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General => Technical Help => Topic started by: casalguidi on Friday 08 September 06 06:39 BST (UK)
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During the heatwave, the fan on the computer started up a number of times and put it down to the climate but now it is starting up quite often ie. when the screen saver comes up and as soon as son starts to load/play "Championship Manager" (from CD).
Has anybody any idea why this is happening and could it be a problem?
Casalguidi
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Never had a comp where the fan didn't run all the time, usually a problem if it's not running. bodger
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Hi Bodger
Yes, I believe it is running all the time albeit rather silently then all of a sudden (as listed above) it sounds like some kind of "turbo" ie. similar decibels to the hoover :o
Well maybe that is a slight exaggeration ;D but it also makes the sound for a split second when the PC starts up or is restarted :-\
Casalguidi ???
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Hi
Are you sure that it's a fan and not the hard drive?
This gives some ideas about how to find out and poss solutions:
http://www.murraymoffatt.com/hardware-problem-0004.html
Gadget
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Casal' - is it a Laptop or a desktop ?
BTW, this advice from that website is pragmatic - but I'd use something non-conductive with power on !
If the noise appears to be coming from the fan over the CPU then you can confirm this by carefully sticking a paper clip or small screw driver into the fan's blades and seeing if the noise stops (this sounds rather drastic but it will tell you straight away if it's the fan or not). Don't stop the fan for too long, a second or two is all it takes to see if the noise stops. Use the same method for checking the fan on your video card.
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Hi Gadget
Are you sure that it's a fan and not the hard drive?
It definitely sounds like a fan cutting in (similar to a normal fan noise). Didn't previously notice any pattern and thought it was due to the heatwave and the computer having been continually used all day etc. but now it seems to be happening at particular times :-\
I've just taken a look at that link but don't think I'm any the wiser ;D ............... it is like a normal fan noise as if there is a turbo feature that is designed to cut in as and when - does that make sense - but I'm not sure that there is any such feature (HP T849 with new hard drive fitted earlier this year) :-\
Scroppers - it's a desktop.
Casalguidi :-\
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Just thought I'd let the screen saver come on so as I could get on my hands & knees and have a real good listen to the noise .............................. guess what - the noise didn't happen .........doh ::)
Casalguidi :)
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One thing you can do safely from the outside is to check the fan of the Power Supply (PSU) - it will be a caged opening at the back - about 2.5" diameter - make sure its pushing air out, and see if its an obvious source of the noise.
Also check all air-intake slots in the case rear and sides for blockage (fluff and dust can build up fast)
Otherwise, it will most likely be the CPU fan mounted on its heatsink. I'd advise a visual inspection first and a look for anything obvious gumming up the works.... the fact that you get the 'turbo' effect suggests that the fan occasionally gets up to speed....
Did your PC come with any software labelled 'PC Health' or similar ? If so, it can run and give you (graphical) readouts of 'health' - including fan rpm .... you could monitor ...
Mine sounds like a lawnmower with stones on startup, but gradually revs up and stays steady at about 4000 rpm - next time I'm inside the box I'll change it - less than a tenner from most suppliers, and you can buy online at www.novatech.co.uk
Good luck !
PS. I asked about Laptop as they do have a fan that cuts in with system temp' increases - I'not 100% sure that Desktops have this feature, or a 'boost' - but could be wrong...
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Hi Casaguili
What Scroppers says is a possiblility. My No. 3 computer started making rather nasty noises last year. it was eventually diagnosed as the power supply - new one fitted - works a treat :)
You could get your son to do whatever he does and stand over it to listen where the noise is coming from ::) ::) ::)
Does the case get hot?
Gadget
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PS. Forgot to say that most 'bigger' desktops have a 'System' fan too - usually located at the rear to pull air in - quite slow revving usually, but worth a check that its actually running when the noise isnt apparent !
Again, I'not aware of variable speed option - but your system may be sophisticated and react to temp' increases...
Have you RTM'ed ? (Read the Manual ;D )
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You could get your son to do whatever he does and stand over it to listen where the noise is coming from
Good thinking Gadget ........................ tried that and it isn't happening LOL - perhaps when the room and/or PC are hotter (it is usually in the small hours when he's home from work and the PC may have been on 18hrs or so by then :o) :-\
Does the case get hot
Not sure (it's not now) ................. will investigate
Scroppers - it didn't come with a manual and there is nothing (or nothing that I can find) in help :(
We will see what happens later :-\
Casalguidi
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Hope you can sort it because if it is the same problem as mine, it eventuallly just dies and then you have to do a transplant :(
Maybe the new hard drive was too big for the fan and/or power supply unit ???
