Acer S7-391 Fans never go off after upgrade to BIOS 2.15

jritmeijer
jritmeijer Member Posts: 5 New User

Ever since I have upgraded the BIOS to 2.15 I have noticed an annoying problem where the fans never go completely off, even though the system is not under load and all internal temperatures are low. This used to work fine.

 

I specifically notice this as I am very sensitive to fan noise.

 

Please find below a summary of my tests. Please don't ask me to bring in the system for a lengthy repair as I need this machine to do my daily work. I would like to fix this by either rolling back the BIOS or some other software fix.

 

1.  On battery, CPU 0.77Ghz, Disk idle, Power Saver plan
     After loading complex set of webpages CPU spins up to 2.4Ghz.
     Fan goes on for about a minute and then completely off again.
     System temperatures are as follows:
      Temp1: 46c
      Temp2: 43c
      Core0: 42c
      Core1: 46c
     Switched to 'Balanced power plan'. Reopened browser with exactly the same tabs.

     Temperatures increase by about 5 degrees, Fan comes on for a minute and then turn off completely.


2. Plugged power in, activated "Power saver plan". A number of processes become active (such as searchindex)
    that are configured to stay idle unless power is plugged in.
    After a few minutes everything settles. 0.77Ghz, Disk idle, CPU=2%. The temperature is actually less than during the
    previous test, yet fans never go off.

 

3. Unplugged usb and external screen. This lowered temp by about 5c, but fans still going.

 

4. Unplugged power, fans go off almost immediately

 

5. Plugged screens and usb back in. Fans stay off.

 

6. Plugged power in, still on power saver plan. Fans are off and stay off

 

7. Cause a little bit of load by reloading all web pages, fans comes on (very loud). Slow down after a minute,
    but never go off.

 

Based on this summary it appears that a change was made in BIOS 2.15 that - when plugged in - stops fans from going off once they spin up once. Fans never go off, even after a full suspend, unless the power is unplugged.

 

 

With the exception of the Sleep options, power settings are identical for the Power Saver plan for both "on battery" and "plugged in".

 

Note that this is all new, it used to work fine.

 

I used the WIndows 8 Task manager to measure CPU frequency and disk activity. Speedfan was used to track system temperature

 

I have even gone as far as purchasing an external 'Zalman laptop fan'. The system is cool to the touch, but nothing helps.

 

Please assist. I am very technical and will be able to follow almost any complex instructions.

 

Answers

  • mood8moody
    mood8moody Member Posts: 5 New User

    Same problem, i look at for solution to downgrade bios to 2.14

  • jritmeijer
    jritmeijer Member Posts: 5 New User

    Let me know when you figured out how to downgrade, it is doing my head in.

     

    It has been a couple of days since I posted this, are people from Acer technical support checking these forums?

  • jonstatt
    jonstatt Member Posts: 76 Troubleshooter

    There is the odd post from an Acer person but these are fundamentally community forums and so I hope one of you experiencing this has reported it via a support request directly. You may never get noticed by Acer themselves posting on here....

  • jritmeijer
    jritmeijer Member Posts: 5 New User

    I talked to Acer support (via http://acer--uk.custhelp.com/app/chat/chat_launch) who were useless as expected. Support person (Vishal) told me I could downgrade to 2.14 and provided a link for the BIOS. I had serious doubts that it would work, but he assured it was possible. 

     

    So I ran the installer and it immediately mentioned I cannot downgrade. Big surprise... not.

     

    I was redirected to some additional, useless, web pages about how to upgrade your BIOS. I requested for the problem to be escalated / passed on to a technical team, but that was not possible.

     

    They offered to take the unit in for repair, but as this is not a hardware issue, and I need the laptop to do my work, I refused.

     

    I used to be a  loyal Acer customer but after all the issues everyone is experiencing with this model I am going to look for a different brand next time. It is not like this thing was cheap.

  • jonstatt
    jonstatt Member Posts: 76 Troubleshooter

    That's very poor indeed. Which country are you in? I found the UK support seems to go to India which really surprised me considering its a Taiwanese company. They basically told me I was the incompetent one (not this issue, something else), and told me I was lying when I mentioned that the S7 came bundled with a mouse!

     

    I suspect there will be a 2.16, and probably if you are Taiwanese and live in Taiwan , that you get better support. So hopefully someone there will report it and it will be fixed fairly promptly.

     

    Are you using an i7 or an i5 processor? I am using the i5 and have found my fans are not running all the time despite being on 2.15.

  • jritmeijer
    jritmeijer Member Posts: 5 New User

    I am in the UK. i7 processor. 

  • sbirsen
    sbirsen Member Posts: 9

    Tinkerer

    Same problem here, UK user with i5 S7-391. Fan is extremely loud adn mostly on with 2.15 BIOS, especially when plugged in...I hope a BIOS update is on the way !

     

    I've been spending the last few days trying to adjust one of the fan control programs written by user of various acer communities to the S7, without success. The moment firefox opens more than a few tabs, the fans go crazy. The fan noise is just so annoying for such a brilliant laptop.

     

    By the way I can't find the second battery pack anywhere, anyone knows where I could buy one ?

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