GPU fan not spinning request immediate assistance!!!

[supercow21]

I have a msi r9 280x 3Gb, I have had virtually no problems or complaints about the card until today when i tried to boot up my pc and nothing came up on screen. tried it a few more times and figured out that the fan on the left side of the card was not spinning at all. When I tried to move it the fan would not continue spinning for a few revolutions like the other one and came to an immediate stop. Right now I am on my computer by a miracle preformed by GabeN and have the fan speed percentage up to 80% in msi afterburner so that both cards will spin. It seems that anything under 40% will cause the fan to stutter and slug along or not move at all.

So I am wondering what approach to take from here. Do i remove my graphics card and clean the fan? How do I go about doing this?

I'm also scared to turn off my pc because it might not boot up again.

 

[turkey3_scratch]

Yes clean the fan, there could be something clogging or blocking it at which lower revolutions/second cannot pass with enough momentum.

 

[soulspawn]

I am having the same issue. Original thought the higher temperatures were being caused by dust. When I went to clean it out noticed the fan was not spinning before I turned off the pc. I have the same issue in that a high fan speed will eventually turn on the second fan. For reference this is a msi 7970 frozr 3. I had also thought it was a smart system that turned off a fan if it wasn't need but seems badly designed it this is true. Going to try a good clean and try again. But I don't think it will work.