Over the weekend my computer started making a annoying noise. it sounds like the fan for my power supply after hearing around.
Not the Disc drive ( i never use it therefor it isn't making a noise)
Not My Hard Drive (its under the disc drive, and no where near the noise)
I'm not sure if it serious that my power supplies fan is making a loud noise.
Is it serious or is just as simple as swapping out the fan.
' Wrote:Over the weekend my computer started making a annoying noise. it sounds like the fan for my power supply after hearing around.
Not the Disc drive ( i never use it therefor it isn't making a noise)
Not My Hard Drive (its under the disc drive, and no where near the noise)
I'm not sure if it serious that my power supplies fan is making a loud noise.
Is it serious or is just as simple as swapping out the fan.
It's not really serious, but it's not so good if it is the fan for your power supply.
If it is the fan for your power supply, it's a good thing that you spotted it early, power supplies don't like getting too hot, just like CPU's.
First things first though.
Messing around with the insides of a power supply isn't exactly safe, even after it has been unplugged from the mains power.
There is also the chance that the fan's power wires are actually soldered to the circuit board instead of having a plug, which would make the job a little harder.
Could be your video card fan, i had the same problem with a weird noise and after
banging the side of the pc stopped fixing it , i ended up having to buy a new card.
' Wrote:I'm hoping it's just as simple as cleaning it out. I don't think I've cleaned it out ever.
I have no intention of being awarded a Darwin Award. The most i'll mess around inside is essentially puttting extra stuff in.
Hopefully that is all it will be, but from what you have written it doesn't sound like it.
An unplugged power supply won't kill you, but it may give you a bit of a shock, that is if it hasn't been left to sit for a little while.
Check your fans on your Video Cards. Many times the barrings go out of them. I know the same thing happened to me on my new 600 series NVIDIA cards. Had to take the fan off the card and actually replace the barrings (fun right? Not really).
If it's not the fans, ensure you don't have a buildup of dust like Miles said. Dust is a major culprit of noise and fan noise. If it's not that, ensure all your cables are secure and one of your PC fans isn't hitting the cable, making a noise.
If it's none of those, I'd suggest getting a new PSU soon. If it shorts out it could damage other components, causing total hardware failure.
there is an easy way to locate a strange noise inside a car/computer.
equipment required:
1 x stick (chop stick for computer, walking stick for car)
1 x human ear
1 x human digit
method:
do the thing that makes the noise happen. in this case turn on the computer.
place the chopstick on the housing of the thing suspected of making the noises with one hand. NOTE: don't actually put the stick into any rotating machinery.
with the other hand, bend the tragus (the flappy bit of skin in front of your ear) with a finger, blocking off your ear hole.
now place the fingernail of the blocking finger on the end of the chopstick. listen/feel those good vibrations.
now repeat the operation with the business end of the chopstick prodding other locations, to see if the loudness of the vibrations decreases the further away you get from the suspected object.
if the power supply is the noisy thing, then you can clean out the fan bearings using WD40.
remove the fan from the power unit. if this isnt possible, remove the whole unit, and find a way to power the fan motor. spray shedloads of oil into the motor of the fan as it spins - it should wash out loads of gunk.
remember - the fan will cool the power unit, even though it is making nasty noises, but if it isn't cooling it enough, the rising temperature messes with the voltage/ampage output, which can have devastating consequences for delicate transistors/capacitors/etc, and could fry youe whole computer
' Wrote:if the power supply is the noisy thing, then you can clean out the fan bearings using WD40.
remove the fan from the power unit. if this isnt possible, remove the whole unit, and find a way to power the fan motor. spray shedloads of oil into the motor of the fan as it spins - it should wash out loads of gunk.
remember - the fan will cool the power unit, even though it is making nasty noises, but if it isn't cooling it enough, the rising temperature messes with the voltage/ampage output, which can have devastating consequences for delicate transistors/capacitors/etc, and could fry youe whole computer
People - make sure you do NOT miss this step. If you power up your fan still IN your computer and spritz it with WD-40, you find that electronics all runs on smoke. Once you let the magic smoke out, your electronics device will no longer function.
Also note that in about 99% of the cases, going this extreme is NOT necessary. Go to your local Wal-Mart or regionally or national equivalent. Go to their electronics department. Buy some canned air. Open the side of your computer. Marvel at how damned much dust and other crap has built up in there. Now spray the canned air in there and clean ALL of the dust out. Same thing with the fan blades. Blow the dust out of there. Be amazed at how much gunk had built up in there. And enjoy that your computer now works better.
Do NOT - NOT - NOT - use a regular air compressor. The condensate and moisture that builds up in the air compressor tank is bad for your device. It tends to let the magic smoke out. Note that a tankless compressor like you use for air-brushing doesn't have the same issues - but it also tends not to produce enough air pressure to clean things out.
(11-21-2013, 12:53 PM)Jihadjoe Wrote: Oh god... The end of days... Agmen agreed with me.