# Reasons for the computer to go 'vvvvvvvvvvvvvvvv'?



## TechnoGypsy (Oct 22, 2011)

I have a little problem and I don't know what to make of it.

What happens is this: At rather questionable times this computer seems to 'go into overdrive', just like it does when doing something intensive. Only it does this when no programs are running, at the start-up screen, screensaver, or just doing nothing at all.

I checked the current processes but found nothing suspicious, removing some (like steam) only served to quieten the fans for a brief period.
Next I did a throughout virus scan, it picked some stuff up so I did a boot-up scan which found more nasty stuff. But the problem still persists.

Is there any other reasons for the computer do this? I'm guessing it's hardware based, purely because the PSU's wattage is lower than it should be for this system.


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## Volkodav (Oct 22, 2011)

what program are you using t get rid of the viruses
sounds like its not really getting anything


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## TechnoGypsy (Oct 22, 2011)

AVG for the initial scan, then Avast for the boot-up scan.

Both being the free versions Please don't judge me ;_;


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## Volkodav (Oct 22, 2011)

TechnoGypsy said:


> AVG for the initial scan, then Avast for the boot-up scan.
> 
> Both being the free versions Please don't judge me ;_;




try malwarebytes


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## Runefox (Oct 22, 2011)

TechnoGypsy said:


> AVG for the initial scan, then Avast for the boot-up scan.


Wait, are both running simultaneously? You should really just stick with Avast. You don't want multiple antiviruses running at once, because it's horribly inefficient, and they won't know what to do with each other. It's probably slowing things down. Avast is quite a bit better than AVG for performance anyway, and it's got a slightly better scanner to boot.

Anyway, is it a grinding sound, or a jet engine sound? If the former, you're looking at a dying fan, and you need to get that replaced.


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## LizardKing (Oct 22, 2011)

Given you're in Australia, it might just be getting quite warm, since you're getting close to Summer aren't you?


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## grimtotem (Oct 22, 2011)

idea check anti virus settings, the sound ur hearing maybe ur hdd spinning up real loud as they tend to do after a lil wear and tear,  i know some AVs have a setting to do backgrounds sweeps when cpu process droped below X% for X time so i dunno just my thoughts


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## ArielMT (Oct 22, 2011)

Don't run two antivirus programs at the same time.  Don't even have two installed if they have resident components like Avast and AVG do.  Choose one and uninstall the other completely.


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## OssumPawesome (Oct 22, 2011)

TechnoGypsy said:


> Reasons for the computer to go 'vvvvvvvvvvvvvvvv'?



Your computer wants to be a car when it grows up.

In all seriousness, I'm gonna have to agree with everyone else here. I have a personal preference for Avast like Runefox does.


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## Volkodav (Oct 22, 2011)

ArielMT said:


> Don't run two antivirus programs at the same time.  Don't even have two installed if they have resident components like Avast and AVG do.  Choose one and uninstall the other completely.


I have Malwarebytes, Spybot and Avast and have never had problems w/ em


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## ArielMT (Oct 22, 2011)

Clayton said:


> I have Malwarebytes, Spybot and Avast and have never had problems w/ em



That's because MBAM doesn't have a resident component, and Spybot's TeaTimer (the optional resident component) tends not to step on Avast's toes.


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## Onnes (Oct 22, 2011)

If you can rule out a virus or malware then the next step would probably be to grab Process Explorer and use it to monitor what processes are hitting the CPU when things start to spin up.


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## Volkodav (Oct 22, 2011)

ArielMT said:


> That's because MBAM doesn't have a resident component, and Spybot's TeaTimer (the optional resident component) tends not to step on Avast's toes.


HEH
YAH, AS IF I DIDNT KNOW THAT B)
im smart, i chose them all specifically because of that


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## FF_CCSa1F (Oct 22, 2011)

Do you have .NET 4 installed? I've noticed that it likes to perform some quite runtime optimisation when the computer is idle, as of late.


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## DarrylWolf (Oct 22, 2011)

The computer actually bought into Harold Camping's prophecy that the world would come to an end on October 21, 2011 and now it's going crazy since both it and Camping were wrong.


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## ArielMT (Oct 22, 2011)

DarrylWolf said:


> The computer actually bought into Harold Camping's prophecy that the world would come to an end on October 21, 2011 and now it's going crazy since both it and Camping were wrong.



