Troubleshooting Hardware Issues Lesson 004: Cooling Issues

What do all components in a system produce?

Heat that builds up a thermal load.

How does a tech determine if there is a cooling issue in a system?

Checking the thermal load and heat dissipation in the system.

What are indicators of a thermal issue?

System is hot to the touch, the system shuts off after a couple of minutes, or if the fans are going at very high speeds.

What does a tech need to ensure besides ensuring all cooling components are working?

Keeping them clean and free of dust.

Why might a user start to hear a grinding noise coming from their system outside of HDD failure?

The bearings in a cooling fan are starting to fail, due to wear or improper care.

What does a user need to ensure regarding proper cooling concerning liquid cooling components?

That there’s enough coolant.

What is the first thing a tech should do if a system is overheating?

Shut it down and give it time to cool off.

What is the second thing a tech should do if a system is overheating?

Boot into the UEFI or BIOS.

What functionality does UEFI or BIOS provide when it comes to troubleshooting cooling issues?

The ability to see the system temp and fan speeds.

What is a critical thing to take into account when using the UEFI or BIOS when troubleshooting cooling issues?

If the cooling issue is actually a hardware issue, or if it is an OS or application issue.

What is something specific that a tech should check when troubleshooting cooling issues in the UEFI or BIOS?

The individual temperature sensors for different components.

What should a tech check if the processor or CPU temp sensor is too hot?

The CPU fan or the heatsink.

What should a tech do if the CPU and heatsink work, but the CPU is still overheating?

Clean the processor, reapply the thermal paste, and reattach the heatsink and fan.

What is a cooling issue that doesn’t have anything to do with a system?

The ambient temperature of the room or surrounding environment.