kit tomorrow. This will be my first build. Looking forward to putting the time into it. I had fun just taking apart my Pavilion and Gateway PCs and putting everything back together, of course forgetting that case fan. Hopefully I'll never make a mistake like that again, but I know where to come if I have any other issues. Thanks to all for the help!!


Good luck with the AM3 build!  There was no time wasted with the fan thing. I always like it when a problem gets solved, because I learn what the problem's solution was for when someone might have the same problem. That's what makes ComputerForum epic.


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