computer help....fan wont go off

ok so bear with me here, i'm not very good with computers, i actually hate them unless they're working properly lol but i just upgraded my operating system from Windows ME to XP pro....now the fan that goes on when i turn the computer on (i dont know if its a processor fan or some other fan :rolleyes: ) wont turn off, or slow down. usually what happened before was, it booted up and it would run for a while, then if no programs were running, the fan would shut off, now its on at all times. does anyone know what going on with it?

You might not have the vendor-specific driver installed for your motherboard. Check with the PC manufacturer to see if they have an XP driver for the system board your computer uses.

Yeah, sounds specific towards your particular computer. I never had a computer where the fan turned off. For my computers... if it turned off, that means it's a bad thing. Also, if yours was designed to turn off, that might mean that the computer is at an acceptible temperature. I would make sure you clean out all dust and make sure no holes are clogged. I don't know, just a suggestion.

I guess your computer is like my work PC. It monitors temperature and modulates the fan foltage to compensate. It never truly turns off, but can go nearly silent.

If it stays on now, then that probably means you have a cooling problem. Most likely dust bunnies or clogged air intake/exhaust. Just take off the case and hit it with some canned air or whatever you got handy.

Standard disclaimer, turn off the power and disconnect it first, and before you start manhandling any parts, be sure to discharge any static electricity. Or just call the helpdesk.

Mudx - is that a desktop or laptop?
(I hear of this problem frequently with laptops, not as much with desktops, occuring after XP upgrade)
If you wanna provide specific make/model of the computer, one of us geeks might be able to provide a direct link to the driver you need.

thanks guys....it's a desktop, Sony Vaio, had it since 2000, i'll def check to see if its a cooling issue, but i have to say i really doubt it, i had it open a couple weeks ago and it was pretty clean, and the fan never gave me any trouble until yesterday, which is when i installed XP pro......thanks for the help guys!

Well, the sony website wants a model and/or series # within the Viao line, so this link should get you started anyway. Look for a more specific model # maybe on back of the computer, and put it in here.
I'm not familiar with Sony PC's, but you want something like a "chipset driver" or "system drivers".

Sony Vaio Drivers

If this started right after upgrade, I'm gonna guess it's drivers and not heat. Still, cleaning out the inside of the PC is always a good thing.

If the fan plugs into the motherboard it's controlled by drivers. The computer will detect the temperature of the pc and decide if it needs to be running or not.

If it's a fan that plugs into the power supply it will aways run because it always has power.