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Processor Overheating Alarm
Last updated: 12/8/2001
Q. Recently an ambulance sounding alarm has started
coming from my computer. It only comes occasionally and lasts about
20 to 30 seconds. Should I have something checked? I have an AMD
K6 400 processor and the EP-58MVP3C-M motherboard... What temperature
should the CMOS alarm be set for an AMD K6 processor?
A. Your CPU is probably overheating! If you
get that alarm, immediately save your work, shut-down Windows, turn off the
computer until the problem is fixed. You can burn-up the CPU, damage the
motherboard, and even melt the thermo-conductive layer on the bottom of heat
sink. This problem is almost always caused by a heat sink-CPU fan which
is defective, missing, not properly secured to the socket, or not rated/sufficient
for the CPU. The motherboard has two heat sensors (thermisters), one
for the system and one in the middle of the CPU socket. You can see the temperatures
and alarm threshold settings in the CMOS Setup (also, see Digest articles
on Motherboard
Monitor Lite and EpoX's Unified
System Diagnostic Manager (USDM) for more
details and motherboard monitoring software). If the alarm is going away
(intermittent), I would guess the CPU fan has a bad bearing, which you should
be able to hear, and is eventually coming up to sufficient speed to cool
the CPU down below the threshold or the fan is running slow and the temperature
is oscillating above and below the threshold (a condition which will eventually
ruin the CPU, etc.). A cable may have fallen into the fan and is popping
out--not likely. The heat sink could have popped loose from its mooring on
the CPU socket. The fan in your power supply may be bad. You may have
the alarm threshold set too low. Reload your CMOS defaults in the CMOS Setup.
Check AMD's site for thermo guidelines for the CPU. Don't use
CPU fans with a sleeve bearing. Buy a quality fan with a ball bearing and
a three-pin connector so it can be plugged into the motherboard and monitored. Applying
thermo grease under the heat sink would help, but I don't use it for socket
7 CPU's. I use heat sinks with a thermo-conductive plastic on the bottom
of the heat sink. Be sure to clean-up any bearing residue (black, powder-like
substance); it can short-out the motherboard. Do not clean a CPU fan
with canned, compressed air while the fan is running. The air from
one of these cans is extremely cold and can cause the bearing to seize. You
may need an additional chassis fan (or a better case) if the computer is
really loaded. The motherboard may be defective.
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