Cpu Fan

[I_need_2_win_bet]

But what everyone is not understanding is I'm not running the CPU untill I get this solved because I know its not the chip its the board. But for some reason everyone else around me and my friend are saying its not the board. So now I pose the question is it possible for the board to have a short circuit in that one spot

[Dread]

On an OC'd E6400 @ 2.8 GHz my Zalman 9700 fan won't start for a good 45-60 seconds after I boot the system, provided it has been in an 'off' state for more than 5-10 minutes, else it'll start spinning almost right away.

[Elysium]

I don't know, but the fan might be "temperature triggered" or something. Call me stupid.

[Dr. V]

Originally Posted by yellowhello

I don't know, but the fan might be "temperature triggered" or something. Call me stupid.

Nono, you're on the right track.

On some motherboards' BIOSs, there will be a setting for the fan making it NOT spin unless (either) the CPU usage gets to a certain amount, or if the temperature exceeds a certain amount. This is usually on ASUS or ASRock motherboards (same company), but I've seen it on various manufacturers' boards other than said two companies as well.

It's hard to tell exactly why the fan isn't spinning. I'd first get a couple more 3-pin fans and test out that header to make sure it isn't bad. Just plug it in and turn your computer on for 2 seconds, that's all you need to see if the fan is spinning. If you find out that it's a header problem, you can always get a 3-pin to 4-pin molex adapter, or plug it into another 3-pin slot (if the wire can reach), OR get rid of that board and swap it for a new one (if it's still under warranty). If not, then I wouldn't trash it to buy a new one just for that header problem.

[One4yu2c]

Originally Posted by I_need_2_win_bet

But what everyone is not understanding is I'm not running the CPU untill I get this solved

Readers weren't understanding that because you were less than clear regarding your intentions, to the point of contradiction. What prompted a warning from our memberbase was this comment:

So how much time can I let the CPU process before it will burn out because keep in mind that there is no fan or heat sync on the CPU.

So on behalf of HardwareLogic's helpful memberbase, let me say 'you're welcome' for the emphatic warning not to proceed down the insinuated path.

Moving on, the most likely culprit at this point seems to have been pointed out in the third response to this thread. If you've verified that the fan works and/or tested known working fans on your motherboard's header and they're all failing to spin, then the remaining common denominator becomes the header itself. This assumes that:

1) You have been testing with known working fans
2) The pins are not bent on the header and they're being plugged in correctly
3) The fan's connector is not being plugged in backwards on the header (it should be grooved to prevent this anyway)

Other things I would check in a last ditch effort:

1) Verify that the supplementary four pin power slot on your motherboard's upper left hand corner is connected to your power supply.
2) Check for a grounding issue, such as one too many standoffs installed in the case, or a loose screw floating around

[Dr. V]

Originally Posted by One4yu2c

Readers weren't understanding that because you were less than clear regarding your intentions, to the point of contradiction. What prompted a warning from our memberbase was this comment:

So how much time can I let the CPU process before it will burn out because keep in mind that there is no fan or heat sync on the CPU.

So on behalf of HardwareLogic's helpful memberbase, let me say 'you're welcome' for the emphatic warning not to proceed down the insinuated path.

Originally Posted by One4yu2c

Moving on, the most likely culprit at this point seems to have been pointed out in the third response to this thread. If you've verified that the fan works and/or tested known working fans on your motherboard's header and they're all failing to spin, then the remaining common denominator becomes the header itself. This assumes that:

1) You have been testing with known working fans
2) The pins are not bent on the header and they're being plugged in correctly
3) The fan's connector is not being plugged in backwards on the header (it should be grooved to prevent this anyway)

Other things I would check in a last ditch effort:

1) Verify that the supplementary four pin power slot on your motherboard's upper left hand corner is connected to your power supply.
2) Check for a grounding issue, such as one too many standoffs installed in the case, or a loose screw floating around

There is simply not much else you can do past this and other things that have been said in this thread. You have to rule out every possible thing other than the problem to find the problem (yes it makes sense lol). Update the post when you find the problem because I'm sure some of us are curious and hoping to get you up and running soon enough.

[Computer-Ed]

The new CPUs run really cool and so fans set with the BIOS controlling their speed will in some cases not start until some load is put on the processor. My E6600 will not run it's fan unless I am gaming. It starts up about 20 seconds into gaming and runs for about 5 minutes after and then stops. The CPU Core temps are reporting in the mid 30C range when the fans are off and the fan seems to kick in around 38c to 40c on the Core.