ThinkStation

[#1]

I hate this noisy fan test!!! My dog always panics, if it is in the room! But that's not the problem.

If I switch on the external mains, the fan test starts and ends after some ten seconds.

If I push the switch at the front of the maschine, the fan test starts and - sometimes - never ends. In this case, the maschine - obviously - will not boot. What to do? - Repeat the procedure. Sometimes I need 10 or more attempts to boot the maschine.

Now I found (shortly before I decided to bring the maschine back to the dealer): The fan test succeeds nearly every time (and the maschine will boot), if I switch off all the external USB-devices (5 disks, WLAN-stick, memory stick, etc).

My questions:

• what's going wrong with the fan test at my maschine?
• is it possible to skip this crazy fan test?

Thanks for your help!

Lenovo PC Think Station D10 6427-H6G, Windows XP

[#2]

regarding the fan test, this cannot be disabled.   thinkstations are designed for 24/7 uptime just like servers and the BIOS tests the fans at every boot/reboot.   since there isn't much reason to turn these systems off or put them asleep, the best workaround is to leave your D10 running 24/7 as it was designed to do.   mine only gets rebooted for windows updates, software updates, or video driver updates.   otherwise, it's up 24/7/365.

regarding the fans getting stuck, update your BIOS.   the latest version can be found here.

also, if you put your system to sleep, be sure to wake it with the power button and not your keyboard.   a few users have reported their fans getting stuck when waking with their keyboards.   i'm not aware of the issue happening when using the power button.

[#3]

Thanks Erik for the quick response. Might be I should have bought another maschine for my applications.

I will update my BIOS next time and report on the (hopefully) solved problem. I really wake up my system with the power button and get the problems only if the peripheral devices are switched on. I did not check, whether the displays or the USB devices or both should be switched off. But, isn't it queer that the fans getting stuck depending on the peripherals switched on or off?

I any case, I will update my BIOS.

Thanks again for your response!

[#4]

try the new BIOS and report your findings.   your hypothesis about USB peripherals influencing the fans sticking is intriguing.   i'm curious if updating the BIOS fixes your problem.

keep us posted!

[#5]

I had this on a few of the D10s and we had to have IBM come out and replace something every time. I think it was usually the motherboard...

[#6]

the latest discussion around this topic came back to it possibly being caused by certain third-party memory.

mbhocky13 - do any of your deployed systems have third-party memory?   if so, can you reply with the brand(s) and module part number(s).

[#7]

Thanks for your answers. I think there is no third party memory in my maschine. It is like I got it from the dealer. I will give it back to the dealer in a few days. They will install Win7 and update the Bios. I will report about the results.

Up to now: I never switch off the maschine. I only switch off all the peripherals in order to save energy. In this case I don't have any problems, obviously :-)

[#8]

All these systems came with 2 4GB sticks installed by Lenovo.