Is there a software that turns off fans w/going to standby?

Wedge · Post by **Wedge** » Sat Aug 02, 2003 1:53 pm

I have an Asus board (p4b266-c) that doesn't shut off the fans when my computer enters standby. Is there any software that will do this automatically as the PC enters standby mode? I'm just thinking this will extend the life of the fans (while completely eliminating any noise they might be emitting).

Keel · Post by **Keel** » Sat Aug 02, 2003 6:18 pm

in the acpi settings of the bios you can set the standby to S3 (str) mode

if ur running xp, hibernation will work as well

Wedge · Post by **Wedge** » Sat Aug 02, 2003 8:25 pm

The only ACPI setting that is available is *ACPI suspend to RAM* and I have it set to *enable*

The computer enters Standby without problems. But the fans do not power down.

Gerwin · Post by **Gerwin** » Sun Aug 03, 2003 3:17 am

Wedge wrote:The only ACPI setting that is available is *ACPI suspend to RAM* and I have it set to *enable*

The computer enters Standby without problems. But the fans do not power down.

I know exactly what you mean: this only works if you install windows with suspend to ram enabled in the bios. Enabling it in the bios after windows installation doesn't have any effect. If you install windows again with this feature enabled though, it should stop all fans including psu fan.

Wedge · Post by **Wedge** » Sun Aug 03, 2003 5:30 am

Ahhh, really? You've had experience with an Asus board like this? Or seen this before with a computer using Asus?

If that's the solution, it's easy enough.

Wedge · Post by **Wedge** » Sat Dec 06, 2003 11:55 pm

Gerwin wrote: I know exactly what you mean: this only works if you install windows with suspend to ram enabled in the bios. Enabling it in the bios after windows installation doesn't have any effect. If you install windows again with this feature enabled though, it should stop all fans including psu fan.

A belated *thanks*, Gerwin, because your suggestion did the trick. It's belated because I didn't want to re-install my OS until I was forced to do so. Finally had to as I ran a Norton Ghost image-restore that was apparently corrupt. It is the first one to fail me, but I still think the program is invaluable to have and use.

So, I was forced to re-install XP. The proper BIOS settings were in place. Now, in standby the fans all shut down. Thank you very much.

scalar · Post by **scalar** » Sun Dec 07, 2003 5:47 am

Well, when I look in the Device Manager for Windows XP, there's an item in there called the "ACPI Fan" that probably controls this.

Not everything in a PC is Plug 'n Play. I wonder if you were to change the BIOS setting, if the change could be detected by manually running the Add New Hardware Wizard.

(Not that I want to reinstall my Win XP or delete that ACPI Fan item to test this.)

-Scalar

Elliot · Post by **Elliot** » Sun Dec 07, 2003 7:01 pm

Wedge wrote:Now, in standby the fans all shut down.

All fans??

My understanding is that PSU and CPU do not shut off in standby mode (in contrast to hibernate mode). If all fans in your PC shut down, how come your PSU and CPU do not burn?

I guess I don't understand how standby mode really works.

Wedge · Post by **Wedge** » Sun Dec 07, 2003 7:47 pm

Elliot wrote: All fans??

Yes, all the fans, amigo. I just took off the side of the case to double check this. The power supply fan, the CPU fan, the exhaust fan, and the L1A pointing at my Radeon all shut off when entering Start ---> Standby

Elliot · Post by **Elliot** » Sun Dec 07, 2003 7:53 pm

I *think* that selecting Start --> Standby can put PC in hibernate mode, rather than standby, depending on how power management is configured.

How long does it take your PC to come back from that mode?

Wedge · Post by **Wedge** » Sun Dec 07, 2003 8:03 pm

If I jiggle the mouse it comes out of standby.

btw, I should have said Start ---> Turn Off Computer ---> Standby

Elliot · Post by **Elliot** » Sun Dec 07, 2003 8:12 pm

Wedge wrote:If I jiggle the mouse it comes out of standby.

Ok, it's standby. Which means that CPU and PSU are not shut down. How you know that it's safe to shut down the fans?

Wedge · Post by **Wedge** » Sun Dec 07, 2003 8:16 pm

Well, honestly I'm not sure. It's one of those things that Windows does automatically and I've always assumed it's safe; otherwise, there would be warnings about this on the internet maybe??

In Standby, I thought the only active current was being received the RAM. Somebody will surely come along and correct me on this if I'm wrong.

I have a Gateway machine that is 3 years old, and standby hasn't damaged anything yet, so I'm assuming it is no threat to the CPU.

Elliot · Post by **Elliot** » Sun Dec 07, 2003 8:29 pm

Wedge wrote:In Standby, I thought the only active current was being received the RAM.

Even if it's true, the question remains about PSU.

nutball · Post by **nutball** » Mon Dec 08, 2003 3:35 am

Elliot wrote:
Wedge wrote:If I jiggle the mouse it comes out of standby.
Ok, it's standby. Which means that CPU and PSU are not shut down. How you know that it's safe to shut down the fans?

As I understand it there are two types of standby, S1 and S3. In S1 the CPU is stopped but still powered, in S3 it is switched off. In both cases the RAM is refreshed. Both seem to be termed "Standby" by Windows, with the distinction really being made in the BIOS (ie. have you enabled S3(STR) or not).

Well, that's the way it works on my BIOS at least.

Presumably PSUs which support this feature are designed to provide sufficient power to refresh the RAM and power the devices used to provide a wake-up signal (eg. keyboard, mouse) without needing the PSU fan running. Certainly my mobo manual talks about this, the +5VSB line from the PSU needing a certain rating.

I've only had this feature running for the past few days, and it absolutely rocks. I've been waiting to use it for years, but always found that there's some piece of hardware, driver, software, bit of Windows, which prevented me from doing so. The wonders of self-build

Jan Kivar · Post by **Jan Kivar** » Mon Dec 08, 2003 12:25 pm

nutball wrote:As I understand it there are two types of standby, S1 and S3. In S1 the CPU is stopped but still powered, in S3 it is switched off. In both cases the RAM is refreshed. Both seem to be termed "Standby" by Windows, with the distinction really being made in the BIOS (ie. have you enabled S3(STR) or not).

S1 is "Stand-by", S3 is "Suspend-to-RAM". Hibernate is S4, IIRC. Fans may stop in S1, if they are connected to the motherboard.

nutball wrote:Presumably PSUs which support this feature are designed to provide sufficient power to refresh the RAM and power the devices used to provide a wake-up signal (eg. keyboard, mouse) without needing the PSU fan running. Certainly my mobo manual talks about this, the +5VSB line from the PSU needing a certain rating.

Actually, it's the same "system" that allows You to start the computer without a switch that is connected directly to the mains. All ATX PSUs are "on" always, if the PSU is connected to the mains (OK, some PSUs have the switch at the back...). This can be seen with a Kill-a-Watt or similar, or by placing a thermometer above the PSU exhaust hole. Even if the computer is off, the air will be 1-3°C warmer than the ambient.

Somebody said in some other forum that re-installation may not be necessary to get the S3 mode work; all one would need to do is to delete some of the system devices from the "Device Manager", and reboot. I don't know the specifics though.

Cheers,

Jan

Elliot · Post by **Elliot** » Wed Dec 10, 2003 6:14 pm

Here's a good intro to the subject of PC power management:

Information Week article