my GPU fan stopped working

I have an Alienware 17, GPU is the Nvidia GeForce GTX 765m, bought in 2014 (so it has no warranty now). The fan can spin fine physically, so nothing is obstructing it, and it's clean.

I downloaded some software that's supposed to show you what levels your fans are running at and let you set the levels, and tried running a game to see what it showed. Even when it showed that the fan on the GPU was running full out, nothing was physically happening (I have no idea if that signifies any particular issue or not).

Someone on another forum suggested that all kinds of things could be wrong, the motor, disconnected cables, the motherboard, etc. I have no idea how to discover what it is that's gone wrong to see if it could be fixed. And as far as just replacing the fan I have no idea what fan this GPU is supposed to have (and Dell's part list was no help, I couldn't find anything related to a fan or GPU for this laptop at all).

I guess I'm just kind of totally out of my depth and wondering where to go from here. I know very little about computer hardware or related stuff.

 

It seems like the fan needs a replacement. If it's an R1, then the fan's part # is FKDN8

 

Thank you for providing that! I wasn't sure where to find it. I didn't see it in the manual and there were no fans listed for ordering in the parts section on Dell. Is there anywhere reputable I can buy a new fan from? I can only find used ones, and I've never heard of/ordered from any of the companies, and one of them (parts-people) was asked about on these forums and the only feedback was that someone had ordered from them twice, once with fine results and the other they got a defective product they couldn't get any customer service on. I might be better off taking my chances on ebay ):

 

I have bought from parts people many times. The last was a new screen for M15x. It was sold as 1080 but was actually a 900. I contacted them. They checked all of their 1080 inventory were actually 900's. The price difference was only $20 so I asked for the difference in refund. They refunded more than the difference so I am pretty happy.

That being said, I have found new fans on ebay too for excellent prices.

Sent from my overpriced Galaxy S6 Edge +

 

I have no insights about this unfortunately. I've seen people recommending parts-people.com and eBay only. Sometimes even Newegg.

 

+1 for parts-people. They are a great source for Dell parts.

 

Maybe someone can help me out on this. On the fan listing for the fan with the number @Alienware-L_Porras posted, on parts-people it says:

IMPORTANT NOTE: There are two fans in the 17 R1; this is the Graphics Card Cooling Fan, located on the left side of the system. This is NOT a compatible replacement for the CPU cooling fan.

The fan that is out on my laptop is the RIGHT-side fan...if I'm sitting at the computer facing the screen and using it. Am I wrong about which fan is out (is it the CPU fan then?) or is parts-people just speaking of the computer's fans from a different perspective? I don't want to buy the wrong part.

 

Yeah, it could be the perspective is different. Just look for the Dell part number on the dead fan and order that. There should be a sticker on the fan with DP/N on it. That's the part number.

 

The only number I saw was this: http://imgur.com/ZrCo6Vo is that the number? I assumed that was just for the plastic case/cover. I tried to take it off and get a look underneath, but I couldn't get the screws to budge. I thought maybe my screwdriver was too small (one that came with my eyeglasses, it worked fine for removing the outer laptop case) but I tried it on some of the smaller screws inside and they wouldn't budge either. I don't know if I just need a different kind of screwdriver or if it's because they're just on super super tight.

Here is a farther away shot of the fan and the troublesome screws if anyone tell whether it's a CPU or GPU fan from looking at it. http://imgur.com/gTd9Z5Y

 

From the pics, this is your GPU fan indeed (you can tell by the heatsink plate). The part number that Porras gave you ( FKDN8) is correct for that fan. If you want to confirm the part number for yourself, you will need to remove the heatsink from the GPU. The part number should be on a sticker on the underside. Just make sure you have some thermal paste handy because you're going to need to clean and repaste.

You may actually find it cheaper to replace the entire heatsink with the fan included. Here's one on e-bay that looks the same as yours. Just confirm the part numbers first.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Dell-Alienw...933413?hash=item1eaaf0e725:g:SEYAAOSwXshWr2Qa

This video may help (around the 8 minute mark he removes the GPU fan):


EDIT: Get yourself a precision screwdriver set. You don't want to use the wrong size screwdriver because you may strip the screw head that way.

EDIT 2: I meant to write that if you want to confirm the part number for the fan, you need to remove the fan, not the entire heatsink

 

That is a very useful video, thank you! He makes it look so easy. Do you think this screwdriver set would have the ones I need? http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00SURH7W4/ref=cm_sw_r_tw_dp_Tnvtxb1YBVNRF it was ranked 6 on Amazon and it says it has the Torx 5 that the manual says to have...unfortunately the manual just recommends "A Phillips screwdriver" instead of giving a specific size...it also recommends a plastic scribe but the guy in the video didn't use one so I guess I don't need one for this.

 

Yeah, that set looks nice. Go for it. All you need is Philips head screwdrivers but it doesn't hurt to have other tips as well. The plastic scribe is probably used to lift panels that are clipped in place. A plastic guitar pick works wonders in these cases, and it looks like the set includes two guitar pick tools. This set should be all you need. You may also want to invest in an antistatic wrist wrap to eliminate any chance of electrostatic discharge damaging components.

http://www.amazon.com/Belkin-Anti-Static-Wrist-Adjustable-Grounding/dp/B00004Z5D1

 

. not sure for the a17 but for the m17x r3/r4 90% of the screw are ph1

 

I have the GPU fan for AW17 if anyone needs it, ever. But not sure if it fits/works in R4. Replacing fans are pretty straight forward and easy.

