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CPU Fan Error / Task Manager Crash

Tags:
  • Power Supplies
  • Crash
  • Seasonic
  • Computers
  • CPUs
  • Task Manager
  • Fan
Last response: in CPUs
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August 19, 2014 12:13:45 AM

I got a new computer a week and a half ago and I've had a few issues that have made me sorta anxious about it.

Today it had a cpu fan error on startup and then later task manager crashed. I wanted to ask about it since I've never seen it crash before today and every topic you google about it is about people with viruses that infect their computer and prevent them from using task manager every time they open it.

For me it only crashed once. I was using chrome with a ton of tabs open and opened task manager to see the memory it was using. (the comp has 16gb of ram, it was probably only using 4 if that matters) It didn't crash instantly. I think I changed tabs between the processes and performance tabs and it crashed, saying windows task manager has stopped responding and needed to be closed.

I ran another full scan in avast and it still says it's clean and fine too. Why would task manager crash randomly?

Thank you for any answers.

More about : cpu fan error task manager crash

a b ) Power supply
a b à CPUs
August 19, 2014 12:25:41 AM

I'd be more concerned with the cpu fan error. Why did you get a cpu fan error? Is the CPU fan running and what are your cpu temps? If you don't know you can download HWinfo here:

http://www.hwinfo.com/download.php

Install the program then run it. When it opens check the box that says "sensors" and click ok. In the window that opens, scroll down and look at the temps for cpu0, cpu package and then further down there should be a reading for just cpu above or below motherboard. Those three temp are important and should never be above 80c. Preferably not above 70c and normally should be in the 30-60c range. There should also be a reading for the cpu fan RPM's further down and that would be good to know too. IF your cpu fan is not running and the cpu is getting hot it will definitely cause errors, freezes and crashes.
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August 19, 2014 12:36:41 AM

I have a i5-4690 cpu with the stock fan btw; not overclocked. I got core temp before and it says it idles at around 40-45C usually and when I run intensive games it stays around 58-62C. It records max temps of ~67-69C but I think those are spikes since I never see it at those temps consistently.

When I looked in the bios today after the cpu fan error I saw that the cpu fan is around 1000 RPM at it's normal idle speed and it spikes to ~2000 RPM at 100% at startup I'm pretty sure before it throttles back. I read about that today and heard it's normal.

Usually when I power on the computer after like 2 seconds it makes the loud cpu fan spinning noise when it spins at 100% before the bios kicks in and throttles it back. Today when I first turned it on I didn't hear that noise until about 10-15 seconds later which concerned me. Then I turned on the monitor and saw it said I had a cpu fan error and it had me press f1 and go to the bios. I looked at some stuff then didn't change anything and exited and it worked fine.

I only had the issue once but the computer is new and I should probably deal with it now while I can. I got it prebuilt from ibuypower since I didn't think I could handle the stress building it myself. I heard some people tell me maybe the cpu fan came loose shipping or is plugged into a wrong slot on the motherboard. I don't think it has to do with going below the minimum spin speed (I checked, it's set at 200), I think it's more likely something to do with the delay when I turned it on today but I have no idea what that means.

Thanks for any help!
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a b ) Power supply
a b à CPUs
August 19, 2014 1:05:56 AM

Generally when a motor of any kind has a significant delay when starting, unless it's designed that way, it's because there is an issue with the motor itself or the supply of power. Unplug the cable running from the cpu fan to the motherboard and make sure none of the pins are bent at all or look burned and then plug it firmly back into it's connector paying attention to the orientation in which you removed it so you can make sure to put it back the same way.

Sorry if it sound like I'm talking to a dummie but when you are unsure of a persons comfort level with tech you can't be too careful. I've given people instructions before with absolute certainty that it would be common sense to TURN OFF the computer before doing what I had instructed, however, I was wrong, so I don't do that anymore.

Anyhow, if the plug is all good and was securely seated on the motherboard then it's probably due to a weak, cheap cpu fan motor or it's even possible it could be an issue with the power supply itself. The cpu fan motor is the more likely of the two but don't ever rule out power supply issues, especially since it's the one component that can ruin every other component all at once. If it does it again I'd RMA it immediately or at least get them to send you a new psu and cpu fan.
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August 19, 2014 1:13:19 AM

Ok thanks for the help, darkbreeze.

I'll open it later tonight and take a look. Yeah, hopefully the stock cpu fan isn't bad.

I'd guess it's not the cpu but of course I have no idea. I got a "XFX Core Edition PRO850W - 80 PLUS Bronze". When I chose the parts I asked on Toms if they looked good. One guy recommended getting a good psu and said XFX are good ones so I decided to spend a little more and get a hopefully better quality one. So hopefully that doesn't have issues, maybe it's just the fan, but yes I will definitely check unplugging it tonight and looking at it!

