new problem.. DVD shrink shuts down computer

[MOVIEGEEK]

F1 gets you into the BIOS and F2 will get you to the recovery console, at least on my Lenovo.

[Nelson37]

Do you folks who are actually able to enter the BIOS have to press and hold an Fn or function key to do this?

Perhaps an external keyboard could be tried, although does the manual FOR THIS MODEL state there are any temperature readouts or alarm settings?

Could I get a clear answer as to whether or not the PC shut itself OFF while indicating 50C? Also that the fan was not running at this temp reading, and that Speedfan was the indicator used, everytime?

Does the mount allow the fan and heatsink to rock or wiggle and does the frame or cover act to lock these in place?

Has the fan been observed to run at more than one speed? Recently? I would have to assume that fan speed is temp-controlled by motherboard hardware/BIOS settings, but honestly don't know.

Fan or no fan, it should not shut down at 50C. Need to verify that temp with a second-source reading.

And in case anybody is wondering, I really don't know why I'm in such a reasonable mood. Must be the time of year.

[MOVIEGEEK]

Do you folks who are actually able to enter the BIOS have to press and hold an Fn or function key to do this?

I press and hold the F1 key when booting up, here are some alternatives:

http://support.lenovo.com/en_US/detail.page?LegacyDocID=YAST-3JWKJX

[theewizard]

speed fan used for all posted temp readings

the pc does NOT shut down unless the observed temp is over 80c

it was the fan that was NOT running with an observed temp of 50c and temp rising

fan speed seem consistently LOW

at 38c it is NOT on, not sure what temp temp it actually turns on

no the heat sink does NOT wiggle

the fan is tight where it fastens to the MB/case ?

as shown in the pictures, the fan is NOT mounted on the heat sink or cpu

the copper heat pipe extends from the heat sink to place 'radiator'? fins in front of the fan

the fan pills in air and , blows airout thru the fins at the end of the heat pipe and thru the case opening/grill

seems to be only one fan inside the laptop

lenovo forums turn up plenty of heat issue complaints

[Nelson37]

OK, well at least you still appear to be functional.

Once AGAIN, access to the BIOS is important.

Press every F1 thru F12 key while booting up. RT*F*M to find every other possible keystroke combination. Someone posted them for you, with a hot link and everything. Try DEL and INS and hopping on one foot, if necessary, but get in there.

I would make this a number one priority.

Fan speed control should be in there. Temp readings should be in there.

Also see if speedfan can actually control your fans. It should be able to, though not OVER 100%. If it reads a less than 100% speed, you should be able to crank it to 100% and detect an increase in speed, and also cooling.

[Nelson37]

Almost forgot, make sure and plug in the AC power cord, fan speed could be affected by low battery power. Consider removing the battery altogether, simply to take it out of the equation. In fact, don't consider it, just do it.

[Nelson37]

Additional note - you begin pressing the F-key immediately and repeatedly after activating power. Any situation other than a complete, power OFF restart may not allow for entering the BIOS. The time interval available after switching on may be less than 5 seconds. Remove battery and AC power for after shutdown if necessary. This is to ensure a complete power-off.

An external keyboard is a possible option.

Never seen a single unit, or heard of one, where it was not possible to enter BIOS. Difficult sometimes, but Never impossible.

[theewizard]

i do not have an external keyboard, or desktop to borrow one from
from a friend .. maybe

no speed fan does not access or control my fan, tried that multiple times

have done the battery removal, run from Power brick only... no difference in behavior of pc

have done total shut down with battery removal,

no bios access no matter what i try, maybe it is a keyboard problem maybe a timing thing
those options on the black screen last about 2 seconds, and none mention bios
F2 is supposed to get me into setup, but doesn't appear to be functioning, either keyboard or a timing issue with my response


waiting on the new parts.. will see what happens then

[lingyi]

@Nelson37

On my laptop, pressing just F2 while the Lenovo logo is on, ~5 secs. gets me into the BIOS.

My BIOS doesn't show any temp info, and a quick search on "G560 BIOS temp" suggests there is (isn't there usually / always?) an advanced BIOS screen that's locked out.

Agree about never NOT being able to get into the BIOS. I've been Supervisor locked out, but have always been able to enter the opening BIOs screen on every PC I've worked on.

Here's a link to the G560 hardware manual http://www.retrevo.com/support/Lenovo-G560-0679-Laptops-manual/id/23635ag611/t/2/ . Pages 41-43 shows an exploded view of the heatsink / fan assembly.

Like you, I'm feeling extra helpful. But come Dec 26! ;-p

@theewizard

I took a closer look at your CPU pic. First, the thermal paste seems spotty on the CPU, is should be evenly spread out unless it's dried out, then it mght come off in patches. Second, what's the white stuff around the CPU? If it's thermal paste, it's transfering heat to where it shouildn't be and might be the cause of your problem. Here's a pic of where the thermal paste should be:


Those two white patches are thermal tape and represent where (and only where) the paste should be. Compare this CPU with yours. Something's definitely not right.

Well, back to you Nelxon37. Happy holidays!

Edit: Took anouther look your CPU pic and it looks like the paste melted and flowed off the cores. Definitely not good.

Are your pics before you applied the paste or after? It's odd how it's thicker in the middle and thinner on the sides. When I pull off heatsniks off dried paste, it's usually the middle that flakes off since that's the source of the greatest heat.

