Looking for cpu temp and fan speed

[hansberry]

I have a computer that just shuts down without notice.  Most of the time it is when doing something like listening to music, running a game, looking at pictures but sometimes it shuts down when it isnt even being used.  And sometimes I turn it off..and it will turn itself back on later!

Anyway we wanted to see if it was a heat problem.  The fan runs constantly but has variation slightly in sound at times.  We have tried running the computer with the case open but that didnt help.  We have blown out the dust..that didnt help.

I want to check the fan speed and cpu temp but I cant find it in the Bios like I can on my other computer.
This is a medion with XP.

Also, I my other computer is having trouble too..it's CPU fan speed is 1814-1854 rpm.  The System fan speed says 0 rpm and the cpu temp is 48'C.  Are those normal?

[Broni]

Install free SpeedFan from here:
http://www.almico.com/speedfan.php

[hansberry]

Thanks, I have downloaded the FanSpeed program but now I need to know if these are acceptble temps for my computer. I've read through the help file for the program.  None of it makes sense to me.

It says :

Fan 2   3750rpm
temp 2   82C
temp 3   128C
temp 1   -30C
HD0        43C
Temp 1    93C

[Broni]

I suggest, you may also get Motherboard Monitor from here: http://www.pcworld.com/downloads/file/fid,7309-order,1-page,1-c,systemresourcestuneup/description.html
It'll give you some benchmarks, and you can also set up some warnings.
I forgot about this application.

[hansberry]

I downloaded the program but it turns out it doesnt have my exact Medion listed.  I selected something close to it ..

The temps seem to agree with the other program..about 88-90' C for the CPU with the fan going about 3750 rpm.   

My problem is that I still dont know if that is right or not for that computer since I didnt go by my exact model.

Also, I tried to run the memtest on this computer and the computer shuts down before I'm even done (that is one of the problems with that computer..it just shuts down and restarts over and over.  Sometimes shutting down altogether and sometimes when I push the buttom to start the computer it shuts down again before you even get a screen..just about 1 second.   Sometimes it stays on longer or maybe all day if you are doing nothing on it.  But with the memtest it has not been able to stay on long enough to get through the whole test).   This is why I'm trying to find out if this is a heat problem or some other thing.

Both of my computers have problems which is why I have multiple topics right now.

[Broni]

Your temp reading looks little bit on a high side, but it also depends on your processor.
What CPU do you have there?
You can check this temp table: http://users.erols.com/chare/elec.htm

[patio]

This would be a good time to post some specifics on what is in that machine...

[Clippy]

Did you check for a virus or trojan?

I had a trojan called Apropos that kept shutting my XP2 down.

If your temps are close then chances are they are similar to other models.

Look for Trojan Removers on the web.  Some have trial periods. Hope you can stay on long enough to download.

Ted

[hansberry]

I'm not sure what the name of it is..what exactly I'm looking for.  But the temp is higher than all those listed.  That is just when it is sitting there.  The speedfan program mentions something about Winbond W83627THF.  Here is what I found in the system info..hopefully its what you wanted to know:

OS Name   Microsoft Windows XP Home Edition
Version   5.1.2600 Service Pack 2 Build 2600
OS Manufacturer   Microsoft Corporation
System Name   OURCOMPUTER
System Manufacturer   MEDIONPC
System Model   MS-7046
System Type   X86-based PC
Processor   x86 Family 15 Model 3 Stepping 4 GenuineIntel ~3192 Mhz
Processor   x86 Family 15 Model 3 Stepping 4 GenuineIntel ~3192 Mhz
BIOS Version/Date   Phoenix Technologies, LTD 6.00 PG, 8/31/2004
SMBIOS Version   2.3
Windows Directory   C:\WINDOWS
System Directory   C:\WINDOWS\system32
Boot Device   \Device\HarddiskVolume1
Locale   United States
Hardware Abstraction Layer   Version = "5.1.2600.2180 (xpsp_sp2_rtm.040803-2158)"
User Name   OURCOMPUTER\Hansberry
Time Zone   US Eastern Standard Time
Total Physical Memory   512.00 MB
Available Physical Memory   351.60 MB
Total Virtual Memory   2.00 GB
Available Virtual Memory   1.96 GB
Page File Space   1.22 GB
Page File   C:\pagefile.sys


OH, and no I havent done any virus or trojan checking.  That computer isnt on the internet so I didnt think it would matter.

