dell inspirion at 85 degree

[cyborg]

Hi,
Can anybody advise on my poor DELL Inspirion?
The fan is on all the time, very loud, the CPU load is 100% most of the time,
resulting everything works very slow.

Temperature of the CPU is shown constant 85 degree, way too high,
but doesn't look like, I've cleaned up all vent holes with compressed air,
and the air comming out is cool. Also 85 degree is shown immediately after start, which is strange too.

I run diagnostic utility and "Fan problem and overheating" test.
Got that error message on CPU thermistor, Video Thermistor, SODIMM Thermistor:

Error Code: 3900:0626
msg: temperature sensor out of range temp 255C, min 10C max 100C

and on Processor Fan and Video Fan On/OFF test I'm getting system shutdown.

is it processor or thermistor?

[BOB IROC]

I have run into this a couple times on a few latitude models where they would get extremely hot. Have you checked to see if your battery was a victim of the recall? https://www.dellbatteryprogram.com/Default.aspx I know many models of Dells were affected and heat was the main problem.

Also it could be a sensor problem or fan problem with the motheboard itself.

[slgrieb]

Fans running underspeed can certainly get your system too hot in a hurry. You may have a fan motor going bad, or (more likely) the fan bearings may be gunked up with dust and dirt or the bearings are shot.

This is one of those things where you really need some professional help. Servicing laptops isn't like opening up a desktop. I'm working on a Presario V2000 notebook at the moment, and the service manual has a 35 page section on preparing the laptop for disassembly. I'd suggest calling Dell support as a good place to start.

[BOB IROC]

What is causing the CPU Load to be at 100% most of the time? If this is a constant problem and you are not running any intense software like rendering video or something then the CPU should spike but not sit at 100%

I have seen viruses/spyware that runs in the background cause this, have you scanned to make sure it is clean?

You can use www.bitdefender.com, www.ewido.net, www.trendmicro.com. All are very good online scanners.

[3fingersalute]

Agreed Bob - If the CPU is being used that hard, its only normal to see high tempatures. Use the task manager to first of all find out what is eating up the CPU, but my money is on some form of malware.

[Damned Angel]

Agreed Bob - If the CPU is being used that hard, its only normal to see high tempatures. Use the task manager to first of all find out what is eating up the CPU, but my money is on some form of malware.

it could also be good ole system idle process that windows is reporting as chewing up the cpu cycles.

Take the battery out and see if it runs any cooler that way, if so, you may have a battery that is ready to go.

I do agree that you may just have a fan that is ready to go and is not spinning properly. If you have any warranty left, I would leave it to Dell to figure out what the heck is going on.

[slgrieb]

Yes, I think we can all agree that a CPU at 100% is likely to be malware, but you really can't deal with that until the processor stops overheating and shutting down. I would still call Dell, even if the unit is out of warranty and have a chat. If you have a funky fan, sometimes a good cleaning with something like Varsol or contact cleaner will remove the crud, and a very light grease squirted into the bearing housing will get it going again if the bearings aren't too bad. If the bearings or fan motor are totally trashed, Cy, you will probably be forced to buy a fan and heatsink; usually around $85.

But, again, let me say that most people really shouldn't be servicing their own laptop's internal parts. The potential cost from a goof is just too high. Hope all this helps, Cy!