Thank you for the help.
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a b ) Power supply
a b à CPUs
August 19, 2014 1:13:55 AM

If the fan was working fine though and there was no thermal issue, it doesn't explain away the crash issue. A faulty PSU can definitely cause a crash issue if the cpu, ram or motherboard are not getting sufficient or are getting too much voltage. Monitor your voltages using your monitoring utility and make sure nothing gets to looking abnormal.

Also, if you could post an image of your minidumps (Dump file located in c:/windows/minidump) it would be helpful. The minidump is a file windows creates when the system crashes. It provides information about the crash and the cause can generally be determined by the information in the report. The file will have a .dmp extension and be in the minidump folder if windows was able to create the report.
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a b ) Power supply
a b à CPUs
August 19, 2014 1:15:03 AM

Any PSU can be bad, but XFX PSU's are made by Seasonic who are in my opinion the best, so that at least reduces the likelihood of it being the PSU.
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August 19, 2014 2:14:11 AM

Ok thanks. I tried looking for the minidump file and I can't find it. There isn't one in c/windows/ (no minidump there).
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a b ) Power supply
a b à CPUs
August 19, 2014 11:16:07 AM

Ok. In order to make sure system crash logging in enabled you can do the following.

1. Open Control Panel.
2. Double-click System.
3. Click on Advanced system settings and then under Startup and Recovery click settings.
4. Make sure there is a checkmark in Write an event to the system log.
5. In the Write debugging information list click Small memory dump (64k).
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August 19, 2014 2:17:42 PM

Ok thanks, darkbreeze. I think the reason why it didn't write a dump to the location there in the C drive is the pagefile was automatically set to the C drive but I had changed it to the D drive because I want it there instead. So I think it didn't have enough space (none it's not set there now) to make a dump file. So I'm not sure how/if I can change the dump file location to the D drive instead since windows isn't on it but I don't think I want to make the page file on the C drive just for that. I read dump files need the space of your physical memory + 1MB. I have 16GB of ram so does that mean it will use up 16 gb of hard drive space when it writes a dump file? That sounds crazy. (I'm guessing not?)

Btw, I called ibuypower customer support this afternoon and told him about it. He had me open the case and told me to do exactly what I did last night. Finding the wire from the fan going to the motherboard. Made sure it was in the right socket labelled "CPU fan" on the mb. And unplug it and replug it nicely. Last night I made sure no pins were bent or anything burnt looking, looked fine. Then he had me turn on the comp while looking at the fan and made sure it went alright. Like usual when it works it did that quick 2 partial stutter turns, then after 1-2 secs the full 100% speed loud whirring noise before throttling back. So he said that's fine and if I have any more issues with it to call back and they can ship me a new stock fan to replace it.

I also asked him if I bought a aftermarket heatsink myself and replaced it if that would void the warranty and he said it wouldn't. So I could consider doing that some time too if I want better temps and a better fan that will hopefully work well. He said my cpu temps I told him are fine though too.

Thanks for all the help
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a b ) Power supply
a b à CPUs
August 19, 2014 3:11:13 PM

No, your pagefile can be any size you want. I don't know anybody with massive gigabytes of space allocated to the pagefile.

"Something to note here - although the need for a complete memory dump is rare when dealing with bugchecks, a complete memory dump is almost always required for manually generated crash dumps used to diagnose soft hangs on a system (for more information regarding the difference between a soft and hard hang, please see our Troubleshooting Server Hangs - Part One). This is because when looking at soft hangs we will need to look at user-mode processes, deadlocks etc. However, regardless of which type of dump you are capturing, there must be a correctly sized page file on the boot volume. For complete dumps, as stated above, this page file will need to be Physical RAM + 1MB.

So in reviewing the three types of dumps above, the kernel memory dump offers the most practical option when dealing with system crashes and bugchecks. Remember that the size of the kernel memory dumps will vary depending on the amount of kernel-mode memory allocated and the drivers loaded. On systems with more RAM, it is reasonable to expect that the dump file will be larger. There is no way to predict the exact size of a kernel memory dump. When you configure kernel memory dumps the system checks to see if the page file is large enough. There are some guidelines for the minimum page file size needed for kernel memory dumps, however given that the size of kernel mode memory will vary, there is no accurate measure for the maximum. The default minimum page file sizes for kernel dumps are shown below:

Physical RAM Minimum Page File Size (Kernel Dump)

Installed RAM Page file size necessary
128MB 50MB
4GB 200MB
8GB 400MB
8GB 800MB
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