Hi.
My computer is working really hard after opening a large Writer document which is a pure text document. A loud noise and the fan are kicking in for a few seconds, stop for a few seconds, kick in for a few seconds, stop … and so on until I close the document. What amazes me is that this behaviour doesn’t occur when opening other Writer files and wasn’t happening in LO 4.x (same computer, etc). The file in question has approx. 750KB, 500 pages, 150,000 words, 1,100,000 characters.
Please could someone tell me what the problem is because it is impossible to focus on work under the circumstances mention above.
Many thanks.
Could you share that file ?
Hi Huskey
I would be amazed if this is just a software (LO) issue; rather, it is almost certainly a hardware issue (and simple to fix).
Something you probably know:
The fan-noise comes from a large fan mounted on top of the CPU. Fans were not needed in the early days of personal computers (PCs); they became a necessity at about the time of the Pentium + AMD cpu, because they produced so much heat when the internal cpu work-rate rose above a certain level. If the fan does not cool the cpu then the silicon will produce software errors.
Some things you may not know:
- Opening an LO file works the cpu harder than opening many other files.
LO files are actually zip archives. Opening such archives cause a higher cpu work-rate than (for example) plain-text files. Embedded graphics & other such can exacerbate that situation.
- A blocked fan-filter is far more likely to cause your problem.
The issues above may trip the fan into action, but if the fan filter has become blocked with dust, then that will be the cause.
Fixing it is easy, but fiddly.
Fixing a blocked fan-filter:
Arm yourself with:
- An old toothbrush
- A can of compressed air
- (and/or) Strong lungs
Remove the power, open the case & expose the filter for the fan (normally on top of / surrounds the entire fan). Look within the vanes of the filter. Unless you have done this recently, they are likely to be almost solid with dust. Get them as free of dust as you can. Take care not to disturb anything on the rest of the motherboard.
When you’ve got as much as you can of the dust & hair & stuff out of the filter & the box, seal it all up again. It should now work much more quietly.
Added Monday 31st:
I worked in the early 1990s as Sales Manager, Publicity Wrangler (DTP on an early Mac) and General Dogsbody in a Furniture manufacturing unit. A router was in use, but no extraction unit. The office where I worked had an internal door but no window that opened. A partner was using my MSDOS PC (pre-Windows) on the floor of the unit to do the Accounts.
After a few weeks the PC packed up. I took it home & discovered that the insides were almost solid with fine wood-dust. Although perfectly dry, the dust had short-circuited the motherboard. Once thoroughly cleaned it worked again.
A domestic home has a bare fraction of the dust that that furniture unit had. However, just look at your vacuum cleaner to see the amount of dust that collects each week in the average home. The combo of fan + filter in a PC acts just like a vacuum cleaner, and it also requires regular cleaning (eg twice a year).
If this helps then please tick the answer (
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Hi.
Thanks for your reply. Could you please explain to me why this behaviour only occurs with one LO file including any other file format? I have two much larger LO files where this behaviour doesn’t occour - everything runs smoothly there.
Many thanks.
I do not know - there are far too many variables to be able to give a definitive answer.
What is the state of the fan filter(s)? (do not forget the psu fan & filter, and any others that you can find).