M11x Fan "always on/stuck" Behavior Discussion

This also happened to me when I first got my m11x too. The first day I used it after trying out a few games and going back to IGP the fan would cycle on and off, from high to low speeds. Was weird, but it doesn't happen anymore? Wish dell would actually look into this.

 

not to veer off topic, but since i just received my M11X yesterday, is there any updates from DELL or Alienware that I need to go to their site to update.
Maybe this might fix some of these loading issues on the GPU/CP causing fan issues or are all the drivers up-to-date when I received my notebook last night?

 

Don't worry it will get "stuck" for you as well. I think I am less annoyed with the issue at this point because I rarely use the laptop now

 

Any new information on this? I was able to determine that the fan running on high lowers your battery life by about 55 minutes.

Waited for it to get stuck and let it idle down.

turned off, restarted in IGP after letting it charge up again, then let it charge down with the fan never coming on it was an extra hour of battery life.

Would love to have that extra juice stay in my battery since it isn't cooling anything apparently lol.

 

3 days ago I got PM from QA engineer they received 2 samples... so far nothing else

 

Well, if they are getting their samples via people getting replacements and shipping back, they should probably try to actually get those shipped. I have a capture tag sitting since 3/3 and zero sign of my replacement shipping (this is for screen gap and keyboard 'wavy'ness though)

 

I have been having some slight similar fan stuck issues, but honestly the longest mine has been stuck was for about 10 -12 minutes.
The weird thing that bothers me is that, I left it on Nvidia graphics, CPU load was about 0% - 3%, nothing open, just idling. But the fan would kick in for a few minutes and then stop. I am unsure the fan went full blast or medium, can't tell to much.
I checked the temp with RealTemp and it stated 37-38C.
Computer was barely warm.

 

Ok folks... I have been able to recreate the fan stuck behavior consistently. I am posting this process to see if others are able to recreate this state to determine if it is in fact a BIOS issue or a localized issue to the hardware I have.

Process as follows -

NOTE: You will need to set your Power Profile to not put the system to sleep while on battery power. See attached image.

1. Startup system under AC Power with the BIOS set to Switchable Graphics (of course).
2. Switch over to Integrated via FN+F6 and then disconnect AC Power. Note the current time.
3. Wait 18-20 minutes (on battery). This is important - you must leave the system off AC and in integrated only mode for this amount of time.
4. Open this video and play in full screen mode. After a short time, the fan cycle will start again and will lock. The fan will not shut off and will remain on @ HIGH.
5. Switching back to Discrete + Integrated, placing the system to sleep or rebooting will stop the fan. Reattaching AC Power and disconnecting it will not interrupt the locked fan.

Additional Notes:
CPU OC will not impact this test - I have confirmed with CPU OC enabled as well as disabled.
Playing a video in step 4 may not be required. I have been able to reproduce this also by leaving the unit sit idle for the time amount in step 3.

See if any of you can reproduce this using this process. Will be interesting to see if this is localized to my system or if its being seen on a wide scale.

Thanks.

 

² same issue, odd... Tbh I didn't think I had the fan issue...

 

So you were able to reproduce as well. Ok, well - not that it is good news but it does help in determining that it is not an individual system. I know others have reported seeing this - obviously since we have a thread. Being able to replicate it 100% has been a different story.

Thanks for giving it a run. Lets see if we have more confirmations on reproduction.

 

I can reproduce it as well

 

Klas, did you use my process or the one you posted earlier? I would like a few to follow the process I posted if possible. Thanks for clarifying.

 

Confirmed with the process you have above.. and klas's process...

As well as my own "test" with playing *any* game for an extended amount of time on discrete then switching back to IGP. In essence - the fan DOES NOT turn off unless you actually put the unit to sleep, logoff, or reboot.

Another example -

1. I had the system on IGP *all* day - sitting on my desk - mainly browsing / playing a few youtube videos (though not full screen) / etc.
2. I then played a game (Dirt 2) that required Discrete - for approximately 20-30 minutes.
3. Then I switched back to IGP (fan, of course running consistently as it's still cooling down) and let it sit there (had set the profile to not go to sleep/shutdown, etc.) - as I wanted to see exactly how long it'd take for the fan to turn off.
4. I actually went to the store - grabbed dinner - came home - ate dinner - watched a few TV shows - and went back to my desk - fan was still running wildly (though blowing very cool/cold air). This was approximately 4+ hours of the unit with the fan running.

Mind you this is with the unit just sitting there - doing nothing - screen had turned off - no processes running, etc.

I re-ran the same process above with changing #3 to letting the unit "cool" down in discrete mode for about 20-30 minutes before switching back to IGP. The difference I've noted here is - if you let it do that - the fan simply turns on/off in IGP every couple of minutes, but still remains "stuck" until you put the unit to sleep, logoff, or reboot.

