Gateway LX6810 BIOS and fan issues. Help!

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gtmethod3

gtmethod3

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Aug 1, 2009
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Hi all.

I purchased a Gateway LX6810 a little while ago. Later I upgraded the video card, sound card, power supply, added another hard drive, and put in more case fans. Gateway neglected to include ANY case fans, and the unit overheated often.

The problem I am having is with controlling the fans and the BIOS. Basically, there is no control available (through BIOS or Speedfan). They came out with a recent BIOS update (which I installed), and the only change I can see is the CPU fan runs at 3250 RPM instead of 1400 RPM. It appears to me that Gateway realized they built it wrong, so they increased the fan speed of the CPU.

Now it is loud and annoying. I can't change any of the speeds. Overheating is not an issue because I installed more case fans appropriately. My issue is with the BIOS and controlling fan speed. Is there any way around this? Can I flash the BIOS to unlock it? Am I doing something wrong?

I am contemplating just putting a new mobo in. I am sick of dealing with Gateway.

Any help would be greatly appreciated.
 
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gtmethod3: Had any luck yet? I did exactly the same thing. I installed the damned BIOS update on the very day that I installed my extra fans! I tried to to get the previous BIOS version from Gateway Chat Help. OMG! It was like some kind of cyber torture.

I think all they did to the BIOS was to raise the minimum fan speed. I suspect Smartfan still works to raise the fan speed even further if your CPU gets too hot. The original BIOS would

I'm thinking about experimenting with some type of sound attenuating material in the cone of the CPU fan.
 
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gtmethod3

gtmethod3

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I went the route of a new motherboard (DFI Lan Party P45-T2RS), and so far, I am very pleased. I actually ended up overclocking the unit to 3.1 Ghz with stock ram.

Have you tried going into speedfan > configure > advanced tab > select the chipset (only one should have the thing you're looking for) > Change the PWM 1 to software controlled?

I believe that's the thing to do. I had to do that with my new board to get speedfan to work. I don't know if it will work or not with the gateway board; the fan controller may be completely locked.

A few people with the same problem went out and bought a fan controller which solves the problem as well. Basically taking the gateway mobo out of the fan loop. This is a cheaper alternative to getting a new board.

If you installed case fans, you could even take the top half of the cylinder out. Would that help the noise at all? I'm pretty sure the overheating in the unit originated on the north bridge chipset (heat sink right below the CPU). So gateway turned the speed up of the only fan they could to compensate for it, even though it doesn't provide efficient cooling to the chip.

Let me know what you figure out. I'm curious to see what type of contraption you develop.

If there is anything I can help out with, let me know.
 
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maseace

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Oct 23, 2009
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Found the older Gateway LX6810 Bios on the Gateway site:

ftp://ftp.gateway.com/pub/hardware_support/drivers/LX6810/

Just download and run the file LX6810_BIOS, and the fan returns to normal quiet operation!
 
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clb480

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Thanks to all of you it didn't take long to fix my problem at all, too bad I didn't come here BEFORE going to Geek Squad. Once I blew out my cpu heat sink myself the problem was fixed. I then added two cooling fans to the case which have dropped my overall average running temps a full 10 degrees C.

That being said, do NOT go to Best Buys, Geek Squad. They are expensive, they don't know what they are doing, and they lie. I was told they checked everything out, and that it didn't look like an over heating problem because there was no dust inside. after a full week of having my computer they wanted to ship it in for further diagnostics, I asked to have it back for the night to get important stuff off it that I didn't want them to loose for me. The agent metnioned as I was picking it up that this was a common problem with this machine, but when I asked what it ended up being he couldn't tell me. I googled it and found this site along with many others. I decided to open it up and take a look for myself. (I didn't at first becauseI didn't want to break the seal on the case for my still new computer) It looked like it had been wiped out but I could blow by mouth and get dust flyng, I looked down the cooling funnel into the heat sink and I couldn't see any light through the fins because they were so caked with dust. I blew it all out, hooked it up, and tada, no more problems. I then added the extra fans to help even more.

