-pops- Posted February 11, 2009 Report Share Posted February 11, 2009 In the last week I've been asked to look at two computers suffering from seemingly random shutdowns.A quick look inside showed that they were stuffed with dust and debris - so much so that I could easily see that this was the cause of overheating and thus the shutting down.I did think that, being winter, overheating wouldn't be too much of a problem but, with a bit more thought, I considered that the cold weather would encourage people to wind up the thermostats on their heating systems and (perhaps) produce semi-tropical temperatures in their homes.After a good brushing out and vacuum both machines were returned working better than they had done for a long time. I then decided to give a good clean to my own machines. Sure enough, loads of grot in there. Having a large dog doesn't help and on one machine the inlet filter was pretty much clogged with dog hair (Dog lies in front of the machine when I'm working).The point of this is:When you have a few moments to spare, check inside your computer(s) for dust and grime which attaches to many surfaces but especially heatsinks and fans. This can easily cause malfunctioning of your machine and lead to problems of system stability, random shutdowns and, in the worst case, burnout of the CPU or other active components. I should add that burnout is rare and most CPUs shut themselves down before any damage is done but that doesn't necessarily apply to other components. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
andsome Posted February 11, 2009 Report Share Posted February 11, 2009 I was shocked at the amount of debris in my old computer when I cleaned it out last year. I will certainly be giving this new one the once over next year. Perhaps you should have stressed the importance of using only a pure bristle brush, artificial filaments could cause static electricity damage. Better still, I use a cannister of compressed air to blow the stuff away while holding a vacuum cleaner nozzle close enough to suck all the rubbish up. :D :D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
-pops- Posted February 11, 2009 Author Report Share Posted February 11, 2009 Perhaps you should have stressed the importance of using only a pure bristle brush, artificial filaments could cause static electricity damage. Better still, I use a cannister of compressed air to blow the stuff away while holding a vacuum cleaner nozzle close enough to suck all the rubbish up. :D :DThis is, of course correct. I was going to refer to a similar post I made last year which does emphasise these important points but is seems to have disappeared. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AlanHo Posted February 11, 2009 Report Share Posted February 11, 2009 I have a CPU temperature monitor installed. It's free, very effective and enables me to check the CPU temperatures at regular intervals. You soon see when a spring clean is advisable when the temperatures climb beyond a safe level - in the case of my processor about 60 C.Get it from here Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Irene Posted February 11, 2009 Report Share Posted February 11, 2009 I have a CPU temperature monitor installed. It's free, very effective and enables me to check the CPU temperatures at regular intervals. You soon see when a spring clean is advisable when the temperatures climb beyond a safe level - in the case of my processor about 60 C.Get it from hereI have a Pentium 4. This is in the 'Read Me' instructions...CPU Support list:All AMD K8 CPUs are supported starting with the early SH-C0 stepping and up. The latest 65nm BH-G1 and DH-G1revisions give inaccurate readings.Intel CPUs based on the 'Core' architecture, meaning all CPUs on the Core Duo/Solo and Core 2 Duoarchitecture.--------------------------------------Pentium 4/D CPUs ARE NOT SUPPORTED!--------------------------------------What is a Pentium 4/D? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AlanHo Posted February 11, 2009 Report Share Posted February 11, 2009 What is a Pentium 4/D? I think the D stands for dual core.It is an easy programme to install - and uninstall if necessary. You will do no harm by trying it - and if it does not give credible readings - uninstall it.Good luck. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Irene Posted February 11, 2009 Report Share Posted February 11, 2009 Thanks, Alan. I'll give it a try. :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Irene Posted February 11, 2009 Report Share Posted February 11, 2009 Just tried it, Alan, and it said that my Intel 'whatever' is not supported. :( Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
