Broken computer fan I think, HELP?

Question

A few days ago this error screen would pop up every once in awhile, didn't think anything of it because you'd push exit and it would go back to normal.

Then last night, it suddenly shut itself off.

Now, when you push the button to turn the computer on the fan gets really loud, then slowly gets quieter and quieter until it stops, clicks, and restarts all over again. So we have no computer access on that computer becaue it gets to a loading screen when the click & restart happens.

There's also a bad smell coming from the fan when it's on.

What should I do? Or maybe this is a virus?

Answer 1

Yes it sounds like it is your fan. Now you just need to figure out which one it is. Most of the time these newer computers have a speed sense fan or 3 wire fan which change their RPM as the system load changes on the CPU processor. This smell you mentioned however leads me to believe that it is the fan inside your power supply not your processor or otherwise it would not start at all due to catastrophic processor damage or failure. Do not turn this system on for more than a 20 or 30 seconds and only after it has had a while to cool off. Check your Power supply rating and replace it with a similar one maybe with a higher wattage it should not run you more than 75-100 dollars unless you have some elite gaming rig.

Answer 2

It sounds like your hard drive more so than your fan.  A broken fan isn't gonna run and then stop... although a broken fan could definitely lead to an overheated hard drive.  When hard drives start to go out, the blue screen errors can be a forewarning that it's on it's last leg... Overheating can also cause a bad smell.

If you're not comfortable replacing the hard drive yourself (or opening up the case to diagnose - please don't do this unless you've seen it done at least once), take it to a store that can.

Answer 3

This might not make a huge difference, but if you buy a computer cooling pad, you might have this problem less.