Graphic card fan not moving

[Andersson]

Hi all,
a few days ago my graphic card (GeForce2 Ti) promptly stopped working and I were facing an all too black screen. Fortunately I could borrow a GeForce2 Pro card from work, and all seemed to work just fine - only I now notice that the fan on the graphic card doesn't move.

This could mean that the fan is broken on the GeForce2 Pro card and that I should get yet another card, OR that the graphic card fan isn't supplied with electricity from the mainboard?

Either way, since I'm not sure what the problem really is I'm not too happy with buying new parts until I do. That two cards would be broken feels a bit too much like freaky randomness.

Anyone had any problems with fans not moving because of power supply or something similar?

 

[Andersson]

I forgot to mention other computer stats:
AMD Athlon XP 1700 processor
K7T266 Pro2 ATX MSI Mainboard

 

[Martin]

My first guess that one (or more) of the capacitors on the video card fried (which I recall, some manufacturers tried to save production costs by fitting cards with cheap capacitors).

If the card is still under warranty, it is possible to get a replacement.

If you try to put in a different card and it doesn't work, it can be related to the motherboard/powersupply.

BTW, what's the output of your powersupply?

 

[Andersson]

BTW, what's the output of your powersupply?

300W

Removed fan from the heatsink...peeled sticker back..removed rubber stopper. Took a little AXEL grease on a small screwdriver (Yes..automotive..has a high viscosity and won't melt) and put it in the hole. Cleaned the fan and blades and put it all back together. Worked like a charm.

I got the fan on the replacement graphic card to start spinning by manually rotating it, and now it spins by itself. Doesn't feel very solid though, so maybe some cleaning might help!

Just to see if my old graphic cards fan is moving or not I put back in there - and suddenly it's working (including fan spinning), screens not black anymore (very strange since I must have rebooted it at least a dozen times when it first failed). Maybe it was still overheated then and wouldn't work?

So far so good, but now the computer doesn't find the primary HD! Tried to check that no cables got unplugged when I switched GeForce cards.

Shall investigate futher on my lunch, but I'm still supspicius towards my motherboard: since when do graphic cards and hd's compete for the attention?

 

[Andersson]

Problem apparently solved

Bah! A collegue at work helped me. He promply checked the BIOS and declared that the HD was disabled. So now I'm as happy as can be.

I still have no clue as to why:
1) the screen blackouted on me in the first place
2) why the BIOS had a change of mind regarding HD's

I guess I can lead a life of continued ignorance, but the world feels a little less secure than it used to...


Thanks to MicroBell and Martin for giving me healthy advice in an unhealthy universe!