After purchasing the two DLC's and re-installing the latest version of Kerbal Space Program, I am now plagued by an odd animated icon in the top left corner of the screen. It's on every screen, never goes away and obscures useful information on the UI.

The fact that it's animated just makes it more intrusive. It's really pissing me off. How can I get rid of it?

(Screen captures attached.)

Loading circle, maybe?

Has nothing to do with KSP. It tells you that Rivatuner/MSI Afterburner is recording...

I think this is it. The blocky font and orange text is very distinct.

OP, might want to check your hotkeys to ensure the controls of the game don't interfere with activating anything in RTSS or vice versa.

Thank you russellskanne, you're spot on. It's gone now.

I have been using MSI in a slightly unusual way.

I noticed recently that my PC seemed to be a little louder than usual and loaded up MSI to check temps and fan speeds. Indeed, my GPU was running hot (60c). All I had loaded was Media Player Classic, and it was just playing an audiobook with a still image of the book's cover.

The moment I launched MSI, the temperature began to fall (see attachment) and soon stabilised at or below 30c which is normal.

I have no idea why this happens, but it's consistent. I leave the PC idling for a while, the GPU temp goes up to 60c. I load MSI, it returns to normal.

Any ideas why this might be happening and how to deal with it, apart from having MSIafterburner running all the time?

Maybe you have a custom fan speed setting on when you start up AB whereas the 60C was the GPU in fanless mode (assuming it's a fairly recent model)? Easiest solution here would to always have AB to auto-start. The other alternative would be to flash your GPU with a custom BIOS to permanently set your own fan curve.

The temp and fan speed go up when left idle. Like an invisible screen saver doing work.

I've heard that some bitcoin miner viruses can behave like this, but scans are clean.

It's a GeForce GTX 1080 Ti with up-to-date drivers.

Miner Malware would have been my suspicion. What did you use to scan? Latest Norton snakeoil mines Eutherium btw...

Are they going up simultaneously or is the fan speed increase lagging behind temperature increase? I'm still convinced the GPU is in fanless mode that ramps up fans at 60C. And honestly, that temp isn't too much to worry about since it's in operating spec.

Below are some tips if you're really concerned about it.

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I'd watch these changes using HWInfo64:

1. Idle, AB off (0 RPM, 60C steady expected)
2. Idle, AB on (> 0 RPM, 36C steady expected)
3. Windowed GPU-intensive game, AB off (0 RPM, 60C @ launch; > 0 RPM, 55-80C steady expected)
4. Windowed GPU-intensive game, AB on (> 0 RPM, 60C @ launch; higher than previous RPM, 55-80C steady expected)

If you get any different results, report back.

Alternatively, you could try ending your non-essential background tasks one at a time through Task Manager. You could also try booting up in safe mode and compare idle to running a GPU-intensive game to rule this out too.

Failing that, you might want to open up your PC, dust it out, and record that all of your GPU and case fans are functional with your phone while running a GPU-intensive game.

Failing that, can always try reverting to previous GPU drivers.

And finally, if you're running anything less than a 1 intake, 1 exhaust or 1 exhaust only fan config, might be time to add in some extra intake fans depending on your case's airflow design.

EDIT: and if that also fails, might be a good time to backup your files and reformat due to toxicTom's suggestion about malware miners.

Please tell me what it means. I understand the part about mining Eutherium cryptocurrency. What Norton product, what is snakoil?

Thank you Canuck_Cat, I'll take a look.

You're onto something. HWI reports zero fan speed and temperature climbs. When it gets to about 62c, the fan runs up to about 900 RPM and the temp falls, then the fan turns off at about 55c and the cycle repeats. (See attachment)

Launching AB immediately runs the fan up to about 1200 RPM where it stays, and the temp slowly falls to about 30c.

Exiting AB turns the fan off, and it returns to the former oscillating condition.

The GPU load remains low and constant, so I'm guessing that eliminates a miner.

I think this behaviour began when I updated to the latest drivers. You can anticipate my next question...

This fan-on-at-62 and fan-off-at-55 behaviour must be programmable. How?

MSI AB: settings > [Fan] tab > check "Enable user ... fan control" > (set your curves) > apply + OK > (test until satisfied) > (ensure AB starts with Windows)

Instructional guide: https://www.pcgamer.com/how-to-customize-gpu-cooling-using-msi-afterburner/ or any other Youtube tutorial about it.

Thanks. I'd prefer a way to do it without needing to run AB though.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/technology/norton-now-offers-an-ethereum-mining-feature/ar-AAKFTpm

Snake Oil...https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Snake_oil

Security solutions like Norton, Avast, whatever are often titulated "snake oil" by security experts because they actually increase attack vectors instead of helping against threats. They regularly fail against the most recent threats, but are indeed the gateway for them. There are really countless examples. Nevertheless they have been marketed as wunder-medicines and cure-it-alls for ages.

Personally I do think that an on-demand virus scanner has its uses - if you are aware of the limitations - but I do also agree that the mostly those products do lull the users into a false sense of security while at the same time presenting more angles of attack.