fan noise when starting protools LE on my laptop
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Posted on Mar 08, 2005 09:48 am
Siggy
Member Since: Mar 08, 2005
Hello! My brand new laptop has a fan that starts running once I start up my protools LE with my Mbox. Has anyone got any idea how to stop the fan. Has it maybe got anything to do with compatibility?
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Mar 08, 2005 09:53 am Welcome to HRC.
It's doubtful it's an incompatability issue, but I can assure multiple posting won't help get an answer any quicker.
I don't see why starting ProTools would trigger your fan to start, unless it's a threshold in the computer that starts the fan running, or speeds it up if the CPU usage reaches a given level...I would ask the laptop maker if any such setting exists...
SiggyMember
Since: Mar 08, 2005
Mar 08, 2005 09:57 am thanks! I'll check with the dealer. Sorry about the double posting. just wasn't shure about where to post i correctly. regards, Siggy
riffgodwww.charlienaebeck.comMember
Since: Apr 10, 2004
Mar 09, 2005 03:57 pm If I am guessing, you most likely have a PC for a laptop with Pro Tools?? :) The reason I ask is because most of the "market" laptops now days come standard with 512 megs of ram for starters. I am guessing you have around a 2ghz processor also? Pro Tools takes up a lot of system resources in XP regardless of if you are running Home edition or Pro Edition. I would advise dis-abling anything that does not have to do with recording in Pro Tools when you open the application. You may also want to consider atleast a gig of memory to avoid latency issues down the road. :) You might also want to visit www.musicxp.net and follow the tune up guide on there for better performance of your new laptop. There is a lot of Microsoft stuff that you can do with out whether you are running Pro Tools or just using your computer for every day stuff that will help you big time in the long run. If you have any questions about Pro Tools stuff though, feel free to drop me an e-mail. My address is on: www.charlienaebeck.com and I have been using PT for a while now with XP Pro myself. Goodluck
Charlie
www.charlienaebeck.com
SiggyMember
Since: Mar 08, 2005
Mar 10, 2005 06:45 am I just posted this request to digidesign. Maybe that'll help.
Please give a concise description of the problem:
Whenever I start my protools my fan starts running at full speed. The CPU usage goes up to 100% percent and that is probably why my fan starts running instantly no matter what the temparature of the machine is at. I really hope you can help me with this issue? I've come accross a couple of forums on the net. It seems there is a lot of users who face this problem and there is no FAQ on this matter on your website.
Actions required to reproduce the problem:
i've tried my Mbox with Cubase SX 2,0. The problem occurs when i enable the digidesign ASIO driver for my Mbox. CPU usage seems fine until i enable the the Asio digidesign driver. Is there a fix to this problem?
Troubleshooting already attempted:
I've been in contact with my local digidesigndealer and they directed me to the dealer of my computer. They told me that there is a certain level of CPU usage that has to be reached before the fan kicks in. But when the Asio driver/protools makes my CPU usage reach 100% at startup the fan will of course kick in.Please give me a fix to this issue?
Mar 10, 2005 06:55 am Something to also think about is what else is running on the computer. Sometimes if you have an antivirus, some firewall, maybe an instant messenger or two, SETI@home and other such things, together they can clip a CPU easier and maybe ProTools just has an issue withone of the apps you have running.
SiggyMember
Since: Mar 08, 2005
Mar 10, 2005 07:03 am I've tried disabling most of the apps running. Firewall, internett, wireless, antivirus, etc. but it just doesn't do it captain..
Mar 10, 2005 07:05 am That's unfortunate. Please, keep us informed of what you find out, I'd be interested to know.
SiggyMember
Since: Mar 08, 2005
Mar 10, 2005 07:18 am will do!
Mar 13, 2005 04:09 pm Siggy,
Your laptop fan is running because ProTools is using a lot of system resources. Almost all laptops have a built in thermal sensor, so that fans only run when they need to, so that things stay quiet. After the CPU begins to work a bit, it builds up heat. In a laptop, there isn't anywhere for the heat to go. After a little while, the thermal sensors realize the temp is above the threshold, and start the fans, UNTIL THE TEMP DROPS BELOW THE THRESHOLD.
Heres a few things you can do:
1) After ProTools starts up, let it sit for awhile, doing nothing. The fans SHOULD eventually stop, unless ProTools is CONSTANTLY using resources.
2) Before opening ProTools, right click the taskbar and bring up the task manager, and click the "performance" tab. It shows CPU utilization. More utilization means more heat. When protools is booting, its undoubtable that the CPU is being used, but if it stays high even when protools isnt doing anything, you can bet that the fan isnt going to turn off, so you'll have to live with the noise.
3) Get a motherboard monitoring tool. Theres one called "motherboard monitor". After installing, it shows your CPU and motherboard temps in the system tray (provided your laptop motherboard supports it). You can see how hot your chip is running, and you'll even be able to tell at which temp the fan kicks in. It'll give you a good idea as to how far you are from fanless operation.
I just spent the last few months building an extremely quiet powerhouse PC, but laptops are hard to do anything with. If ProTools is just using the CPU all the time, the ONLY other option i can think of is this:
-Most laptops have a "scale down" feature that allows you to run the chip at a significantly slower clock speed. Its used to save battery power. I think there are programs that monitor this, and let you pick which mode you'd like to be in. If you are worried about noise, you could run it in a "slow" mode while recording, so that the chip isnt running hard, and hence, the fan isnt either, and then clock it up for mixing and mastering. I would imagine that's where the big CPU overhead would be anyway.
I'm a 4th year computer science student, so this is probably the most in depth answer you're going to get. :)
Best of luck!
Mar 13, 2005 04:25 pm hehehehe, well, I dunno, I'm in my 10th or so year as a real world computer professional, so there! :-p
School is real good for teaching theory, not much at teaching real world situations tho ;-)
That said, your advice is sound, and is pretty much the same advice he was given a few posts up.
Mar 13, 2005 07:11 pm It's true, most of the advice given comes from using a computer for the last 12 years.
School teaches programming, and extremely low level concepts...things you really don't see on the surface. Oh, and math. Did i mention math? LOL. Not always applicable, that's for sure. =)
