No Display? GPU Fans Not Spinning? Try These Fixes

You are all set to jump on a gaming spree with a challenging title and with full enthusiasm. You have purchased a brand new shining GPU, but after building your PC, you run into – You see no display. Furthermore, when you dive deeper into the issue, you observe that your GPU fans are not spinning. 

When Should You Be Worried

GPU fans don’t always spin. Some GPU brands spin only after reaching a certain temperature, considering some come with thermal control. This brings us to when you should be worried. Let’s say your GPU temperature reaches 80℃, and the GPU fans are not spinning still. It could indicate an overheating issue. 

If that’s you, jitter not! We’ll enlist some of the best ways in which you will be able to address the issue in no time quickly. 

Reasons Why GPU Fans Aren’t Spinning

• Dust in the GPU fans.
• Outdated graphics card driver.
• Your GPU is of a brand where fans spin only when a graphic-intensive application or game is running.
• GPU fans aren’t receiving power.
• GPU is not properly assembled (cables are not properly plugged).

What To Do If GPU Fans Aren’t Working

Solution No. 1 – Restart Your Computer

Before doing anything else, give your PC a quick restart. That’s because OS-related bugs could be blamed if your GPU fans aren’t spinning or working. A simple restart can help eliminate all these bugs and bring your GPU fans back into action.

Solution No. 2 – It Probably Is The Right Time To Stress Your GPU

Likely, your GPU fans are not spinning but working. Here’s what we mean- some GPU fans spin only when put under stress, i.e., the GPU fans will spin when you run a graphic-intensive application or game and as soon as your graphic card reaches a certain temperature. To ascertain this – 

Step 1 – Restart your computer and observe your GPU fans. These should spin in most cases, but if they don’t, head to step no. 2.
Step 2 – Bring into force a utility like FurMark. The application will put your GPU under a stress test. In this case, the fans should start spinning. If they do, good! Else, you can move on to some other solutions mentioned in the post.

Solution No. 3 – Are All The Cables Plugged In Properly?

If this is your first time assembling a PC, your GPU fans might not be spinning properly or working if all the cables are plugged in properly. You need to ensure that you correctly install the GPU in your motherboard’s PCl-e slot. If you need to start from scratch and reassemble the GPU, power down your PC and then open the case properly. 

Also, another important check that you should perform is to see if there is any dust in your GPU. This is another reason why your GPU fans might not be spinning every time. While keeping your PC powered off, first spin the GPU fans with your fingers. If there’s any dust or debris, you can take a cotton swab and clean it. 

Solution No. 4 – Update Graphics Drivers

If solution 3rd does not work, overheating or something else might not be an issue. Instead, outdated graphics drivers might be causing issues. The easiest way to figure that out is to use a third-party driver updater software like Advanced Driver Updater. 

How Can Advanced Driver Updater Help Me Identify and Update Outdated Graphics Driver?

Step 1 – Download, run, and install Advanced Driver Updater.

Step 2 – Click the Start Scan Now button to check for outdated drivers and wait for the scan process to complete.

Step 3 – Review the scan results and locate your graphics card driver. If it is outdated, you can see it under the Status column.

Step 4 – Click on the Update driver button next to the status. 

Other Features of Advanced Driver Updater

• Update multiple drivers at once.
• Backup drivers before updating them.
• Restore backed-up drivers in case the changes are not what you desire.
• Schedule driver scans at your desired time.
• Exclude driver from scans.

Solution No. 5  – Reset or Tweak Fan Curves

Most modern graphic cards let you customize fan curves using built-in software utilities. Here, you can adjust the speed of your GPU fans according to temperature and speed levels. This way, not only will you be able to see your GPU fans kick in again, but you can also reduce fan noise and even enhance performance. In case things have gone out of your hands and GPU fans are not spinning, you can always reset your GPU to default settings. 

For example, you can use a utility like MSI Afterburner and tweak the fan curve. Here are the steps for the same – 

Step 1 – Download, install, and run MSI Afterburner.
Step 2 – Once installed, click on the User Define option next to Fan Sync, which you can see at the bottom right-hand side of the interface.

Step 3 – Once in the fan control properties, ensure that the Enable user defined software automatic fan control and the Override zero fan speed with hardware curve options are enabled.
Step 4 – Customize fan curve speed as per your liking. But ensure that none of the temperature points correspond to 0% fan speed.
Step 5 – Once through, click on Apply and then OK. 

Are Your GPU Fans Spinning Right

We’d again like to reinstate that some GPU fans don’t spin unless put under stress by graphic-intensive games and applications. In that case, you can always use a stress testing application. 

If you are sure that you have assembled your graphic unit properly and that there is no dust or grime on your graphic card, you can always check if your graphics card is outdated or not. And, if the solutions in this post have helped you, let us know in the comments section below. 

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