I was woken up by my PC, which had all fans at 100% creating a monstrous cacophony
Posted by fridgenationator@reddit | buildapc | View on Reddit | 87 comments
I was woken up by my PC, which had all fans at 100% creating a monstrous cacophony
When I tried to turn on my monitor, it stayed blank, indicating that there might have been no signal. I could only force a restart by flipping the PSU switch. When I restarted, I found no obvious culprit for my fans being at 100%.
Not sure what to look for in event viewer, but most errors seemed to come from the fact I irregularly shutdown the computer with the PSU switch.
Around 30 minutes before I was awoken, event viewer claimed that Security Protection Service was restarted.
Fans were controlled via Fan Control and when restarted, the settings were still appropriate - followed my fan curve.
What can I do to troubleshoot the cause for this?
RecommendationKey368@reddit
Some virus mine crypto currencies when idle time is detected. It could be just a windows update
goodnames679@reddit
The worst virus of all… windows’ optimization 😬😬
HereToDoThingz@reddit
To be fair I’ve had windows cause me 15+ more issues then a virus ever has. Yet.
KillEvilThings@reddit
Amount of times Virus has owned me: 0
Amount of times windows 10+ has caused me lost data, wasted time, or straight up broken computers: 5-7 times at least.
Absolute fucking dogshit OS since 7, even 8 was at least stable/didn't rip complete control from the user.
Shap6@reddit
you definitely had something wrong other than windows
yonderbagel@reddit
Anyone who has no issues using Windows is just lucky. There's a reason a yearly reformat is useful for Windows users.
acewing905@reddit
A lot of Windows users just install all kinds of random crap they download off wherever the fuck, and that is the number one reason why many need a yearly reformat
But it's easier to just blame Windows, especially when it's seen as the "in thing" to do
Chaosr21@reddit
It mostly happens with older computers that get forced updates.
TelevisionNumerous40@reddit
I'm just upgrading from my i5-2400 with a 1650 super I slapped in it now and I never lost data to windows updates. Not even when I was on integrated graphic or when it had a gt 430 just to take some load off the pc on a tight budget. I only lost data with whole HDD failures.
Puzzleheaded-Fill205@reddit
Same.
yonderbagel@reddit
So out of all the people in here confirming that Windows is, in fact, the issue, you're certain that none of them are qualified to know how to maintain a clean system as much as you are?
Windows will routinely break itself with its own updates, without any third party software installed whatsoever. Making a stable, reliable OS isn't a priority for the business model.
UNAHTMU@reddit
I decommissioned a Windows server that had an uptime of over 800 days. I don't think it was patched little alone restarted. It served it's purpose without any issues from the day it was deployed. No yearly format on that machine. 🤣 My gaming server is going on year 5 without any formatting and it has been running nearly every day, all day, for the better part of 5 years. Sounds like a PEBCAK issue.
Shap6@reddit
there's having issues and then there's it being responsible for actually bricking your hardware or corrupting your data.
KillEvilThings@reddit
I had to RMA my laptop 3 times, from factory, brand new, an ASUS gaming laptop, when the forced driver updates bricked my FN functions and hardware functions because they updated the wrong drivers and didn't delete shit, or just straight up soft locked the system with inaccessible windows entirely, then just did the exact same thing again.
Next laptop auto drivers on initial boot also bricked hardware function keys (screen backlight off) but I was able to salvage most of them.
And on both of them updates just shit the floor quite literally half the time - even on my brand new rig I just built last year. It's literally at the point I have to update by wiping my SSD and doing a clean install.
And no it wasn't my stuff - I literally earned a basic IT cert just by fucking spending all my time unfucking windows 10, then 11, which has also helped my career in the process by just learning the ins and outs of the bullshit that is the windows OS.
thedoomkitteh@reddit
thats your first mistake: laptop...
This doesnt sound like a windows problem... this sounds like a badly built laptop
how did the "forced" driver update happen? did it happen due to some software the manufacturer left on there? aka bloatware.. this is your second mistake.. always uninstall bloatware if you got a laptop right of the bat...
again this doesnt not sound like a windows issue but seems like this laptop is of poor quality...
alvarkresh@reddit
Asus Armory Crate is likely a major culprit as well.
qtx@reddit
I will never understand what people do with their computers. They start to tinker with stuff and try and 'optimize' things while claiming they haven't done anything.
Just leave it the fuck alone and it will work.
Never had anything like you say is happening all the time. Not in the 30 years I've used Windows machines (among others).
And 90% of the time when using Windows laptop devices it's the OEM that is ultimately the root cause of any issues.
