pc problem?

Question

Hi! Earlier today, while I was just opening 8 youtube tabs in IE7, I heard this weird noise from the front section of my pc. It was like a winged insect fluttering around a small container. The noise seemed to come from the front case fan. Anyway, it was just continuous. Then, all of a sudden, it stopped when I opened my computer. Then, when i restarted, the noise was there again. I tried opening the case but I didn't know where to pinpoint the sound - the 2 hard drives or the front fan. Anyway, I just tried to take of the power and IDE in the second hard drive and turned it on again. Apparently the front fan was also connected so both were out. The noise was also gone. I decided to clean everything inside a bit and do a little dusting. After reconnecting everything, the noise returned. Then I tried defragmenting C:\. I could hear a 2nd noise (the normal sound of a hard drive accessing data) apart from the fluttering insect wings noise. Then when it was 20% in defragmenting, the noise disappeared. And it hasn't reappeared for the moment.

Anyway, now I'm more confused now then I was when the problem began. Could anyone help me out? Could the problem be with the fan bearings/something stuck in it? Or the 2nd hard drive? And how could defragmenting take away the noise (or was it coincidental)? Oh yeah, everything was working ok when the noise was there. No hanging, freezing, restarts, lags...

Answer 1

PC fans have cheap bearings in them, and they are not sealed bearings so dust can get into them easy. Replace the fan, they are not expensive.

Answer 2

It sounds like you have a fan in the front going out. Fans are very important to your computer as it gets hot inside and heat can shorten the life of your computer and its devices.



If you get a flashlight, look at that fan you think is going out and find the wire, there should be only a single thin wire. Trace that wire back to your motherboard. It will be a tiny plastic end and with your computer off, unplug that wire from your motherboard. Turn your computer back on and listen to see if that noise is gone. If yes, then the fan is going out.



If that fan is going out, you can easily replace it with a better fan. They are relatively cheap and you would want to get a new fan with a metal ball bearing as they last much longer. You will need to know the size of your present fan going out too. It could be an 80mm or a 120mm sized fan. It will have 4 screws holding it in your case. See my fan links below for some good deals.



Also since you have the case off, check your other fans and make sure they are all spinning. You should have a case fan in the back, hopefully, exhausting the hot air, or bringing in cool air, plus you will have a cpu fan going too.



I generally buy a can of compressed air and every few months I blow the dust off my fan fins and get them clean again. In this computer I have 3 fans plus a cpu fan going.



Here are some good sites that offer very well priced fans.



Case Fans from Tiger Direct: http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/category/category_slc.asp?CatId=494&



Case Fans from New Egg: http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList.aspx?Submit=ENE&DEPA=0&Description=case+fans&x=0&y=0



If that bad fan is the only case fan that you have, aside from from the fan over your cpu, you might want to leave the case off and aim a small desk fan at your computer until you get a replacement.



Good Luck!

Answer 3

Sounds like you need to replace a fan, try disconnecting the headers to the fan and see if the noise vanishes?