GTS450 fan not working after latest Windows update

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Plague_Injected

Supreme [H]ardness
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Oct 6, 2008
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My Windows 8.1 updated last night, and ever since my graphics card fan won't work.

I've had troubles with the fan before, so I have been using MSI Afterburner to force it to work. Ever since the update, Afterburner isn't having any effect.

I have uninstalled and reinstalled Afterburner and Nvidia display drivers. Still no joy.

Does anybody have any idea on what's going on?
 
Have you tried a complete power down? (ie, unplug PC, wait 20 seconds. nVidia cards have been known to get really wedged.)

GTS450 is pretty old, sure the fan isn't just failing?
 
May just be a failing fan, and just a coincidence with the software.
 
I'm going to agree with the others that there is a chance of a failing fan and the timing with windows update is coincidental. Unless this is a special silent version of the card or advertised to slow the fan to 0 then it should at least spin at a low setting.

The fan may have already been failing such as the bearing/bushing about to seize, lack of lubrication due to wear, or simply gummed up with dust. Settings through the Nvidia drivers may have been forcing a fan control profile giving it just enough juice to start up again. That setting may be registry based, and windows update overwrote what Nvidia drivers put in.

I just replaced a fan on an EVGA 9500GT on my parent's computer that was doing this. The fan normally spun at a slow speed and ramped up under load. The fan had almost completely seized, and every 5 seconds without the fan the thermal limit would hit and 100% fan setting kicked in giving it just enough juice to spin up again creating a horrbile buzzing sound.

Step 1. Remove card from PC. Dust the heatsink and fan real well to make sure dust isn't the cause.
Step 2. Check to make sure the fans spin freely. Give it a flick with your finger and see if they turn several revolutions on their own.
If they barely spin, you've got a bad fan. Try lubricating the fan, replacing the fan, heatsink/fan combo, etc. If the fan spins easily, go to step 3.
Step 3. Reinstall video card drivers or try resetting the fan curve settings in the drivers or 3rd party tool you might be using (EVGA PrecisionX, MSI Afterburner, etc.).
 
I took the card out and the fan seems to spin well enough when I flick it with my finger. I put in my old card and the fan is working fine on that one. My brother-in-law has taken the card to see if the fan works in his PC.

Thanks for the replies guys. :cool:
 
Plague_Injected said:
I took the card out and the fan seems to spin well enough when I flick it with my finger. I put in my old card and the fan is working fine on that one. My brother-in-law has taken the card to see if the fan works in his PC.

Thanks for the replies guys. :cool:
Click to expand...

No problem. Like someone said above replacing the fan is also easy if that is the issue. May even have a short, as weird as it sounds I have seen it before on GPU fans.
 
I had a similar problem on a 6850. It turned out to be a great time to replace it :)
 
Hey bro, high tech problem requires high tech solution... in this case throw the card at a wall... then buy a new modern card.
 
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