UNAHTMU@reddit
The bloatware is always the problem on OEM.
Lev420@reddit
"Just leave it the fuck alone and it will work."
"And 90% of the time when using Windows laptop devices it's the OEM that is ultimately the root cause of any issues."
leave my laptop alone and it will get fucked by the OEM anyway, got it
ImYourDade@reddit
Look I'm not gonna say windows is perfect, but lost data and broken computers? 5-7 times??? Neither of those has happened to me a single time and I use mine daily.
TelevisionNumerous40@reddit
I've had 2 HDD's just completely die on me in the last decade. Both weren't no name brands, I was getting WD Blues. Hoping that upgrading my system finally (going from an i5-2400 and 1650 super to a 9800x3d and 9070 xt) and using SSD winstead of a HDD with moving parts will make it way more stable now.
Substantial-Draft382@reddit
If you built that pc when the 2400 came about, then those hdds were old, like almost 15 years old I think (although you did mention that they both died in the last decade, so maybe they werent that old when they went out). That wasn't windows' fault. But yes, using ssds will make everything better (faster, quieter, more stable). I only use hdds in my server, and only use name ssds in my PCs.
TelevisionNumerous40@reddit
Well, I didn't build it fully, but they were old for PC components. I got a workstation that a business was selling for just over $100 without any HDDs like 10 years ago. Bought a couple and when those died I bought replacements. Always checked for things like bad sectors immediately.
It's honestly pretty amazing how much that 14 year old processor can manage still if you slap a video card in there. I was able to run Cyberpunk 2077 (at a mix of low to medium settings) at about about 30-40 fps when it came out while all the console people were complaining still! I finished that part with a 1650 super because there wasn't really anything better it could run well without bottlenecking the crap out of the GPU.
Substantial-Draft382@reddit
Yea, you milked that cpu for all it has. That's honestly the route I went, except I used a workstation with an i7-4770 and put in a used r9 290x, all from letgo/mercari for less than $300. I was a freshman in college and didn't have much money for a computer. I ended up selling that pc for a pretty good profit, I think $500, bought a couple more, cleaned and slightly upgraded them (rgb fans, 2.5" ssds, etc), and sold those and repeated until I had enough to build an i9 9900k, rtx 3070 pc. I kept buying and selling used PCs until covid hit and prices got insane (which let me sell that pc for $2400). But I now have a r7 5700x, rtx 3080 build that I have had for a few years now. I'll upgrade when the rtx 60 series cards come out, or maybe when amd comes out with their top of the line cards.
TelevisionNumerous40@reddit
I probably could sell it at a profit, but my girlfriend doesn't have a computer so I'm giving it to her. It's honestly crazy how well those early i5 and i7 series chips are still holding up these days.
Substantial-Draft382@reddit
Yea for sure. They make decent home server cpus for the money, and enough for a budget gaming PC if you get an old office pc for dirt cheap.
jojo_31@reddit
I've lost count of how many times I've lost things like having an unsaved word document open, putting my pc to sleep only to find out the next morning windows updated and nuked my document.
UNAHTMU@reddit
I've never had much issue with windows outside corrupted disk in version 1.0, but 3.11 was rather stable. I skipped ME and Vista, but wasn't immune from their problems. I've fixed enough of other people's problems to know windows isn't for everyone or all PCs. You sound like a Linux guy without telling everyone that you use Linux. 🤣 Personally I would use only Linux if the business world wasn't consumed my Micro$oft.
alvarkresh@reddit
I loved Windows for Workgroups 3.11. Very nice and solid, and the 32 bit disk and file accesses seemed to help smooth things out with some programs. (of course I was the also the kind of person that HAD to have 8 megs of RAM when the typical standard was 2 or 4 :P )
UNAHTMU@reddit
I had 16mb courtesy of a few school PCs. 🤣 I wanted every slot populated when I upgraded to i486 and windows 95. Windows 3.11 was shit. I flavored my Mac during that time. 3.11 was stable because it hardly did anything.
TelevisionNumerous40@reddit
Man, I used to love 98 and XP. Hated 7, 8 was alright, 10 is okay (on it still) and I refuse to beta test Windows 11 for them until they work out the kinks. Almost makes me miss the days of installing a game with like 30 floppy disks you insert in a seemingly random order, then spun a cardboard puzzle piece it came with to get into the game itself.
UNAHTMU@reddit
Only had 8 for like 90 days before 10 update. I can't say I had any problems with 8 other than the Start Menu causing me to vomit when it opened.
