G73JW both fans stuck at 100% regardless of temp

Hello everybody,

I bought my G73JW last year and have been using it until now, I really love it and it was a perfectly flawless unit until now.

Sometimes, randomly, regardless of what I'm doing, wether I'm reading a text, watching a movie, using Photoshop or whatever, suddenly BOTH fans start spinning at maximum RPM, regarless of the temperature, it happens even with idle temperatures ( my idle temps are always between 42 to 47C ), and it stays like that until I shut the computer down. Restarting does NOT return the fans to normal, only shutdown.

I have no clue about what makes it happen, it's just totally random, sometimes happens in 30min after turning it on, sometimes 5 hours, and sometimes it doesn't happen.

Does anybody have any idea of what's going on? If this is a hardware problem is there any way to completely override fan controls manually?

Thanks in advance!

 

It sounds like your system believes something is overheating, other
than the element you are monitoring. Are you quoting processor temp,
or internal ambient temps? If you are not already doing so, try monitoring
the processor and GPU temps. In most laptop designs, the fan control logic
is tied into several sensors. Any of those sensors can trigger a fan speed
increase. Sources include processor, chipset, bus controllers, VRM/DC-DC
power supplies, GPU, memory DIMMs, etc. It can even be linked to sub-assemblies,
like hdds and DVD/BR player/recorders. You might try "Speedfan". It may give you
some idea of which sensor is reporting a high temp. You may also be able to adjust
the thresholds, in the BIOS setup. Lastly, check the intake and exhaust ports, on
the unit. Dust can wreak havoc on a laptop. If the system can not pull/exhaust
enough cool air, the fans will speed up, to try to compensate. The same is true, if
you are using the laptop in an enclosed space. You can inadvertently create a
condition where the rear exhaust air (hot) is fed back to the intake ports. This
creates a air-current loop, that quickly heats up the circuitry. On cooler days, it
is less common. On warmer days, it can happen a lot. This is the problem with most
entertainment systems. The enclosure often promotes circular airflow, overheating
the receiver etc.

Good luck,

Sir Robin

 

If it is a sensor going bonkers, the usual culprit is the one that is listed as THRM under ACPI in HWmonitor. You could download the latest version of HWMonitor and check, i had this happen to me once on my N50. I never found out what the problem was though and i don't have it anymore. You can use HWiNFO64 to check the actual fan RPM, max reported is ~4000RPM.

 

Hey guys,

Thanks for the suggestions.

Well... there's my problem:

First, just to show what's happening, here are the fan speeds according to HWiNFO:



5000+ RPM. Kinda too many eh?

Now, it seems that what's wrong here is this sensor labeled by SpeedFan as "Temp1":



A bit more details, sensor is the ACPI.



When I restart the computer, the sensor goes back to normal and usually displays the same temperatures of the cores. Then from one second to the other Boom!, almost 100 degrees.

There is no Bios option to adjust thresholds or anything like that. In fact, there are no fan adjustment options at all.

I bought the notebook back in Canada last year and right now I'm living in Germany, and I don't feel like sending it to RMA here, haven't heard good stories from the Asus repair center here.

Well... do you guys have any idea about what I could do? Seems to be a faulty sensor displaying wrong information... is there any workaround to this problem without having to RMA? Maybe way to completely override fan controls from Windows? Or find a way to completely ignore this sensor?

Thanks!

 

Isn't the Intel PCH not just the chipset?
This chip is passive cooled by the metal frame of the palmrest. There should be a small thermal pad on it (1 cm²). Have you ever disassembled the notebook?

I just found 1 pic, where you can see the chip in the middle (the green one, not the red circle)

 

The PCH temp reported by HWiNFO looks a bit high, but still ok. It is temp 1 reported by speedfan that is way too high. Can you try HWMonitor as well just ot make sure the problem is with temp1. Temps 1 doesn't really mean anything aside that it's a temperature sensor somewhere in the laptop.

 

Yeah, the PCH temp is on the high side. It is possible that the
airflow/thermal gap pad is not working well. You can experiment with
it by pressing on the palm rest, and see if the temp goes down. If you have
access to the PCB, you can try "cold spray", to find where Temp1 is
located. Cold spray is canned refrigerant, made for electronics. You can
get it online, or at an electronics store. Gently spray areas of the board,
while watching the temperature report. The effect will be quite noticeable.
Be careful with very hot, or ceramic packaged parts. You can cause them
to crack, due to the thermal gradient (do not over-spray). An alternate trick
is to use a blower/fan, with the other parts of the board insulated. Based on
the behavior your are describing, I am leaning toward one of the following:

1. Faulty sensor
2. Non-existent sensor (bios/EC has a dangling sensor point, and input is floating)
3. Thermal control on given device is not working/fallen off (heatsink, blocked airflow, etc)

I would concentrate on the processor dc-dc converter (VRM), or the one that
converts the main power brick DC into the necessary internal voltages. They are
often tied to the thermal monitoring logic, and can quickly go to high temperatures, if
their thermal solution is not working well. It is odd that the sensor goes from ambient
to high temp, in a very short time. Very few components, on a motherboard, can
heat up that fast (processor/GPU without heatsink, VRM FETs, backlight drivers). Is
there any change in behavior, between battery and AC operation? Does the sensor
ramp slower, in battery mode? How about it you force the processor/GPU to a slower speed?
Dimms are often monitored, these days. You might also try each dimm individually, or
cold spray the I2C ROMs on the dimms (where the temp sensor is usually located).

