Okay, need help with a computer hardware question here

[Misery]

Oooooooooookay.

So, the fans on my PC keep just... shutting off. All of them at once. In fact it happened about 30 seconds before I started typing this, and that's the second time it's happened. The previous time, after I saw it happen I shut the thing down, and then turned it back on, to see if that would work. It appeared to. They stayed on for about 15 minutes. But now they're off again. The machine is still functioning for me to type this, of course, but... I'm not sure what it'd do if I tried to do more.

The RGB lights on the fans are also off. The other RGB lights (like on the RAM sticks) are still on.

Er... so, does anyone have any thoughts on this? What might it be, what should I look for or check for? What should I do?

This thing is brand new and has had very little installed on it. I'm running a virus scan currently just in case but I suspect this will find nothing.

And yeah, I realize it only just started doing this... it's not like it's been doing it over time for a month or something... but I'd rather tackle the problem now before it does any damage.

 

[Rodafina]

This is the most basic neanderthal idea and the only one I got, but is it possible your new machine is running so well that it doesn’t get very hot and the fans turn off intermittently. Do they come back on?

 

[Outdated]

Could also be a glitch in the operating system's power management. That's quite easy for you to test now, try running from the Linux usb stick you created and see if the problem repeats.

That won't resolve any issues but at least you'll know if the problem is with the OS or with the hardware.

 

[maycontainthunder]

Have a look at the Bios settings and see what mode the fans are in. If they are software controlled (an App in the operating system) then check the mode in that. Either one should be set to PWM for normal use; I suspect that they are in 'Silent' mode hence the shutting off under light load.

 

[Misery]

Just a brief update:

Immediately after making that original post, I decided to try and stress the heck outta the thing to see what'd happen and if they'd turn back on. So, I ran 3DMark and had it do its big test to see what'd happen. I've no idea if this truly stresses it but it was fast to install, so... yes.

It all ran perfectly fine (and ye gods is this thing fast), but the fans never activated during the process.

I went to try to shut it down and then boot into the Linux stick as @Outdated suggested.

Firstly it ignored the stick and just went into Windows, but also, this time the fans never even started. They're all off from the start.

So I tried it one more time and this time just for the heck of it I entirely pulled the plug and everything, and then went from there and booted it up again. Still no fans.

Have a look at the Bios settings and see what mode the fans are in. If they are software controlled (an App in the operating system) then check the mode in that. Either one should be set to PWM for normal use; I suspect that they are in 'Silent' mode hence the shutting off under light load.

I went and had a look at that, they're in "performance" mode.

I'm not exactly used to dealing with BIOS stuff, so beyond that I'm not sure what's going on. The "fan status" was reacting to... er... something. Some number kept bouncing around.

This is the most basic neanderthal idea and the only one I got, but is it possible your new machine is running so well that it doesn’t get very hot and the fans turn off intermittently. Do they come back on?

Nah, up till now they'd just always been on when the PC was on, even if it was just idling. This is the first time it's actively shut them off while it's running. Though right now the fact that they never restarted is even more concerning.

 

[Outdated]

It's definitely a concern.

There should be a setting in the BIOS for wether or not booting from USB is allowed. Also on the same page where you can save settings and exit is a boot override section, once booting from usb is enabled the linux stick should be visible from that menu. Just highlight it and hit Enter.

 

[maycontainthunder]

I went and had a look at that, they're in "performance" mode.

I'm not exactly used to dealing with BIOS stuff, so beyond that I'm not sure what's going on. The "fan status" was reacting to... er... something. Some number kept bouncing around.

Switch to PWM and run the system with light loads and see if the fans still shut off. If they do then the problem might be with whatever is controlling the fans. This is where things go down the hardware route of checking that all the connections are alright.

 

[Rodafina]

Nah, up till now they'd just always been on when the PC was on, even if it was just idling. This is the first time it's actively shut them off while it's running. Though right now the fact that they never restarted is even more concerning.

Well, I tried to play with the big boys and girls, but I knew I was out of my league. Talk about ’real problems,’ sounds like you got one now. Good luck.

 

[Outdated]

Never count yourself short Rodafina, quite often the simple answers are the correct ones.

 

[Jordy]

This is the most basic neanderthal idea and the only one I got, but is it possible your new machine is running so well that it doesn’t get very hot and the fans turn off intermittently. Do they come back on?

This is actually what many computers do.

