Swift 3 - Fan on full when laptop not in use

Rozhawk · March 2020

Hi. I've recently found that when I go to use my Swift 3 laptop (bought March 2019) that the fan is on full despite it being closed and (in theory) not doing anything. Typically I come down in the morning to find it sat closed on the table but the fans going at full speed. This seems to happen whether it is plugged in or not. The only difference is that it drains the battery if it is not plugged in (sometimes I come down and the fans aren't on but that is because it seems to have no power at all, when I'm confident it had charge left when I stopped using it the previous night). Additionally when I go to turn it on, the keyboard lights up but that is all that happens. The fans continue to go full speed and the screen remains blank. Nothing I can do seems to wake it up properly. I have to hold the power button down to power down fully and then boot up from scratch.

I've never witnessed it entering this state (never heard the fans start up full when not in use) so presumably it happens a while after I stop using it. When I have found it in this state I have left it for several hours and it seems to carry on for at least that long so I am assuming it carries on indefinitely or until it loses charge.

I don't use my laptop for anything strenuous - generally just web browsing and a little MS Office use. I've tried to think what might have caused this/when it started and the only thing I can think of is a Windows update (quite a big one by the amount of time it took) a couple of weeks ago - possibly it has started happening since then but I couldn't say with certainty.

Any advice on what I could do to resolve this would be greatly appreciated.
Cheers

GAMING6698 · March 2020

Rozhawk said:

Hi. I've recently found that when I go to use my Swift 3 laptop (bought March 2019) that the fan is on full despite it being closed and (in theory) not doing anything. Typically I come down in the morning to find it sat closed on the table but the fans going at full speed. This seems to happen whether it is plugged in or not. The only difference is that it drains the battery if it is not plugged in (sometimes I come down and the fans aren't on but that is because it seems to have no power at all, when I'm confident it had charge left when I stopped using it the previous night). Additionally when I go to turn it on, the keyboard lights up but that is all that happens. The fans continue to go full speed and the screen remains blank. Nothing I can do seems to wake it up properly. I have to hold the power button down to power down fully and then boot up from scratch.

I've never witnessed it entering this state (never heard the fans start up full when not in use) so presumably it happens a while after I stop using it. When I have found it in this state I have left it for several hours and it seems to carry on for at least that long so I am assuming it carries on indefinitely or until it loses charge.

I don't use my laptop for anything strenuous - generally just web browsing and a little MS Office use. I've tried to think what might have caused this/when it started and the only thing I can think of is a Windows update (quite a big one by the amount of time it took) a couple of weeks ago - possibly it has started happening since then but I couldn't say with certainty.

Any advice on what I could do to resolve this would be greatly appreciated.
Cheers

there may be software for controlling fans.it seems that you fans set on custom or max set it in auto if there is software to control fans

billsey · March 2020

The fan(s) is controlled by the MB, using the temperature sensors built into the CPU. Depending on which model Swift 3 you have there might also be a fan for the GPU that is controlled by the GPU temperature sensor. It sounds like when you close the lid the laptop isn't shutting off or sleeping. With the lid closed there's a bit less free flowing air, so it heats more than when the lid is open. Go into Power Options and check to see what it's set to do when you close the lid.

Rozhawk · March 2020

The power options are saying go to sleep after 10 minutes whether plugged in or on battery. I tend to rest it on its end (no vents there) so it should have pretty good circulation around it for cooling and that shouldn't require hours of fan at full speed to control I don't think. Given that I can't wake it properly when i reopen the lid (keyboard lights up but green stays black) i feel like it somewhere between going to sleep and being on.

I don't use any third party software to control the fan. Is there anything built in to windows I can use?

Rozhawk · March 2020

Thank you for the feedback both of you!

billsey · March 2020

It sounds like you have something that doesn't go to sleep well, leaving the system still on after it's turned off the display and that's likely causing the heating that causes the fan speeds. Try two things, first boot into the BIOS and let it sit for an hour or so. Do the fans ramp up and get noisy in that environment? If not it's likely not hardware, but something going on in Windows. Next try a safe boot w/networking into Windows and do the same thing. Let it sit for a couple of hours and see if the symptoms still show up. If not it's a third party app or driver since in safe mode nothing really runs except the Windows stuff itself.

Rozhawk · March 2020

billsey said:

It sounds like you have something that doesn't go to sleep well, leaving the system still on after it's turned off the display and that's likely causing the heating that causes the fan speeds. Try two things, first boot into the BIOS and let it sit for an hour or so. Do the fans ramp up and get noisy in that environment? If not it's likely not hardware, but something going on in Windows. Next try a safe boot w/networking into Windows and do the same thing. Let it sit for a couple of hours and see if the symptoms still show up. If not it's a third party app or driver since in safe mode nothing really runs except the Windows stuff itself.

Thanks - I'll give that a go. Really appreciate you help!