Is anyone else's Lafite III too loud due to fans 'randomly' spinning up?

Tristan Perry

New member
I've had my Lafite III for 1.5 years now and almost since day 1 there has been a general battery issue (sometimes Windows thinks that it has reached the critical 10% level and shuts down, and won't turn on until I put the charger in, even though there's 30%+ capacity left), whilst the laptop is often too loud to use (without distracting people nearby!) due to the fans spinning up randomly. I'm not sure if the 2 issues are connected.

I say the fans 'randomly' spin up because the system can be sat idle and the fans will kick in without anything running. Other time I do something harmless like install Windows updates or launch some software and the fans kick in again.

In terms of temperatures, I just kicked off some Windows updates and SpeedFan is showing Temp1 as 71C, and Core0-4 being 50-52C. CPU usage is around 15% and the fans are fairly loud.

Any ideas/suggestions? I've built my own desktop PCs before and I'm fairly competent with configuring Windows and looking through the BIOS etc, but I've never played around with laptop hardware - but I'm happy to take a look if needed.

Thanks!
 

SpyderTracks

We love you Ukraine
Firstly it may be worth taking the bottom off and getting some compressed air to clean out the fans thoroughly of any dust build up. It doesn't look like temps are a particular issue, but dust buildup can also lead to fans not spinning correctly which can lead to failures.

It may be worth contacting PCS to see if there's a BIOS update, do call them direct though, don't mess with the BIOS without their guidance as a: it's not straightforward like a PC and b: it can void warranty messing with the BIOS without their guidance.

The core fan profiles are locked in the BIOS, they're not accessible to the user, but often they will release updates specifically to address fan issues that are on early BIOS releases. It's fairly common.
 

Tristan Perry

New member
Just a 'quick' update that I've (so far) had no joy with the BIOS update, despite following PCS' (multiple) BIOS update instructions to the letter.

After various back and forth over email (I did email not phone as they need to get instructions from an internal tech, before emailing over the BIOS update to you), my laptop can no longer boot into UEFI. So I'm currently unable to attempt further BIOS updates, but more worryingly I won't be able to restore my laptop if the worst happens.

The history of this is that the BIOS update PCS sent to me failed at first, saying that the BIOS was for a different version of laptop (I have the Clevo n130wu, the BIOS was for Clevo n140wu IIRC). I emailed PCS back, and a few days later they said to ignore this error and proceed with the update.

I did this and I then got further with the multi-stage BIOS update, but I then had another similar error. Again I emailed PCS back, and a few days later they said that their BIOS tech had told them to ignore this error and proceed with the update.

I did this also, but the main part of the BIOS update then failed mid-way through due to version incompatibilities.

I've gone back to PCS and had a new BIOS (and new set of instructions) given to me, but I can no longer boot into UEFI (I've tried various methods and 3 different USB pens).

I think this means that my laptop will essentially be bricked if my Windows corrupts or needs re-installing (as I have no CD drive either), so I'm currently awaiting information from PCS on how to fix this...
 

SpyderTracks

We love you Ukraine
What methods are you trying to boot in to the BIOS?

If it has borked the BIOS (which I very much doubt), then the fact you've done directions advised by PCS, I'm certain they would cover any fixes required.
 
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