You don't need to boot into a different os, if the fans don't run in UEFI he needs to send his computer back for repair. Just turn on your pc and click on the key that gets you into the UEFI menu, if your cpu fan stays off something is very likely broken.

 

[Slime_Punk]

If it's still under any type of warranty, take it back and get another one. Anything fishy on new hardware shouldn't be overlooked and you definitely don't want to wait so long that it's solely your problem. My wife just did that with a glitchy phone and literally lost out on the ability to get it replaced because she figured it wouldn't just up and quit working suddenly (spoiler: it did).

If I have to boot up ubuntu on a new windows computer, that's my red flag

 

[Judge]

Sounds like you're in Geek Hell. Where most folks are simply going to be over their head in doing this sort of troubleshooting. The kind of issues us PC builders have to deal with.

Based on what was posted, it sounds like the BIOS settings may be ok. If so, move on to look at the case's fan hub- assuming it has one, rather than fans and RGB lights that connect directly to the motherboard. (A fan hub allows for many such devices to all be connected centrally rather than just a few of them directly to the motherboard). Most really powerful gaming systems should have one. Fan hubs are most likely attached to the upper part of the computer case.

It would be nice if your computer came with a diagram or directions regarding all the possible connections to that fan hub. Have no idea whether it does or doesn't.

Check the fan hub to see if all the PWM/DC fans and RGB components are physically and properly connected. And make sure there is a proper connection from the fan hub to the CPU fan header and RGB header on the motherboard. According to Skytech they can be unintentionally disconnected in getting bumped around in shipping. Though it could also reflect a defective fan hub or even shoddy assembly negligence.

Know the two fan types, apart from the RGB connectors. They all are connected by a common FAN HUB. And you need to physically exam the hub (part of the case- not the motherboard) to make sure the connection pins are all properly seated in the hub, with power connected to the motherboard and directly to the power supply using SATA cables. Otherwise yeah- you may not have any fans or RGB lights operating as they should.

PWM fan- RPMs increase gradually with rising motherboard, case and CPU temperatures. They have four pins that must be connected to the fan hub.

DC fans- Run at their fastest RPM speed unless deliberately attenuated with a special cable/connector. DC fans all have only three pins that must be connected to the fan hub.

Beyond that, don't continue to run the computer if there's no power to the CPU fan. Take it back and let Best Buy deal with it. Otherwise if you fry the motherboard, they may hold you accountable for it in a voided warranty.

Fan Hub image. Note the 3-pin and 4-pin connectors on both sides, as well as the SATA connector on the bottom. Note the one red 4-pin connector likely going directly to the motherboard's CPU header. More elaborate ones will have connections for both 3 and 4-pin fans, as well as RGB devices. (Though this isn't necessarily your computer's fan hub):

 

[maycontainthunder]

When I was looking at fans for my current case there were four distinct systems for RGB fans.

1)Hardware control using a connector on the motherboard so everything was synchronised with it (often called ARGB)

2)Software control via a combined RGB & fan control hub (Thermaltake for example)

3)software control via separate hubs for fan and RGB (like Corsair)

4)uncontrolled RGB on an ordinary 3 or 4 pin fan.

I wonder which system is being used in this PC?

 

[Judge]

With such considerations I just look favorably towards a motherboard with a CPU header, an AIO header, and say three or four four-pin fan headers. Which unless you want enough fans to lift your computer off the ground, are infinitely less complex than so many devices all connected by one fan hub. (More fans don't necessarily translate into adequate or superior cooling).

Where a single miss-connected component might bring down the whole cooling process of a PC.

One of the perils of using a fan hub. Where in theory they make everything simpler. But where a single screw-up can potentially cost a user everything if the motherboard gets fried if the fan hub isn't working properly. Which reminds me, I never even discussed the possibility of a defective fan hub itself.

This is why I prefer to build my own systems, and pick the best components rather than have major components made by great manufacturers, and minor components made by no-name manufacturers. Something most- if not all the major players are guilty of. Or as some defense department folks once lamented, "A ten-cent part can bring down a ten-million dollar aircraft".

A particular concern- and risk with most consumers dependent on store-bought computers. Where the issue of thermodynamics often dominates the entire equation. Which at the moment is off the scale when you consider the perils of owning an Nvidia 4090 video card. Where the connector to the power supply can literally melt.

Constantly reinventing the wheel without considering just how bumpy a road might be....

 

[Misery]

One of the perils of using a fan hub. Where in theory they make everything simpler.