Also, since you're going to be replacing the heatsink anyway, what type of paste are you using? I use Artic Silver or Ceramique 2. I'm sure there's even better stuff out now. A bit more, but it's lasted for years and numerous CPU mounts / dismounts and really keeps the temp down.

[Nelson37]

OK, so I broke down and did the leg work for the OP.

There is a fan speed control issue with many Lenovo models and specifically this one. No indication of any needed controls present in the BIOS, but a definite suggestion, with confirmation from a Lenovo rep, that the BIOS is indeed the problem and they are working on a fix. Didn't spend the time to read all 27 pages, but there was some suggestion that BIOS version 2.08, or possibly earlier, was better than updates released, at least up to 2.15.

No one has mentioned a defective fan, and/or a replacement fan solving the problem.

Multiple, specific mentions of fan running very slowly and quietly. Also of fan failing to start running at 50C and higher. Also multiple reports of fan running very fast and noisy.

"smart fan control" mentioned. Lenovo probably attempted to solve the noisy fan problem.

Use of the Fn + F2 key for BIOS entry mentioned. Difficulties updating BIOS mentioned. Special keys possibly present for BIOS menu access mentioned.

Obtaining this information took less than 10 minutes.

[theewizard]

my pix are from the oEM .. from when i removed the heat sink for cleaning

like i said Lenovo forums full of heat issue comments

nelson you did find more specific Bios info, than what I found .. thnak you

but i did look

i will try the F2 key press and hold 5 sec when the logo pops up

though it appears, even if i succeed there will be NO fan or temp info to be found

looks like i might try to hot wire the fan, easy enough to splice into a usb cord and power it from a usb port or adapter, full time run, will be better than overheating

tried downloading the document posted above

got a 22page file full of adv specs, NO service manual no pictures of the fan, although i know what it looks like

[Cornucopia]

I could be wrong, but I think what Nelson37 just mentioned you should try is [Fn+F2] to get into the BIOS, not just [F2].

@Nelson37, you're doing a great job! Way to get into the spirit of things...

Scott

[Noahtuck]

Wow!!!


71 post's and 3 pages later!!!!!

Oy Vey

[Nelson37]

You do NOT "hold" the F2 key, you TAP it, repeatedly. Pressing FN at the same time (that one you can hold, it functions similar to SHIFT) may be necessary. That was the reason for the external keyboard suggestion. On the laptop keyboard, you may notice that the FN label will be in color, the same color as the top-row F-key labels.

While there was no specific mention of temp readings or fan controls in the BIOS, there was no clear statement that they were NOT there. If there are any, that is where they will be. Possibly accessible with an additional, undocumented keystroke.

BUT - IF there is a simple, easy solution to the primary problem, IN THE BIOS is where it will be. Getting access to that BIOS should be your absolute, #1 goal. Verifying the existence, or lack thereof, of any additional pages accessed by additional keystrokes would be next.

Constant, unregulated power to the fan may result in a high noise level - this was apparently the original problem which Lenovo attempted to solve, by slowing down the fan.

When you stated the fan was "Off" at 50C, did you actually see the fan blades stationary? Or could it have been turning slowly, with minimal airflow?

Fan replacement may be an option, but using the OEM fan will just give you the same problem minus $40. An aftermarket fan designed to solve a similar problem, or one with specific hardware or software speed control, would be what you need. For laptops, this is going to be a difficult find, particularly with no specific info on BIOS fan voltages supplied to the hardware.

Fan speed control is the problem. If not present or accessible, then a BIOS update, that works, is the only effective solution. Extreme external cooling may be a possible workaround.

Me, I would get in touch with Lenovo about possible warranty issues and defective product claims. I would suggest that the poorly designed hardware would be delivered to them, air-mail through the front window of the largest corporate office accessible to you.

The following phrase has worked for me in he past, more than once. "I know where your office is. I will be there 8:00 tomorrow morning. I will bring a hammer. I am going to break things, I am going to hurt people. GET IT FIXED." Use at your own risk.

[theewizard]

tapping and holding tried both
this is where i got the holding idea '~5' quote from previos post

yes i verified the fan was NOT turning, at 50c

i can live with a little fan noise

hell .. you cAN'T HEAR THIS THING WHEN IT IS RUNNING

so it an't making any noise or speed to be worth mentioning

[theewizard]

"insyde H20 " Bios

what a pita, finally in and NO temp info, NO fan control

NO unlock that i can find

new 2watt fan to replace oem 1w fan

maintains slightly cooler cpu core temps once it comes on, but IMO it should come on sooner at a lower temp

the version i have, seems to be more stable than the upgrades, and the upgrades are a pita, failing more often than installing

time for a hardware fix or us it untill it dies then buy a new one with better cooling

thanks for all the help

[JoeBolden]

...the new problem is the lack of cd/dvd drive access..

..use it untill it dies then buy a new one with better cooling..

BTW Did you get your cd/dvd drive access back and DVD Shrink to complete without shutting down?
"backup" "backup" "backup"

Good luck, Joey

[theewizard]

i got access to the dvd/cd drives when i restored/repaired windows

but first i spent hours backing up pictures videos and downloads

which have not yet been fully restored to my laptop

yes shrink will now run without causing shut down, however smartFan reports cpu temps in the mid 70's C..when shrink is running,
while nOT shutting down, is still higher temps than i like, and some day there will be a permanent failure of cpU pr associate chips