andsome Posted February 11, 2009 Report Share Posted February 11, 2009 It installs almost instantly. It is showing 31 degrees and 32 degrees on my computer This tallies with SIW readings. :D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alan2273 Posted February 11, 2009 Report Share Posted February 11, 2009 Irene this program will tell you your temperature of you P4 and will tell you everything about your computer.http://www.cpuid.com/pcwizard.php Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Irene Posted February 11, 2009 Report Share Posted February 11, 2009 Irene this program will tell you your temperature of you P4 and will tell you everything about your computer.http://www.cpuid.com/pcwizard.phpThanks Alan. Can anyone interpret the results please...This is what it says:Hardware Monitoring : Winbond W83637HFVoltage CPU : 1.46 V+3.3V Voltage : 3.30 V+5V Voltage : 5.00 V+12V Voltage : 11.80 VProcessor Fan : 1520 rpmChassis Fan : 1506 rpmProcessor Temperature : 50.5 °CMainboard Temperature : 28 °CPower/Aux Temperature : 28.5 °C : Hard Disk Monitoring : S.M.A.R.THard Disk SAMSUNG SV1204H : 6 °C Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AlanHo Posted February 11, 2009 Report Share Posted February 11, 2009 Here are my PC Wizard resultsHardware Monitoring : Winbond W83627DHGVoltage CPU : 1.21 V+3.3V Voltage : 3.23 V+5V Voltage : 4.92 V+12V Voltage : 11.30 VProcessor Fan : 1383 rpmProcessor Temperature : 36 °CProcessor Temperature (Core 1) : 47 °CProcessor Temperature (Core 2) : 44 °CProcessor Temperature (Core 3) : 40 °CProcessor Temperature (Core 4) : 42 °CMainboard Temperature : 33 °CPower/Aux Temperature : 119 °C Video Monitoring : nVidia DriverGPU Temperature : 50 °CGPU Fan : 100% Hard Disk Monitoring : S.M.A.R.THard Disk Temperature ST3250620NS : 38 °CHard Disk Temperature WDC WD6400AAKS-00A7B0 : 34 °CHard Disk Temperature ST3250620NS : 36 °CHard Disk Temperature ST3500320AS : 32 °CThe CPU and hard drive figures look about right - but I don't believe the Power/Aux temperature can be correct. I also don't believe the figure for hard disc temperature in Irene's report. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Irene Posted February 11, 2009 Report Share Posted February 11, 2009 I just wish that I could understand it all. :( Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AlanHo Posted February 11, 2009 Report Share Posted February 11, 2009 I just wish that I could understand it all. :(I am no expert - but I have built 3 computers successfully so have a rough idea of what it's about.A computer has various components which each require specific electrical voltages. A computer power supply unit (PSU) reduces the electrical mains voltage of say 240V and provides various power supplies at the voltages listed in your post. The PC Wizard has listed each power supply and measured its voltage to show whether the PSU is behaving itself. Yours is OK.The computer brain - the central processing unit (CPU) gets very hot when asked to work hard and is fitted with a cooling fan to control its temperature. Some computers have the capability to vary the fan speed to suit the heat load - this is done to reduce noise. You only want the fan running fast when the CPU needs most cooling. Your print out shows the speed of the fan at the time you checked it with the software. Nothing exciting here - yours is fineThe computer case is also fitted with an air extraction fan - or fans - which can also be variable speed to suit the heat load. Again - the software has checked your case fan speed - which is fine.The temperatures listed are for the CPU, the motherboard and for an auxiliary sensor (Not sure where this one is mounted). 50.5 degrees for a pentium 4 is quite OK and your mainboard at 28 is also fine - again you have no worries.The temperature given for your hard drive of 6 degrees is impossibly low - so the software is in error here. I would expect this to be more like 36 degrees or even hotter if you were doing disc intensive work.Hope this helps - if not one of our more knowledgeable experts will have to chip in their four penn'erth. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Irene Posted February 12, 2009 Report Share Posted February 12, 2009 Thank you, Alan, you explained things very well. Perhaps I'll run the software again to check the temperature of the hard drive again.I am pleased with the results as shown... when you consider that I leave the PC running all the time when I'm at hiome. I've just booted up, so it will be interesting to compare with yesterday. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Irene Posted February 12, 2009 Report Share Posted February 12, 2009 Here are the results from this morning..Hardware Monitoring : Winbond W83637HFVoltage CPU : 1.45 V+3.3V Voltage : 3.30 V+5V Voltage : 5.00 V+12V Voltage : 11.73 VProcessor Fan : 1534 rpmChassis Fan : 1493 rpmProcessor Temperature : 38 °CMainboard Temperature : 25 °CPower/Aux Temperature : 25.5 °C : Hard Disk Monitoring : S.M.A.R.THard Disk SAMSUNG SV1204H : 21 °C Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.