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Thread ID: 96888 2009-01-27 20:13:00 Computer making loud whirring sound davidmmac (4619) Press F1
Post ID Timestamp Content User
742501 2009-01-27 20:13:00 Booted up my desktop computer this morning, went away for a about 5 minutes, came back, and it was making a loud whirring sound. Usually when it does anything like this it comes from the dvd drive, so I ejected it, but to no avail. Decided to reboot, but again, after about 3 minutes, a fan started up and it was making a racket, so I just turned it off. It sounds like it's coming from the back end of the computer.

Any ideas?

:confused::confused::confused:
davidmmac (4619)
742502 2009-01-27 20:19:00 Only two things that spin in a PC - the Hard drives disk and cooling fans.

Its will be one of the fans, prob full of dirt, dust etc.

Take the side off the case, turn on the PC and generally you can tell which fan is making the noise. locate the right fan and replace it. No real point in cleaning them, as crap gets in and acts like grinding paste - cleaning may quieten it for a while, but it will return again.

It could also be the cooling fan in the PSU but more often than not its the rear case fan or CPU Fan.
wainuitech (129)
742503 2009-01-27 21:04:00 Just cleaned out my computer with some compressed air and it's made a huge difference. It's much quieter. joshjnz (7844)
742504 2009-01-28 01:51:00 Thanks Wainiutech :thanks

That seems to have stopped it. I didn't track down the source of the sound, but I gave the back fan a clean and all now seems well. It's a bit rusty around that fan, is that normal?
davidmmac (4619)
742505 2009-01-28 05:34:00 No, rust is not normal, sounds like you're drawing damp air through the computer (is it near a window, or the bathroom or kitchen?).
The fan noise will come back, a good way to find the noise is to use a piece of hose (garden hose is good) as a stethoscope, one end in your ear/wave the other end near your fans to localise the noise.
feersumendjinn (64)
742506 2009-01-28 08:06:00 No, rust is not normal, sounds like you're drawing damp air through the computer (is it near a window, or the bathroom or kitchen?).
The fan noise will come back, a good way to find the noise is to use a piece of hose (garden hose is good) as a stethoscope, one end in your ear/wave the other end near your fans to localise the noise.

Thanks for the advice about the fans.

I purchased the computer off Trade Me and it came with the rust, is it bad to have rust? Should I consider buying a new case?
davidmmac (4619)
742507 2009-01-28 09:41:00 If the rust was pre-existent, I wouldn't worry too much now if it's running OK (it may have caused corrosion on the motherboard slots/plugs/sockets etc, through condensation (being bare metal)). feersumendjinn (64)
742508 2009-01-29 03:58:00 the fan may be fine, a lot of computers get noisy in summer due to dust buildup in combination with the hotter days causing the system to crank up the fan speed to compensate. Cleaning the dust out will cool things down and allow the fan to slow down.

It's not hard with practice to hear the difference between a loud fan and one with problems ( i.e. worn bearings / bush whatever )
dugimodo (138)
742509 2009-03-29 05:55:00 You guys were right, the sound has come back.

First it was last night, then this morning, now this afternoon.

But the good news is I've diagnosed that it's coming from the back case fan, so I decided to look for a replacement, only, I have no idea what size to look for. All of the ones I've found are either 8 or 12 cm, but where is it measured from?
davidmmac (4619)
742510 2009-03-29 07:57:00 You just measure the diameter.

Get the Antec Tricool or one of the SycthX ones
Blam (54)
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