I've really just got into the habit of either logging off / on again, or putting the unit to sleep and back awake again after utilizing the discrete graphics. I'm not sure how many users here have a password set on their system (i.e. logon/logoff scenario) - but it appears to work - most of the time.

Either way - there's an obvious issue with the fan not kicking off when the system appears to be fully/properly cooled after switching to discrete and back to IGP. I'd be interested if the modded Optimus drivers address this situation - but haven't had time personally to test those yet.

 

Just like jsgiv, I can repro it different ways. Including BatBoy's repro steps posted above

 

I was able to get the fan stuck following Bayboys instructions. My fan kicked on just before starting the video. Not even in full screen. It kicked on and off a few times and after about 20 min. kicked on and remained on. Kept the laptop closed laying on the desk with the bottom upward for max airflow and it remained on for over an hour. Shut off immediately upon switching to the discreet GPU.

 

Thanks for the confirmation. Fairly straight forward process. I'll see about passing this info back. Please continue to post results if you try the repro steps. I am confident this issue can be resolved - let's see what happens.

 

the thing is, I can only reproduce your fan issue. I have no idea why I can't duplicate the others?

 

I can confirm Batboy's method on both my wife's and my own M11x, same specs (see sig)

 

Kind of quiet now...

Was the issue resolved or you guys just getting you used to the stuck fan issue.

 

well I for one don't have the fan issue, except when following batboy's procedure

 

i rarely encounter it. I'm usually on integrated. I turn on the 335 when im gonna load up a game.

After I game I usually am done for a while so I'm switching back to IGP and putting it to sleep.

So it rarely has a chance to get stuck the way I use it.

 

Alright here is what happens with my M11X.
When running on the GeForce graphic card, the fans kicks off every 3 minutes or so for about 50 seconds even if the only thing im doing is browsing. Is this normal ?
Now if i switch graphic card, the fan will keep on running until i close the lid and reopen it then the fan will shut down. Is this normal?
Now off topic question... when I switch graphic card and I go on internet some webpages will flash as I scroll down. If I reboot the computer with the same graphic card the webpages will stop flashing, everything will return to normal and I do believe this is not a normal behavior.

Thank you for the help!!

 

^did you read any of this thread?

That's what this whole thread is about... except for your web page thing.

 

are you using m11x as intended, or just browsing on IGP? I can play a game for a few hours then switch to integrated with fan getting stuck. Doesn't really take much to reproduce the issue, but it's not always consistent. This looks like a BIOS issue which would exist on every m11x, just not everyone is bothered or ran into it just yet.

erawneila (AW QA) received one of the laptops and will be forwarding to BIOS engineers, I sent him updated steps below, hopefully they can finally reproduce the issue.

 

LOL obviously not!

Sleep and wake after switch works perfectly fine for me. I can live with that.

 

I also have the same flashing webpage problem, so it's a driver issue and not a hardware problem. Not sure what the fix is, but think it's related to something with the hybrid graphics drivers.

 

as intended, crysis, modern warfare 2, counter strike, counter strike source, half life 2. Everywhere, on the train, during my classes, at home. The fan is always behaving normal, it blows when it gets hot (I can feel it getting hot) and it'll stop when it's cooled down. If I switch back the fan doesn't stay on, weird... Actually I'm worried that a BIOS update will screw my laptop over lol

 

THANK YOU...........
Of course I read this thread but people seem to have different problem related to there fans, now I was woundering if what I have fitted in the problem group. From your wounderful and very useful answer I will take it as a yes.

You don't always have to be a ....... you could have simply answered yes yes and yes.

 

since you already stated that you can repro it using BatBoy procedure that means your m11x is affected as well, but it's hard to say why you didn't encounter after your gaming sessions.

 

Yes!!!! That's what I meant why I found it weird.

 

All,

Does anyone know what the exact status of this issue is? Are Dell aware of it? Is there a BIOS release coming out?

I am in the UK and have had the unit for 2 days, not played any games at present but I o/c'd in the BIOS and now the fan (although quite) is on all the time at around 42C per core on 10% CPU.

The palmrest gets a little hot even when typing this post.

Is it worth sending this unit back or waiting for a little while?

 

Dell is aware, but still trying to reproduce it in the lab. I sent them BatBoy's steps, hopefully this time they'll find the cause.