Any chance your EC firmware is out of date? I believe the version is displayed, in the
bios setup screen.

Sir Robin

 

@tilla: I've never disassembled the notebook, the only thing I do that might have anything to do to it's internal components is a compressed gas can that I use to clean the fans behind the notebook.

@tijo: It seems that the sensor is called THRM.

@Sir Robin: I've tried pressing the palm rest and no changes in temperature happen to the THRM, regardless of being stuck at 97C or at it's usual operation temperatures. The sensor can shoot to 97C regardless of the power profile, and once at that temperature it keeps at it regardless of what I do, I've tried everything, changing power profiles, closing all applications, etc... if I restart the computer the fans don't return to normal either, however if I shut it down and immediately power it on again it goes back to normal.

=========================

Here is a screenshot from the HWMonitor sensors, it seems the ID for the sensor is THRM.



Do you guys have any idea of what I could do now that I've identified the sensor?

Thanks

 

It sounds to me like the sensor is going nuts and if the sensor is going bad, then you'd likely need a new motherboard to fix that. Is your notebook still under warranty.

 

I have the EXACT same issue. I've taken the whole laptop apart, repasted the GPU and CPU (I have the 5870m), i7 720. Same issue. Made sure everything was hooked up/plugged in. No change.

All other temps are fine such as CPU and GPU but that THRM temp is high like yours. I've learned to deal with it. The laptop never shuts off or reboots. I bought this second hand... here's what the last owner did to repaste the CPU: LOL

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/14276022/IMG_20120531_101727.jpg

Horrible job. CMOS battery was also missing, and also the 3 different RAM chips in it were ALL different speeds lol. *Shakes head*.

Working fine now, minus the high fans. I have another g73 (not destroyed) which works fine as my main rig, the super fan machine i use for taking with me places. If it dies, ah well lol.

 

I continue to suspect the on-board DC-DC converters, as the source
of the sensor. 97C is above the max temp, for most commercial grade
semiconductors, including the processor and PCH. DC-DC controllers,
and their associated components, are often rated for higher temps
(100C+). My guess is either the sensor is bad, or it's thermal solution
is airflow blocked/disengaged. As I mentioned earlier, cold spray or a
heat gun/hair dryer/soldering iron are the best ways to find a given
sensor. Your other temps are not unusually high, so I am less likely to
suspect air intake blockage, but it is possible that you have a partial block,
near the THRM sensor (loose label or dust).

@eFirehawk, since you have not disassembled your unit before, it is possible
that you are dealing with dust build up. I do not own the G73JW, so I can't
be specific, but it appears, from photo's and youtube, that the air intake,
for the main circuitry, is in the bottom access panel (vent holes in the
cover for the HDD/DDR area). If this is the case, dust will be sucked into
the unit, during normal operation, and will often collect in areas. Even if
the vent holes are clear, there can be a build up between the PCB and the
frame. Try this:

1. Remove the bottom access panel.
2. Blow compressed air through the exhaust vents, toward the
open access panel area. Sweep the air in an arc, back and forth.
3. Clear any dust on the access panel vents.
4. Replace the access panel.
5. Retest.

Here is a video on the subject, from someone who experienced overheating:

How I fixed my G73 overheating problem! - YouTube

@scottdrmyers, if you are comfortable operating you unit, with the covers
off, and have access to cold spray, try gently spraying the board, in sections,
while watching the sensor output. You should quickly find there area, where the
sensor is located. If you can provide a photo of the area, I can probably help
you to identify the culprit. Also, if the temps are better, with the covers removed,
then it is likely airflow related.

Good luck,

Sir Robin

 

It's no better when the case is removed. Temp sensor always at 102oC, all other temps are fine.

It's a bad sensor for sure. I dont have access to any cold air spray and really don't want to spend more time messing with it right now so I ran a program called ThrottleStop to resolve the CPU getting locked at 933mhz.

It sucks running this prog all the time so I started looking for an alternative method and found that the BIOS can be modded to do the same (disable BD-PROCHOT).

http://forum.notebookreview.com/asu...um/670921-asus-g73jh-bd-prochot-bios-mod.html

I'll keep it updated and let everyone know how the testing goes in a few hours lol...

 

Looks like your machine has become an evil genius and is trying to spawn heat tornadoes to ravage the countryside!