Standby Mode

Category: Quickies

I have a Dell 4300. For years when I put it into Standy or Sleep mode, both fans powered down. Since this computer is known for it's noise, this was particularly useful. Lately, however, though the computer goes into sleep mode, the fans continue to operate. Besides being noisy, it's also a waste of energy. I've upgraded my BIOS, run virus checks, etc. etc. Any ideas on why things changed?

Perhaps your system has built-in temperature monitoring, and your system is running hotter than usual. This would signal the fans to stay on to keep your PC from melting into a pool of silicon and plastic.

Unplug your PC, open up the case and clean out any dust you see, especially in the fins of the heatsinks. Use a light touch with a dry toothbrush to get inside the tight spots and you may see a difference in the noise and behavior of the fans. Speedfan is a free utility that can help you keep tabs on your system temperature and automatically modulate fan speeds.

This article was posted by Bob Rankin on 5 Sep 2005

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