 

ok, now I have the fan issue in general I have noticed something.... maybe it's been mentioned before. I do recall it did (that still some power is going through the nvidia card), but if you go to device manager and go to monitor adapters there is a possibility of 2 situations:

1. you only see the intel graphic card (you only see this if you boot windows with intel graphic or when you put it back to sleep and wake up)

or

2. you see intel graphic card and nvidia card (this is when you turn on Nvidia card and when you switch back to intel graphic card) Notice that the nvidia card is still detected when you switched back, the nvidia card will dissapear if you put it back to sleep and wake up. This is why sleep and wake up fixes the problem I think, the system no longer detects the Nvidia card and therefore no more weird fan or always stuck issue

If everybody can confirm this? then the easy bios fix is to deal that issue and fan issue "always on/stuck" in intel graphic card would be fixed? no?

 

This is known, yes. When switching back to the integrated Intel card, the Nvidia card remains powered on, unless sleep/reboot is done, which must be a big bug. It sucks battery life, and makes the computer warmer causing irregularities.

There are several things Alienware should fix with a bios update (fan behavior, integrated graphics toggle, more overclocking options, voltage regulation, etc). Would be nice to know if they are working on an update or not.

 

wow ok so if everybody has that issue, why are they saying they can't reproduce it?

 

This is clearly a hardware issue for me. Didn't have the issue before but my laptop was fixed today by a technician and had the motherboard replaced: suddenly the fan keeps getting stuck on max.

 

Unless the lab boys are being lazy (I think they are) they should run into the fan and switching graphics issues.

I can't wait for a frickin fix. I love this laptop and my return windows has recently closed. I want this laptop to meet all my expectations. Save for the two issues, it has in all other standards.

 

Guys if you discovered the issue with fan getting stuck please call AW and open up a case, the more of us do that the more likely we'll see fix soon.

 

Any update?

 

Nope, pretty sure that erawneila is avoiding this thread since he has no answer yet.

a simple touching of base would be nice...

 

I called dell... I kinda knew it would of been useless btu i spent an hour with a woman on the phone to install 2 chipset drivers and reinstall the command center... I did not change anything

 

So they still didn't fix the issue with manual switching graphics and I wonder how are they going to battle automatic switching... There will be no "put to standby" workaround.

http://www.engadget.com/2010/04/08/alienware-m11x-getting-nvidia-optimus-and-new-intel-cpus-this-su/

 

So I've just called dell and they confirm that it is an issue with most m11x laptops.

They advised me that it is a faulty CPU fan and effects "most" but not all laptops.

The guy on the phone stated that they have resolved this issue with new builds but not existing builds...

Can anyone else confirm this?

I asked if there was any point in me getting a replacement and he say probably not as the UK systems are going to have the same issue until the new "updated" versoin comes out?

I dont see why I should have the laptop repaired when I've only had it for 1 day!!

It might be easier for me just to return it and look into a different laptop.

 

I called AW just now to check status on my case and I was told there is no solution yet... I did provide BatBoy's steps.

 

When I originally received my laptop if I lift up my laptop I would hear buzzing coming from the fan rubbing against something. Now I've had them replace the fan, and it no longer buzzes when it is moved around, but my fan is always on and loud, doesn't matter if its IGP or the geforce.

 

Here we go with dell reps and their lies. They will tell you whatever it takes to get you off the phone.

Just be glad that the laptop fan is the only bug that everyone has. Could be a performance-effecting issue but we got lucky. I really like this little guy and the fan doesn't bother me too much.

 

Mine was ok for the first couple of weeks, then it started doing the same thing (the fan always on when returning to IGP). It can't be solely related to cooling, as even if I only turn the GPU on for few seconds, upon returning to IGP the fan will be on forever (well, it turns off once in a while....for 30 sec).

What puzzles me the most is that in the beginning, after playing a game and switching back to IGP, the fan was off after 5 mins or so - I always played games connected to power. And off it stayed. Now, running on battery, if I switch over even for a second (I managed to do it by mistake a couple of times) the fan will be stuck on. Did anyone else notice a difference between running on power or battery?

I haven't installed much software since (I refuse to believe it's because of yahoo messenger ). Maybe one of the windows updates messed it up....

In the end is not really a tragedy, but the bloody fan keeps on blowing cold air until my knee starts to hurt . I'd say that's one heck of a cooling system. Maybe there's a secret feature we don't know about, like an integrated portable fridge... (handy for beer).

 

I downloaded and played Crysis (for the first time, cool game) and the fan came on as expect on Discrete graphics. I was done so I switched back to IGP. I then sleep and wake to be sure. The fan kicked off on the sleep but then came back on on the wake and stayed on but after a few minutes it got a little quieter. And then I did another sleep-wake and it went off on the sleep and stayed off on the wake. This was all on battery power.

 

I had the issue without even installing anything apart from steam for HL2.

If this is a bios issue has dell not even acknowledged it yet with regards to a patch / fix?

 

Ok, I have this issue too, and it's bloody annoying.

E: I switched to the nvidea graphics card and then back and now it stopped. And do you actually mean the big fan or a smaller one? Because I still hear some noise but it definitely isnt the big fan.