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    VGN BX540 Fan Issues

    Discussion in 'VAIO / Sony' started by seanzak, Feb 22, 2008.

  1. seanzak

    seanzak Newbie

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    The fan on my VAIO BX540B always stays on. It boots up with the OS and doesn't turn until the computer powers down completely. This problem only occurred after I installed the BIOS update from Sony that was supposed to enhance fan control...

    Does anyone have any ideas how to fix this??
     
    seanzak, Feb 22, 2008
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  2. Cymen

    Cymen Notebook Enthusiast

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    Yes, we both need an earlier BIOS. I found R0170X5 but it doesn't help. My notebook came with R0130X5 and I upgraded it. Unfortunately, the Sony upgrade utility doesn't save a copy of the existing BIOS and they no longer appear to have it on their download site.

    I'm googling for it but I haven't hit it yet. Please let me know if you find it as it is really annoying. I'd rather have the occasional hard drive failure than listen to the fan going all the time :(.
     
    Cymen, Mar 3, 2008
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  3. Cymen

    Cymen Notebook Enthusiast

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    I was able to downgrade to R0160X5. It still isn't as good as R0130X5 but it does vary between no/low to high fan speeds instead of the constant speed of R0170X5 and higher.

    You can grab R0160X5 from:

    http://www.vaio-link.com/submenu/downloads.asp?site=voe_en_gb_cons

    Go to downloads, choose the top option for updates/drivers, choose notebook and the VGN-BX series. Then choose any of them towards the top (it appears the BIOS is shared between a number of models).
     
    Cymen, Mar 3, 2008
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  4. Cymen

    Cymen Notebook Enthusiast

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    Download "Notebook Hardware Control" (basic version appears to be free). With it, you can undervolt your CPU and the fan will cycle much less with R0160X5. You'll need to experiment with the undervolting options as it will vary by CPU but you can get some piece and quiet (and longer battery life). The program seems to work very well as it tests your settings to ensure the CPU is still stable at the lower voltages.

    http://www.pbus-167.com/
     
    Cymen, Mar 3, 2008
    #4