TelevisionNumerous40@reddit
I laughed way too hard at this. That's pretty much exactly what I did with the free upgrade to 10, you just beat me by about 3 months!
chad25005@reddit
Zero problems with windows for me. Must be extremely lucky.
Z3r0sama2017@reddit
When your pc is running good, but windows decides to update the gpu driver and display starts checkerboarding. 😱
taurentipper@reddit
So real
NickCharlesYT@reddit
This is why I turn my PC off every night.
WaterSoul@reddit
Funny enough, I sleep my pc at night to prevent stuff running, but windows wake it up for upgrades anyway. I just notice the next day because I'm greeted by a linux desktop (it's the first option in my boot loader XD ) when it happens!
joseph_han9137@reddit
Then it will automatically update for you the next time you switch your PC back on!
NickCharlesYT@reddit
Nope! Not without telling me when I'm turning it off anyway, which gives me the chance to defer it.
Durenas@reddit
More likely his system simply crashed, and didn't power down completely, leaving the fans to go to 100% because the signal to the fans was at 100%
kasual7@reddit
How can one detect a crypto currencies mine virus?
RecommendationKey368@reddit
I think Mutahar made a vedio about it. It's been a while, couldn't find it.
kasual7@reddit
I'll try to search it up, thanks!
alizafeer@reddit
Why was the power left on??
TinyDuckInASuit@reddit
Throwing this out as it happened to me anecdotally. If you’re using a third party cable, such as the CableMod 12vhpwr cable, make sure it is properly seated in to the graphics card. I had the same issue through multiple RMAs and finally remedied the problem by removing the plastic sheathing that came with the cable on the connector side.
Airwon@reddit
Ooh! Monstrous Cacophony! r/bandnames
Snikz7@reddit
I was having the same problem for about 2-3 years, when i finally decided to switch the psu cable that powers my gpu and it stopped happening. The monitor went black, all gpu fans at 100% but I could still hear the sounds if i was listening to music or playing with friends as if everything else was fine. (Gtx 1060 and some Seasonic gold)
Unironickek2@reddit
GPU drivers crashed. Fans go crazy with a black screen, if you had headphones or speakers on you would probably hear a click or something
Be more concerned if it happens again.
1995TimHortonsEclair@reddit
This is a response to a humidity sensor saying turn on the fans to evaporate moisture. Happens if you live in a humid area, or a basement in a house that just had the AC turned on and you could likely benefit from a dehumidifier.
ryanvsrobots@reddit
bad bot
1995TimHortonsEclair@reddit
I'm not a bot?
Also 7 downvotes for this?
This is a pretty standard feature found on most mid/high-end mobos you configure in the bios and it can happen to anyone who keeps the computer in damp environment. When the computer's on it's not an issue but if it's off, moisture can accumulate and it will sense it and turn the fans on so that the components don't get damaged.
It rarely happens - your PC basically needs to be in a basement that's too cold from AC blasting moist air or live by the ocean, but it happens.
ryanvsrobots@reddit
Definitely not a standard feature nor is moisture accumulation a risk relevant to 99.9% of people.
samudec@reddit
Do you guys not turn of your PC at night? especially if they're in the room/the next room where you can hear the fans?
BrewingHeavyWeather@reddit
The video card's fans are off, if it's not doing anything, and the others are running at like 150-250 RPM, depending on temperature. There's no hearing that, from more than inches away.
wadech@reddit
I do not, but mine is very quiet.
Jack1271@reddit
Used to have this a bunch too, I’m not sure if it solved it but I updated my Nvidia gpu drivers and since then it hasn’t happened, atleast that I’m aware of :)
SomeoneCrazy69@reddit
Probably just a crash. Electron from space visiting your CPU, maybe.
Easy solution: Turn off the computer at night. Why even leave it on?
3G6A5W338E@reddit
Probability-wise, I'd point at a bit-flip in non-ECC RAM.
YetanotherGrimpak@reddit
It was enough to cause an issue in a Belgian election.
MasterDarkHero@reddit
You can try running the powercfg /sleepstudy command which may show if a driver or something else crashed and caused it. You should also probably run sfc /scannow just to fix any errors the lockup may have caused. Lastly, i would probably also go into device manager and see if you have Intel Management Engine Interface #1 listed under System devices, if you do, you can right click it, select properties, and go to power management and uncheck allow the computer to turn off this device to save power. I've seen issues where that gets put to sleep by windows and then windows can't wake itself back up again.
markknightexeter@reddit
At least run malwarebytes in safe mode.
eyelpley@reddit
Do you have a cablemod cable?
