Can depot repair fix T410 fan noise issue?

[Galoot]

I have a T410 with very annoying fan noise.  Will sending it to depot repair help?

Machine is an i5 - 520m, integrated graphics, 4 GB ram, Windows 7 64 bit.

I use the laptop for a few minutes and the fan will come on and stays on forever.  I installed TPFanControl and can see that the temp is usually in the low 40s C and the fan is spinning at a little less than 3600 rpm.  I do not let TPFanControl run in "smart mode" because when it does, the machine just gets hot and then the fan comes on.

If the air conditioner in my home or office is on, that masks the fan noise, but if I'm in a quiet room, then I can clearly hear the fan and it has a very high pitch.  It's really not very loud, but the pitch drives me crazy.  I previously had a T60 and never had a problem like this.

I sent the machine to depot repair, hopeful they could correct the problem.  I got a note back saying the they ran all the PC Doctor tests and everything passed.  As far as I can tell, they didn't replace or repair any components.

I called support back and they are sending me another box to send it back to depot repair.

Has anybody successfully had the fan noise on the T410 corrected by sending it to depot repair, or is this just a waste of everybody's time? 

Mark

[lead_org Microsoft MVP Contributor]

This is usually the Firmware issue, try updating or downgrading the BIOS. 

Given the temperature you posted, it is not a problem related to the fan/heatsink or cpu. 

[Galoot]

Thanks for the quick reply from down under.

Sorry, when I said "low 40s C" in my previous post, that was incorrect. 

According to TPFanControl v62, the steady state seems to be about 46C with fan RPM of about 3586.  The machine will start out cold and then just warm up to that and stay in that range.

The machine shipped with bios 1.18.  I upgraded to bios 1.25.  I had the same behavior with both bios versions.

I suspect this is just a design problem with the T410.  They aren't getting the heat out, so the fan has to come on.

Mark

[lead_org Microsoft MVP Contributor]

so this temperature is recorded for idling CPU or CPU with 100% load?

[Galoot]

That's with the CPU at idle.  Task manage shows CPU usage between 0% and 3%.  Current temperature is 46C and fan speed is 3597 RPM.

I'm beginning to think this is not  a fan problem. Maybe the heat sink is not well seated on the CPU?

Mark

[lead_org Microsoft MVP Contributor]

heatsink not well seated will cause a temperature spike, which you are not experiencing.

Given that your fan is running at full speed even at 46 degrees, mean either the bios thermal control is off or there is a defect in the motherboard.

Try updating or downgrading the BIOS first and see whether that fixes the issue. 

[Galoot]

The machine came with bios 1.18 and I upgraded to the latest, 1.25.  Both had the same issue.  I see no comments in the bios upgrade notes about addressing fan or thermal issues.  Do you have a specific bios version to recommend?

Mark

[lead_org Microsoft MVP Contributor]

if this is the case, then you should call warranty support again, and inform of the problem.

I don't think there is a specific diagnostic software used by depot that measures speed at the different temperature of the laptop. But at 46 degrees your fan shouldn't be running at full speed. 

[BenVis]

What you're describing doesn't sound like fan noise to me.  At 3597 RPM, your fan is spinning at about 60 Hz.  Typically a fan noise will sound like a low hum or buzz, and a failing fan, in my experience, sounds kind of high-pitched, but not what I'd describe as very high pitched.

If, on the other hand, what you're hearing is a very high pitch whine, then you might be experiencing something similar to what's described in this thread:

terrible whine noise!

[BenVis]

Sorry, I linked to the last page of the thread.  Here's the first:

http://forums.lenovo.com/t5/T400-T500-and-newer-T-series/T510-i5-540M-terrible-whine-noise/td-p/2198...