All of a sudden when I turn my Dell PC on I immediately go to a screen that informs me "ALERT: CPU FAN NOT DETECTED". I can then continue to boot up and everything seems functional. Is this a big deal? The main fan for the unit appears to be functioning, so may I assume this is a tiny fan affixed to the CPU for additional cooling? If so, is it a user handled replacement? And how quickly should it be done. Whatever info could be provided would be much appreciated. If it helps the CPU is a Celeron 1.8 GHz. In the mean time I'll try to limit the length of time we have the PC running to minimize the heat.

Thanks in advance for your assistance

Have you opened up the case to determine if the CPU fan is indeed working? If not, you may want to do this right away as the heat build-up CAN damage your CPU. It is not a very difficult procedure to remove and replace the CPU fan.

I'll try to check the actual operation of the fan later today. Are the CPU fans generic or are they for specific chips only? Also, do you have any recommended internet sources? As you can tell I've not been down this path yet. Thanks again.

OK, it isn't a CPU fan per se, but one that cools the power area. And it runs - sometimes. I got the numbers from the fan and am off to Google it for a replacement.

Try this Froogle search Blueeagle
Fans are very cheap
Only 2 things to remember A) The size of the fan surround so you can fit it in the case
and 9.0 cm (centimeters) is the same as 90mm millimetres
They are all metric sizes
And B)Check if it's a 3 or 4 Pin connector
2x Antec fans are cooling my computer besides the CPU and Transformer fans, and they are very quiet. They are priced from $2.74 on one site to a Max of $4.10 (Same item)