Optimus III GPU (GT650m) Fan possibly broken/stuck.

[Adli]

ive had this Optimus III for a long time and its been a great laptop, but recently i updated to the Nvidia 335.32 drivers and started getting Kernel Mode Driver crashes.
so i rolled back to the earlier driver and got BSODs. then i went all the way back to january's driver, still got BSODs.
then i did a system restore to two weeks ago and continued gettings Kernel Mode Driver crashes.
then i pulled out the disk that came with the laptop and installed the drivers from 2012, still had the same issues.

then i noticed that the fan wasn't making any noise. normally it makes a lot of noise above 70c, is quite quiet below 67c and is almost silent below 65c. but when i loaded the games that kept crashing it didnt make any sound like it normally does. at first i didnt realise because my headphones muffle noise but without headphones on its very obvious that the fan doesnt spin up at all.

im pretty sure its not a driver problem at this point since the drivers i KNOW are stable (ie the ones i system restored back to and installed from the OEM disk) also crash. i tried to check temps with CPUID Hardware Monitor but it doesnt register my GPU unless its in use when i open HWM, which is difficult because then the driver crashes.

is there a way i can easily check if the fan is jammed or clogged with dust visually? or do i need to send it back to you guys and have it taken apart/repaired/taken to silicon heaven? i have exams until next week so i'll have to keep hold of it (i can still use the Intel HD4000 for work/internet) until they are over.

everything else works fine and has been for 2 years, but no fan means no serious gaming, which is a shame.

 

[steaky360]

Sounds no good at all!

If you take the card out and have a good look, you might be able to see something. You can use air dusters and cotton wool buds to give the fans and heatsink a blast and a clean which might help and when the card is out you can rotate the fans to see if they spin freely or if they feel as though they are caught on something. At least you'll narrow it down. If something is causing the fan to be stiff I'd consider asking PCS to take a look if you're still under warranty. If not, then you could potentially take a look yourself.

 

[Adli]

i dont think im under warranty, since i think its over 2 years since i got the silver warranty, but im not 100% sure.

im still insured with the same policy from when i got that laptop though.

edit: my join date is July and i was on the forums to ask about specs, so i assume my warranty is still valid

 

[Rakk]

i dont think im under warranty, since i think its over 2 years since i got the silver warranty, but im not 100% sure.

im still insured with the same policy from when i got that laptop though.

If you got the silver warranty, then parts and return collection is not covered anymore, but labour costs are.

 

[Adli]

ok, do you think i should open it up and have a look, or send it back to you guys to look at next month?

if i do open it up, ill be following his https://www.pcspecialist.co.uk/forums/showthread.php?33834-How-to-clean-your-laptop

 

[Adli]

ok i took the back panel off, the fan moved freely, nothing stopping it from moving, no dust clogging the blades.

CPU:

GPU:

now... i was under the impression that the GT650m had its own fan, but it seems it shares the single fan with the CPU. The CPU gets cooled just fine by the fan and nothing is blocking the fan, yet the GPU doesnt trigger the fan at all (at least, it crashes without the fan speed increasing).

 

[Adli]

im using the 334.89 (WHQL) driver that i was using before this started happening, i loaded up Terraria (instead of Dark Souls 2) and managed to get CPUID Hardware Monitor to open before any issues popped up.
it registered the GT650m, with a temp of 54c and then my laptop froze completely (not even mouse movement) and i had to force it to turn off after a few minutes of it not responding.

edit: i found this http://www.tomshardware.co.uk/answe...-gtx-660-driver-version-334-mouse-freeze.html. which sounds exactly like the problem i have, so i might try 332.21. this problem is driving me mad :S

 

[Jamie0202]

I've had issues with Nvidia laptop drivers which I could only solve by using the Nvidia desktop drivers.

My particular issue was horrible stuttering when framerate went over 60FPS with vsync enabled and only resolved with the desktop drivers. Seriously I tried everything and could only semi-fix it by limiting the framerate to 55FPS using Bandicam.

Anyone interested in desktop drivers should give this site a go.
http://www.laptopvideo2go.com/
You need to go through the laptopvideo2go forum though to ensure a reliable driver and modded inf link.

 

[Adli]

it makes no sense because it worked fine before 335.23, yet rolling back doesnt fix it.

the other options i have are:

- reinstall windows and put everything back on.
- revert to a backup from... i think it would be early-2013 or late 2012, so i would lose a lot of personal data. i dont have a second hard drive to back my new data onto

ok so i tried installing a reference driver and the installation failed, which is apparently an OS problem from what ive googled. ill see about getting a second hard drive, or formatting the one i have and making an image.