Yeah, I'm pretty sure it's a fan hub. I was messing with the RGB stuff before (using the software that came bundled with the machine) and that just refused to operate fans individually, instead treating all of them as a single unit. Looking it up, it suggested that this is how it usually goes with fan hubs.

It's looking like this thing is taking a little trip over to the Best Buy today to get looked at. Currently I'm in the process of preparing it for that (well, okay, not actually much of a process).

Hopefully this isnt some "yeah, we need about 8 years, that'll give us enough time to reconnect this little plug thing" sort of issue.

 

[Judge]

Yeah, I'm pretty sure it's a fan hub. I was messing with the RGB stuff before (using the software that came bundled with the machine) and that just refused to operate fans individually, instead treating all of them as a single unit. Looking it up, it suggested that this is how it usually goes with fan hubs.

It's looking like this thing is taking a little trip over to the Best Buy today to get looked at. Currently I'm in the process of preparing it for that (well, okay, not actually much of a process).

Hopefully this isnt some "yeah, we need about 8 years, that'll give us enough time to reconnect this little plug thing" sort of issue.

One simple thing you can do if you haven't already, is to unplug the fans one-by-one on the fan hub. To verify that they have four pins and not three. Don't be too shocked if all the fans are in fact 3-pin DC fans and not PWM fans.

Where all the DC fans will operate at the same RPM range at the same time. But that wouldn't explain why they are either cutting out, or never initiate. Which leads me back to the fan hub, whether connections are proper or that the hub itself is defective in some way. Perhaps in terms of the SATA power connectors from the hub to the power supply.

A defective power supply might also be suspect, though in my own experience when there's a power supply "problem", the damn thing won't even turn on.

 

[Misery]

Okay, so, let me preface with: AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGH

So we went and took the machine to the place. The guy has us plug it in and such so he can have a look. Hit the power button.

Everything turns on. All fans are on. Nothing's acting weird. At all.

After a bit of finagling, he suggests that there is simply perhaps too much stuff drawing power all from the same outlet / power strip (and yes, there's about 5 zillion things plugged into one strip, which is a bit old too... look it made sense at the time), and he says to try just giving the thing its own outlet with nothing else going to it.

So. Bring it aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaalllllllll the way back. Get it back onto the desk. Plug it into a different outlet where nothing else is connected. Turn it on.

BAM, everything works. No weirdness, nothing having trouble starting, all fine.

I should have thought to try this, this is actually the sort of thing I'd normally look into before jumping to a bigger step. Reeeeeeeeeeeallly should have tried a different outlet/whatever before anything else. But nooooooooooooo. This, I wonder, might also explain why the blasted VR base station kept randomly powering down (it's not connected to the PC directly, but it is connected to that stupid power strip like everything else on this side of the room).

Now I just wait and see what happens from here.

Also it occurs to me I should probably do something about the unholy cable disaster that is around the side of the desk where the PC is.

Well on the plus side, I definitely dont have to run any major scans on the machine anytime soon, considering I already did basically all of them in the last day to try to see if they'd do something. Possibly should replace that old power strip too, maybe I'll see about doing that next time I'm over at the store.

 

[GypsyMoth]

Okay, so I am in no way a computer expert but I have had a similar problem. What I discovered was at the root of my problem was dust. Somehow it was shorting out the electronics. (We lived in the desert at the time--we had dust everywhere.) So I got into the habit of once a week using some canned air to dust off everything inside the desktop case. Then the fans would work for a time. But once they shut down, everything else soon followed suit. I meant to fix it but instead resolved the problem by getting a new desktop. And moving.

 

[Outdated]

BAM, everything works. No weirdness, nothing having trouble starting, all fine.

I'm glad you got it sorted, I know how frustrating these problems can be.

 

[Misery]

Okay, so I am in no way a computer expert but I have had a similar problem. What I discovered was at the root of my problem was dust. Somehow it was shorting out the electronics. (We lived in the desert at the time--we had dust everywhere.) So I got into the habit of once a week using some canned air to dust off everything inside the desktop case. Then the fans would work for a time. But once they shut down, everything else soon followed suit. I meant to fix it but instead resolved the problem by getting a new desktop. And moving.

Yeah, that's basically what happened to me.

The PC I'm using now is brand new, only had it for like a couple of weeks, and the previous one was indeed killed by dust. Too much damage from overheating as a result... technically the thing can still run but only for a short time at once.

Though really it was time to upgrade to a new PC for me anyway.