Dell CPU problems and great tech service

[spittledip]

Hey all,

My father has a Dell of some sort- a SFF with a Prescott in it. He has a lot of problems with the CPU throttling (fan speeding up suddenly and system slowing down and freezing up- is this throttling?) even when he is just using Word or surfing. I told him to call Dell, so he did, The tech had him stick a wire in the fan to keep it from turning when the system came on, and when it came on, it gave him an error saying the fan wasn't working (duh). Then she had him shut it off, remove the wire, and turn it back on again. It displayed the same error, and the tech said "There is your problem. We will send someone out to replace the fan." I thought that was crazy. What do you guys think of this?

I figured it was a bad mobo or processor. What do you guys think the problem could be?

 

[Adrenaline]

A non working fan can cause a lot of problems with overheating. Have your father update his BIOS first as Dell has been notorious for having a BIOS problem cause a fan problem which then wreaks havok on your entire computer.

 

[spittledip]

I walked him through bios updates a month ago. The thing is that the fan has been working fine it seems. I have worked with the computer before and saw it in action, and I have even checked the temp of the cpu right when it froze up and it was 40 C. This has been a problem since my father first got the computer.

 

[TriggerHappy101]

Another Dell Bites The Dust.

 

[CP5670]

My father has a Dell of some sort- a SFF with a Prescott in it. He has a lot of problems with the CPU throttling (fan speeding up suddenly and system slowing down and freezing up- is this throttling?) even when he is just using Word or surfing. I told him to call Dell, so he did, The tech had him stick a wire in the fan to keep it from turning when the system came on, and when it came on, it gave him an error saying the fan wasn't working (duh). Then she had him shut it off, remove the wire, and turn it back on again. It displayed the same error, and the tech said "There is your problem. We will send someone out to replace the fan." I thought that was crazy. What do you guys think of this?

It sounds like the Dell tech support guys are nuts. :laugh:

 

[Throwmeabone]

Prescott..SFF..eek

 

[Duvie]

Originally posted by: Throwmeabone
Prescott..SFF..eek

Agreed...Hw can INtel try to endorse and push a new form factor called BTX due to its thermals being way out of hand, and then have DELL plop these things in a SFF??? Morons is all I have to say!!!!

 

[SmokeMojo20]

I did in home service for Dell for almost 4 years and I have seen crazy things with fans. Had one where the fan stopped and put new fan it and fan failure error still existed but the fan spun so replaced mobo. Had another where the fan shorted out the entire PC ... took 5 service calls to figure that one out as you always power on with the fan attached but when doing it caused yellow flashing light on the front.

I have seen the fan speed up and slow down like that but usually only when the PC was not posting. So really it could be both but chances are they will only send the fan first and then the tech will have to call to order mobo ... if the issue occurs while still there.

One thing to remember is that the dell reps (and any for that matter) are reading steps off a flow chart ... If X happens do Y otherwise try Z. So when something happens that isn't in sequence on there little flow chart then they get stumped. At least that is what we all thought when we had to call them.