[Broni]

If you go to a link I provided, you'll see that your CPU temp shouldn't be higher, then 70C, so you run higher.
It MAY be a cause of your shutdowns. Another confirmation would be, that when there is no activity on your computer, it stays up.
I'd remove computer side cover, and run it that way for a day, or so.

[hansberry]

Yeah, I did go to that site, thanks.  I didnt know which one was mine other than a pentium 4 but I did notice mine was higher temp than all those listed.

I have run it before with the case open and a fan blowing into it for about an hour or so.  But you are saying it takes longer than that to see if that is the problem?

It went through a period of time where it would shut down, come on, shut down, come on..over and over when you weren't even in the room.  Or just shut down and stay that way for no reason.  But then it stopped that for the most part and stays on if you do nothing except occassionally it will still shut down when it is just sitting there.  But usually it can go days just sitting there.  As soon as we start doing something like playing mavis beacon or rosetta stone..or listening to music, recording tapes & cds on it or when I ran the memtest..it shuts down.  And yesterday when I'd push the button to turn it backon it shut right back down ..did that a few times so I just left it off for a while.

Will be gone all day tomorrow so I'll leave the case open (have a toddler and dont want him getting into it).  Should I have a fan blowing into it or just the open case? 

[Broni]

I'd leave a case open, and an extra fan blowing, and see if it's gonna survive a day without shutting down. And try to use it at the same time.

[hansberry]

okie dokie

I'll leave it open tomorrow and when I get home I'll mess with it to see what happens.  will post again then.

[Broni]

Cool...

[hansberry]

ok, I'm back.  Took a while at getting it all figured out but the fan blowing does help. 

However we found out what the real problem is..here is a paste of my other poste since both comptuers have the same problem only different degrees...

We took them to a shop that we found out looks at them for free.  The guy opened them up and said WOW, that one's really dead.  The other one had the same death sentence it just was not as far along in the proces (the one this fan post is about).
Turns out that we have a problem with our power (not the power supply but the power coming into the house).  It doesnt stay constant.  So this caused trouble with some little cylinder shaped thingies on the motherboard which were oozing out crud..about six of them on one computer and a few on the other.  The worse computer (the one with only BIOS) was hooked into an outlet that not only gets the strange power but is on a breaker that often flips when we use too many things in the kitchen.  The other one that was not as bad (and is the one that still brings up windows though it has a shutting down problem) still has to contend with our strange power flow into the house.  I have suspected our power for quite some time now because of our florescent lights dont last and they do crazy things and our power is always flickering or just going out for a minute or going off and back on as if someone is working on the lines.  However I never knew it could affect the computers.  We have them on surge protectors.  The guy chuckled and said the surge protectors wouldnt help.  He suggested this battery thing that regulates the power coming to the computer and prevents the shutdown when the breaker flips.   I'm sure he is right about this problem because we do have wierd power and both computers had the same problems and are similar ages (2004) only the one on the bad breaker is worse off but used to act like the other one is right now.  Death is impending.     The one that still works (this post) also has a heat issue but we didnt know why because the fan goes like crazy.  But, hehe..turns out its fan was filled with a very thick layer of dust so the fan would never cool it.  And I mean THICK...shockingly so.  We had tried to clean it out before but this was down in there where we couldnt see it.

I guess we should buy this battery/power controller thing though.  It is $50.  And some canned air, lol.  If that doesnt work for the dust we'll have to pay $20 to have them blow it all out.

Thanks for your willingness to help!