So it thinks this is a post-apocalyptic world now?

WINDOWS 7 THUNDERDOME PREMIUM: TWO TASKS ENTER, ONE TASK LEAVES


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## Runefox (Oct 22, 2011)

ArielMT said:


> WINDOWS 7 THUNDERDOME PREMIUM: TWO TASKS ENTER, ONE TASK LEAVES


Brings a whole new meaning to the term "task killer".


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## grimtotem (Oct 23, 2011)

btw just putting it out there all i use is MSE for virus protection and i have never ever had a problem it couldnt squish, well cept for one that kinda deleted the "networking" section of windows on me, well not that extreme deleted some file to do with networking and i had to reinstalled didnt matter as was stepping up to 64bit anyway


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## ZENX49 (Oct 23, 2011)

This sounds to me like a motherboard behavior setting. Sometimes, motherboards will kick the fan into overdrive if the CPU temp exceeds a certain degree. If the temperature of the CPU is fluxing even slightly around that marginal point between normal fan mode and overdrive, it's not considered dangerous to the computer. My mother's PC tower does the same thing due to the default fan AI settings on her motherboard.


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## TechnoGypsy (Oct 23, 2011)

Runefox said:
			
		

> Anyway, is it a grinding sound, or a jet engine sound? If the former, you're looking at a dying fan, and you need to get that replaced.


It's reached the jet engine level a couple of times, but mainly it's just a loud noise. No grinding.



LizardKing said:


> Given you're in Australia, it might just be getting quite warm, since you're getting close to Summer aren't you?


Neh, It's not that hot yet. We've had hotter days and the fans have been just fine.



OssumPawesome said:


> Your computer wants to be a car when it grows up.


Indeed . Either that or a hypersonic jet.



Onnes said:


> If you can rule out a virus or malware then the next step would probably be to grab Process Explorer and use it to monitor what processes are hitting the CPU when things start to spin up.


This is interesting.
Right, It's all set up. Ready and waiting for the next attack.


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## Elim Garak (Oct 23, 2011)

http://www.almico.com/speedfan.php
Download this, and look at the temperatures of the components.
It might just overheat after a while.
Usually the cause of badly applied or dried up thermal paste between the CPU and the CPU cooler.
Could also be your graphics card though, but in most cases it's the CPU not cooling properly.


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## mrfoxwily (Oct 23, 2011)

When was the last time you dusted it out? Sometimes heatsinks will get so clogged with dust that the CPU/GPU/whatever fan starts speeding up higher automatically because airflow is being hindered.


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## TechnoGypsy (Oct 24, 2011)

Caroline Dax said:


> http://www.almico.com/speedfan.php
> Download this, and look at the temperatures of the components.
> It might just overheat after a while.



This is good stuff. I got a screenshot of it when the fans were beginning to get loud.





The fans got louder (not super-jet loud though), but the temperature just remained constant at that for a few minutes.

Every now and again Core 1 reaches 60' briefly. And Temp 3 is always next to that flame symbol.

EDIT: TEMP3, Core 1 and 0 are now regularly at 60C, and every now and again it hits the 70C mark


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## Ricky (Oct 24, 2011)

Um...  Computers run shit in the background???

Might just be some scheduled routine.  I wouldn't immediately assume there's a problem, here.


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## Aden (Oct 24, 2011)

My computer goes vvvvvvv because it was in that one humble bundle

\had to


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## Armaetus (Oct 25, 2011)

Clean out the computer of any dust when it's off (I once learned the hard way while on) and check for any crap running in the background when you're doing nothing. 60 to 70 C is very warm and not really the kind of temperature you want for the CPU..you really want it under 50 C at least.


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## TechnoGypsy (Oct 25, 2011)

Glaice said:


> Clean out the computer of any dust when it's off (I once learned the hard way while on) and check for any crap running in the background when you're doing nothing. 60 to 70 C is very warm and not really the kind of temperature you want for the CPU..you really want it under 50 C at least.



The only noticeable thing running in the background is the System Idle Process, but that's normal. Since the CPU HAS to be doing something at all times.
I'll give it another clean next time I'm able.


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## Alkatraz (Oct 26, 2011)

My computer does it pretty often, but it's usually just the fans or a HDD. Never has caused any harm though.