Thank you all for saving me from handing over even more money to Geek Squad. Now starts my fight for a refund. Not only did they do nothing, they didn't do what little they said they did!

 
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j1p0db

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Jan 17, 2010
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Do you have or can you post username and password for ftp site login?
 
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ltlgobears

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I have the exact same computer with the EXACT same problem. The issue was dust in the cylinder of the cooling fan over the CPU. I got one of those $3 super duster spray cans and blew out all the dust: It now works great, no shutdowns.
 
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Like it was mentioned before... What's the login info in order to access the older BIOS download?
 
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jrmerc

jrmerc

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Mar 17, 2010
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gtmethod3, I too purchased this same computer from Best Buy. I purchased it under duress when I had my other computer in to get repaired, (three days according to Geek Squad), and they couldn't repair it. When I bought it the only one they had was a display model. It had everything I wanted so I purchased it. Just before I walked out the door with it, it dawn on me I didn't get a keyboard with it. So the tech went out back and got one and gave it to me. Got it home and plugged it up and keyboard didn't work. Not a big deal since I have extra keyboards. Later I found out that it was supposed to come with speakers, remote for the tv tuner, recovery disc ect. Got back with them to no avail. I won't ever purchase anything or get anything repaired with them. For your information, I got with iYogi for repairing all my computers; ($129/yr. for first computer and $119/yr. for additional computers). I've already have more than gotten my moneys worth from them, they even installed a pay version antiviral software on my computer for free. That alone is worth about $70 - $80/ yr. I'm more than satisfied with the work they've done for me. But on to the overheating problem. Instead of the bios fix that Gateway came out with, I decided to install case fans, hard drive cooler, and a controller to control the speed of all my fans. Went to Tiger Direct and purchased an Ultra 4 fan controller for $9.99. This controller uses 3 pin connectors and also has a 3 pin connector for the MOBO for monitoring speed. Also got a Silenx IXP5414B pro led 80mm. fan, ($11.99) for the front of the case. I modded the side panel and installed a 120mm. Thermaltake AF0032 Thunderblade led fan, ($8.99), blowing in to the case just underneath where the horn is for the cpu fan. Installed another one in the back of the case for exhaust, and installed a Thermaltake A2476 3.5" hard drive cooler, ($11.99) under the hard drive. All these products have blue leds which look nice, all work together with the Ultra controller, and most importantly cool my computer cores approximately 15 - 20 degees. My hard drive was almost too hot to touch before, and now it's barely warm. All this was purchased for $64.34 including shipping. Hpoe this helps. jrmerc
 
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jrmerc

jrmerc

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Right in the front you have 3.5 bays for hot swappable hard drives complete with trays that slide in and out. I DJ and do karaoke and I was going to purchase 2 hot swappable drives for the enclosures, but the most the MOBO will support is 2 500gb drives. I've owned this computer since Sept. 2009 and it comes with a 625gb internal hd and I have already filled over 60% with music and other stuff. I also have a 325gb ext. that is slap full of music, so I figured at 1tb, the 2 swappable 500gb drives, they'll quickly get filled, and on top of that, once I fill the 1 tb in total, I can't expand because you have to remove the drive to put in another, (blank), which will make it to where I don't have all my music at 1 time. I decided to go with external hard drives and I purchased 2 1tb. drives which I can access anytime by plugging in. I now have all my music at once, and when they get filled, I have enough USB ports to accomodate 2 more. If and when I fill them up, (hopefully I'll have another computer with more capabilities then), I'll go to USB hubs where I can have 4 USB connections/ hub. So getting back to your question as to where I put the controller, and sorry for the long wind, I put it in one of the hot swappable hard drive bays. If you do this, make sure you put it in the top one to make your wiring easier. Hope this helps.
 
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