 

I replaced the GPU fan but nothing has changed. I looked at the fans through the mesh bottom while the computer was running and neither one seem to be moving. But then how is hot air being vented out the back near the CPU fan? I wish I knew what was actually wrong with them. I could buy and replace parts forever but who knows if I'll ever get the right one -__-

It's depressing to have spent $1500 on a computer and not even be able to read a news site without it overheating, let alone play a computer game.

 

You mean both fans aren't spinning? Are you sure they are plugged in to the motherboard? What are you using to monitor temps and what temps are you getting?

Try downloading HWinfo64 and open up the sensors page. You'll see a little fan icon. Click on that and move the sliders to control your fans manually. You should definitely hear them if they work. If not, then there may be some kind of hardware issue with your motherboard. You may also want to try flashing your Bios to the latest one, or re-flashing the Bios if you are on the latest version. Also try a power drain (remove battery, ac adapter, hold down power button for ~20 seconds).

 

I don't know how to check that but if you just mean are the connectors on them in the relevant ports, I know the GPU fan is because I plugged the little white cord into the slot just like in the video. I assume that's all there is to be done for that?

For monitoring temps I've been using Core Temp, but I had some other software downloaded to double-check/verify the numbers Core Temp was displaying. It stays in the 50s if there is no strain, and then jacks up to the 80s and 90s if I go to some news sites. The St. Louis Post-Dispatch, with adblock off, will send it into the 90s for instance. When I realized there was a problem with my fans I started avoiding a lot of sites, but I realized there was a problem with overheating only because it actually shut my laptop down.

The left-side CPU fan reacted but the right-side GPU fan wasn't blowing anything out or audible. Although, I don't know if I could hear it over the CPU fan if it *was* on. My fan settings don't look exactly like the screencap-my fans aren't seperate, they're listed together as "Fan 1 & Fan 2". There's a seperate Fan 2 and Fan 3 option but they're grayed out and I can't do anything with them.

It appears I'm 7 BIOS updates out of date -___- I've never updated them before because I was afraid of bricking the laptop but I guess I should try that. If that doesn't work I will move on to the power drain. Thank you for all your help.

 

Ok, try the Bios update and keep us posted. If you need help updating the BIOS, let us know. I wouldn't worry about bricking the laptop. Just make sure the battery is connected and the laptop is powered by your AC adapter.

EDIT: So it would appear that your original GPU fan was probably fine, unless both your fans are dead which I doubt. I think maybe there's a hardware issue here, but it's best to update the BIOS before proceeding. Also, this may be a longshot but worth noting: check the molex fan adapter on the motherboard (the one for the GPU) for any damaged pins.



ALSO: Take a look at this thread:

http://forum.notebookreview.com/threads/alienware-17-fan-control.767122/

 

Well, I am kind of confused because in one Dell support guide on the BIOS, it says " if your BIOS version is 2 or more versions older than the latest version available then flash to each previous version" and then on another support guide it says " You may install the latest version of the BIOS no matter what previous version you have installed. They do not need to be installed in order as each new version includes changes from all previous versions." I would certainly like to avoid having to go through 7 versions but I don't know why it would say it if it wasn't true...

Oh, the little white connector thingy coming out of the fan, and the port it plugs into?

Interesting. That let me split it into Fan 1 and Fan 2 seperately...but adjusting either one only turned on the CPU fan

 

Sometimes if you have an older BIOS that has been revised several times, they require you to install several BIOS versions before being able to upgrade to the latest. So let's say your version is labeled A02 and the latest is A07, you may be required to flash a couple of BIOS versions in between before being able to flash to the A07 version.

Yeah, the white connector on the motherboard. Check for any damaged pins. It should have 4 or 5 pins on it.

EDIT: Just try the latest BIOS version. If a previous version is required before going to the latest, it will prompt you.

 

I updated to the latest BIOS version, and while it was updating both fans clicked on! I could feel air blowing from both sides! But when my computer left the BIOS updating screen and returned to the desktop, things returned to usual, with 90 degree temps and the GPU fan never turning on. I tried to turn the GPU fan on manually in HWINFO and I can get it to turn on manually.

I guess now it's a matter of figuring out how to get the fan to switch on when the computer is hot. (I would think it would be set to do that automatically but I guess not...) I tried following the HWINFO settings here: http://imgur.com/a/UYC3s#7 but I don't have a GPU #0 listed on my dropdown and when I select GPU#1 there's no option at all for the temperature source.

 

Give MSI Afterburner a try. There's an option on the main screen for manual fan control.

https://gaming.msi.com/features/afterburner

 

I have the fans set to run now through HWINFO (I couldn't get MSI afterburner to work), and they will both click on now on their own. Unfortunately the laptop is still overheating--it hit 100 for some reason today, no clue what caused it as I wasn't doing anything intensive that I know of. I'm not sure if I just need to up the fan settings or if it's some other problem causing the overheating, like the heatsink or the thermal paste or something.

These are the fan settings for my GPU fan:

 

Could be time for a repaste. Try some Gelid GC Extreme. Liquid metal pastes such as Coolaboratory Liquid Ultra or Thermal Grizzly Conductonaut are highly recommended but those pastes require some extra care during application as they are electrically conductive. Expect at least a 5C drop using liquid metal paste compared to good pastes such as Gelid GC Extreme.

Ambient temperature also plays a big role so if it's hot where you live, temps will rise on your laptop. You may also want to use a cooler of some sort, or at the very least, elevate the laptop an inch or two.