Gadget
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We had the power supply fan fail on one of our PCs a few years ago - it was easy to get a replacement and fit it (well, from my point of view it was - himself visited the local shop and came home with correct fan and fitted it! ;D )
The next PC went through an upgrade - new faster processer fitted and boy, it hated hot, humid weather thereafter. We only turned it on out of dire necessity and even then turned a fan on it first! It was moved to a different location this year and behaved slightly better but did occasionally throw a wobbly - it froze completely and had to be turned off at the wall (otherwise it turned itself back on again!)
From my experience, many older PCs (even just a few months it would seem) do not like hot, humid weather and nor do they like possibly running faster than they were originally designed - especially for 18 hours at a time! ;D
Nell
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Hi casalguidi
Are you sure this not the CDROM making the noise? Certainly when I put a CD in the player it makes noise similar to fan blasting away. If you say you hear the noise when your son plays a game from a CD is it not logical that the CDROM is making the noise?
Could be entirely wrong though. :D
downside
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If you say you hear the noise when your son plays a game from a CD is it not logical that the CDROM is making the noise?
When it was having a hissy fit the other day, he said "Oh yeah, I can't play "Champ" because that thing starts up every time I load it" .................. as I mentioned, this would be in the early hours when everybody else is asleep (or trying to sleep) .................... so I haven't actually heard that myself but I'll take his word for it ....................... no point arguing with 19 year olds ;D
It has behaved impeccably today (so far) but then it is much cooler so am wondering if we have a similar problem to Little Nell ???
Am loathe to move it to another room ...................... would be harder to "spy" on teenagers ;D
Will be ready to have a good listen as soon as it starts again though.
Casalguidi
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I would have to agree with Downside's diagnosis.
Most average household PC's have the fan run at a constant speed UNLESS there is an option in the BIOS to have fanspeed control turned on at certain levels.
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Sounds to me like the lubricant in a fan has dried up, causing it to rattle.
I'd follow the advice of stalling each fan momentarily (one at once) in order to identify which fan is causing the noise.
Be very careful if you're jamming anything into the PSU fan as there's mains voltages in there.
I wouldn't replace a PSU fan but would replace the PSU as a whole unit as this contains other components (electrolytic capacitors) that deteriorate with age & temperature.
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Never had these problems when i was a lad, just had to make sure we had water, oil, & grease and the steam engine would run all day. bodger
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Like as already been said, your fans should be running all the time.....
Just a silly question but does your 'Fan' speed up when you insert a disc?...
Michael72.
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Evidently it started up twice tonight but I was asleep and missed it ::)
Just a silly question but does your 'Fan' speed up when you insert a disc?...
Certainly not all the time, no :-\
Casalguidi
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I also agree with Downside ..... a disc in the cd/dvd drive will spin on first starting up and if that disc or another (the champ disc) contains disc based copy protection then the drive will spin up sounding very like a fan on turbo.
Unless of course there is more evidence to establish a particular pattern to the turbo mode ?
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Ok, it started and air was blasting out of the vent at the back of the PC so it is the fan like I thought ................ it does feel quite warm in that small area of the vent but the rest of the outside of the unit is really quite cool. It is a normal fan type noise (no rattling or anything) just like a turbo mode.
It first started up when the screensaver came on, clicking the screen doesn't stop it but changing to another page does ................. then it was coming on every couple of minutes for no apparant reason ..................... had a few windows open but not doing anything much ie. only on here with a few windows open.
Have shutdown PC and rebooted so will see what happens now.
Casalguidi :-\
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Hi casalguidi
Do you have hibernation enabled?
Start->Settings->Control Panel and click on Power Options and then the Hibernate tab.
It's the only thing I can think of that is associated with the screen saver causing major I/O activity.
Mind you it has been quite hot today, so it might be an overheating problem.
downside
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Hi Downside
Hibernation is enabled and it says this ................
132,734 mb free disk space
504 mb required to hibernate
The thing is, since I restarted it at the time of the last post (18.25pm) it's been fine and it hasn't occurred even when the screen saver has come on ???
Casalguidi
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Casalguidi
Sometimes when I've been on Ancestry for a while I get that noise too ............ I thought maybe I was overloading it !! ::) ::)
So when that happens - I get off Ancestry and leave it for 10mins or so and it stops !
I don't get that noise when I've been anywhere else !!
But apparently it's normal ...... :P
http://forums.computers.toshiba-europe.com/jive3/thread.jspa?threadID=15125
Dufuss Annie :) :)
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My fan has been very loud over the past few days - It's the motherboard fan. I'm thinking about getting a quieter one but are they 1. "One size fits all" 2. Simple to install?
Andrew