MuumipapanTussari@reddit
If you keep it in sleep mode overnight it was probably a failed windows update
Username928351@reddit
I've had this happen a few times with Monster Hunter Wilds. Full PC freeze, black (sometimes green) screen, only way out was a hard reset from the power button.
No idea what causes it specifically. 100% CPU/GPU stress tests passed easily.
Snuffman@reddit
I think that's a known issue with NVIDIA 5XXX series cards and the last few months worth of drivers. I saw people mention it in the hotfix post on the NVIDIA subreddit.
Sadly, the hotfix does not fix the issue.
Username928351@reddit
I'm all AMD though.
Snuffman@reddit
Ah, sorry. I just recognized the symptoms. Best of luck.
AlwaysFliesHigh@reddit
It happened to me randomly, i noticed the cause was my GPU lacking sufficient power from the red light indicator and suddenly my whole pc fan started spinning in full. I have big enough psu and reseated the cable. It happened way lesser now but still happens in a long while
Skyline330@reddit
Had this happen with my 4090 with Overwatch of all games and it turned out to be a 12vhpwr cable issue (not melting). Reseating the cable temporarily stopped it from happening for a few days or a week at a time, but I only permanently got rid of the issue by replacing the cable.
Dry-Influence9@reddit
its usually either an nvidia driver crash or ram overclock crash, the most common cause for what you just described.
ethanguin@reddit
It’s possible that it’s the gpu drivers going whack. That happened to my gpu the other month and it was a pain, but when I booted into safe mode I was able to revert my drivers.
elchurnerista@reddit
Get Noctuas. Your wallet will hate you, but you'll sleep well
bas_thc@reddit
PC: Wake up and play with me.
justkanji@reddit
It could be your fans aren't in PWM mode maybe? once I had a power outage and my fan settings in bios reset to DC somehow.
CurryLikesGaming@reddit
I had that before, back at my first pc when my gpu 1660 was giving out. While gaming pc would turn off for no reason then fans ramp up at max speed. Had to hard shutdown then the pc would work normal again.
beobabski@reddit
Not quite the same, but your tale reminded me:
Mine used to make a crack noise when the CRT cooled down at night, typically about ten minutes after I turned it off and went to bed.
Weirdest thing; ever since then, loud noises at night make a burst of static flash across my vision for a fraction of a second.
bdoll1@reddit
Thermal stress probably in the plastic bezel. Heavy changes in cooling and heating like from a cold boot or shut down are the biggest killer of PC parts. I haven't had a single failure in 30 years since I started leaving my PC on all night (and dusting once or twice a year), not even any HDD failures. I still get PTSD light flash hearing all my monitors cooling off though too.
Western-Alarming@reddit
Seeign how you were asleep and the screen didint show anything, it may just had been that a driver crashed (cpu, GPU, fans, etc)
F4RM3RR@reddit
Run a malware bytes scan if you are concerned, but could be benign really, just try not to leave the PC on too long.
Alternative_Deer415@reddit
My guess is your PC went to sleep and crapped the bed on all your temperature monitoring software, and defaulted to 100% fan everything because it lost connection while your PC blue-screened in sleep mode.
You can end it simply by disabling Sleep, and just set the monitor to turn off when idle instead.
Bluedot55@reddit
A hard system crash will often result in fans hitting 100% and staying there, not to mention the other issue.
raygundan@reddit
I had this exact thing happen once about five years ago, and the issue never came back. I suspect a driver crash or something, but like any problem that never comes back... you've got very limited ability to figure out what happened.
Hope yours is a one-time glitch, too!
lejoop@reddit
My computer runs all fans at 100% for a while after I close the app or when it closes when windows is shutting down
AshamedCelebration27@reddit
cause ur cpu stanky
Red-Star-44@reddit
I had my pc do this for a period. Its probably the gpu crashing or maybe windows sleep bugging out. Cant remember how i fixed it or did it get fixed by itself... But in my case it was 100% a problem with the gpu (rx 590).
Easy-Combination-102@reddit
Anything could have caused this to happen. From a driver that crashed, to a CPU error which caused the fans to cool down the CPU to a fan control hub problem.
Recommendations'
check Event Viewer (System & Application logs) around the time it happened for errors like crashes, driver failures, or unexpected shutdowns. Run powercfg -lastwake and check Task Scheduler for any wake events or maintenance tasks. Make sure Wake-on-LAN and wake timers are disabled in BIOS and Windows. Run a Windows Defender Offline Scan to rule out malware, and check for suspicious startup programs or remote access tools. Update BIOS, GPU drivers, and consider using BIOS-based fan curves for failsafe control if software crashes.