Cooling fan much louder than it used to be

[jimrich]

Hello:

My O.S. is Dell dimension 3000, win xp home, sp3

I recently re-installed windows and some applications and now my computer works very well and FAST - BUT.........
the cooling fan is always on and runs very hard. I am wondering if anyone can explain what the fan is trying to do and why it runs so hard these days. There was a time when the fan was much quieter. The computer seems to be working just about as good as it did when I re-installed things and many virus scans have turned up no malicious problems. When I re-installed windows, I cleaned out the inside of the tower so I don't believe the fan is trying to make up for accumulated dirt in the tower. I'd like to understand what is going on with the fan and, if it's a problem, fix it soon.

Thank you for your help here,
Jim

 

[Cinders]

When you reinstalled XP did you also install the chipset drivers?

 

[jimrich]

Cinders:
Re chipset drivers....Yes! I followed the sequence recommended at Dell to install the drivers in a prescribed order. What else?

 

[Cinders]

The CPU fan could be connected to the System fan header if you have both of those fans. Were either fan disconnected and reconnected while the computer was being cleaned?

 

[xcylent]

download Speedfan. It's a temperature monitoring tool which also lets you control the fan speeds of your PC.