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## TechnoGypsy (Oct 28, 2011)

Alrightyhoo

I cleaned out the innards with compressed air and a bit of careful brushing, then played minecraft.
It turns out that the noise and fan activity IS coming from the CPU's fan.
Also, this:





A little while before, Core 0 + 1 were in the 90's.


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## Grae Sparrowkin (Oct 28, 2011)

Mine did that too. It went away after a good cleaning and a cooling pad to keep the temp. down. The model I have is known for running hot.


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## Onnes (Oct 28, 2011)

First, has this computer always done this? If so the high temperatures could be due to a botched heatsink installation. Otherwise you're probably looking at having to replace the cooler. I'm assuming that you already have functioning case fans to help circulate air.


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## Runefox (Oct 28, 2011)

CPU fan is in desperate need of replacement. 80-90*C is extremely unhealthy, practically at the tipping point of the system shutting down to preserve itself.


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## ArielMT (Oct 29, 2011)

Runefox said:


> CPU fan is in desperate need of replacement.



Either that, or the CPU heatsink is in such dire need of dusting that the dirt is slowing the fan down by at least 500 RPM.



Runefox said:


> 80-90*C is extremely unhealthy, practically at the tipping point of the system shutting down to preserve itself.



This.  And when the CPU senses its temp crossing the threshold, it won't be a normal shutdown, either.  It'll be very sudden, as if someone tripped over your power cord.  It's gotta be set at the highest threshold to have not already tripped.


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## TechnoGypsy (Oct 29, 2011)

Thanks for the help everyone, I really appreciate it 

So I've taken the fan base out, removed the heatsink and discovered a whole lot of dust on the other side. I cleaned that out and put everything back into the pc.

And now I have a Parity circut error (two short beeps on start-up, blank screen). Whoop de doo :v
That happened that last time I cleaned out the PC, and I had to clean the memory modules before it would work again :c

I'll get to work now. And then play minecraft again and see if the problem (Which doesn't seem so little anymore) persists.


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## Onnes (Oct 29, 2011)

Am I reading this right that you discovered dust between the heatsink and the CPU?

To get sufficient thermal contact you need to have thermal paste applied between the heatsink and processor. If you actually pulled off the entire cooler assembly then you'll need to scrape off any existing paste and apply it anew for proper thermal conductivity.


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## ArielMT (Oct 29, 2011)

Onnes said:


> Am I reading this right that you discovered dust between the heatsink and the CPU?



That's what I read, which means the innards are in _desperate_ need of a good dusting out.  Use canned air specifically designed for the task, and dust out the slots as well as connectors.  Also, do it all in a place with good ventilation.  (I normally do all PC dusting outside in clear weather because there's too little circulation indoors.)



Onnes said:


> To get sufficient thermal contact you need to have thermal paste applied between the heatsink and processor. If you actually pulled off the entire cooler assembly then you'll need to scrape off any existing paste and apply it anew for proper thermal conductivity.



This cannot be emphasized enough.


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## TechnoGypsy (Oct 29, 2011)

Onnes said:


> Am I reading this right that you discovered dust between the heatsink and the CPU?
> 
> To get sufficient thermal contact you need to have thermal paste applied between the heatsink and processor. If you actually pulled off the entire cooler assembly then you'll need to scrape off any existing paste and apply it anew for proper thermal conductivity.



I meant between the fan and the heatsink. The array is like a box, with the fan on one side and the metal stuff that is in contact with the CPU inside it. I cleaned that dust out.
There's no thermal paste. Which is a little scary. But there's this black, scorched 'X' where the contact should be. I'll pick up some paste asap.

But it's working amazingly now . Absolutely no noise, and the temperatures are in the 50*C range.


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## greg-the-fox (Oct 29, 2011)

Your computer inhaled a Vuvuzela :V
My computer does this too sometimes, fans were running at 6000 rpm and I was experiencing a drastically shorter battery life, about a third of what it's supposed to be.
I was freaking out and then I realized I left Minecraft open. Yep, Minecraft. Shit's a horribly coded program and more of a CPU hog than like all my other programs combined -__-


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## Onnes (Oct 29, 2011)

Just make sure that if you did remove the entire cooler assembly and exposed the CPU, that you replace the thermal paste. It is not reusable and proper application is a major determinant in how your heatsink performs.


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