Noisy CPU fan?

Discussion in 'Hardware' started by Rosie1, Feb 3, 2007.

  1. Rosie1

    Rosie1 Byte Poster

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    Hi,

    I replaced my psu a few months back, and all appeared well until a few days ago whereby I've started to get quite a lot of noise, a noise quite similar to passing under a electricity pylon, but louder. It whirrs up and down intermitently.

    I've changed the case fan (which was failing occasionally) but this has had no impact.

    Is it possible that the cpu fan could produce this type of noise, or perhaps a defunct power supply (the fans appear to be working ok).

    Any advice much appreciated.

    Regards,

    Rosie
     
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  2. ThomasMc

    ThomasMc Gigabyte Poster

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    can you not just open the side cover and try to ascertain the vicinity of the noise and your ears should tell you the rest, also there maybe a fan rpm counter in your bios just check it against the specs of your fan's normal operation.
     
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  3. Rosie1

    Rosie1 Byte Poster

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    Bear with me as I'm a novice, albeit have been studying for my A+, and haven't experience this situation before. I've opened the cover, but the noise is difficult to pin down. I've looked at the bios. The cpu fan rpm is monitoring as it should. The system fan was showing 0 rpm (I assume this refers to the case fan which is doing as it should) so I'm quite puzzled by the 0 figure.

    Thx for the response. Much appreciated.

    Rgds

    Rosie
     
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  4. Sparky
    Highly Decorated Member Award 500 Likes Award

    Sparky Zettabyte Poster Moderator

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    Unplug the CPU fan (only for a few minutes!) as a test. Do you have a fan on your graphics card?
     
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  5. Rosie1

    Rosie1 Byte Poster

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    Hi,

    Rgds fan on graphics card. I'm not sure. Had this for a long period of time - pre any of my little PC knowledge days. I'll give yr suggestion of a brief unplug of the cpu fan a go and look into the graphics card.

    Big thank you.

    Rgds

    Rosie
     
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  6. Raffaz

    Raffaz Kebab Lover Gold Member

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    Easiest way to find what fan is causing the problem, is to just stop them individually with an object, i just use my finger.
     
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  7. Rosie1

    Rosie1 Byte Poster

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    Hi,

    That's great. Thx for the tip.

    Rgds

    Rosie
     
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  8. Bluerinse
    Honorary Member

    Bluerinse Exabyte Poster

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    Another good trick to pin down a noise is to roll up a magazine, stick your ear on one end and point the other at the object you think the noise is coming from. The magazine will act like an amplifier and you will be able to pin point the source without having to touch anything. I used to use this technique a lot whilst troubleshooting fax machines and photocopiers, as they had lots of moving parts and they often made weird noises.
     
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  9. Boycie
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    Boycie Senior Beer Tester

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    I used my trustedstethoscope whilst *on the tools*.
    The rod will pull off enabling you to place the tube near the suspected fan.
    It has sinced been moved from my big tool box to the little one for such repairs.
     
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  10. r.h.lee

    r.h.lee Gigabyte Poster

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    Rosie1,

    If you feel confident and properly equipped, then take the case cover off then turn the computer on. Then use your ears to locate the source of the noise. With the case cover off it should help isolate the location of the noise. Once the noise is located, then fix the problem if possible.

    One question I have is if this noise is low or high pitched?

    I hope this helps.
     
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  11. Rosie1

    Rosie1 Byte Poster

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    Firstly, thx to those with the 'ear trumpet' suggestions.

    The case cover was removed. The most difficult thing is the psu and the fans being so close. The pitch isn't constant for any length of time, the noise is almost droning electrical like a loud pylon but with some kind of mild almost shuffling background noise perhaps dust in a fan. So hard to describe. Never heard it before.

    Thx to all,

    Rosie
     
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  12. Crito

    Crito Banned

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    I use the eraser end of a pencil. Just wait until it happens again and momentarily stop them one by one by depressing in CENTER of fan. You can accidentally break the fins/blades off a high speed fan if you're not careful... not that I've done that before or anything, ahem. :oops:

    Hard drives can make that kind of sound too BTW.
     
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  13. r.h.lee

    r.h.lee Gigabyte Poster

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    Rosie1,

    If you feel confident, how about removing the case cover, systematically disconnect the case fans, then turn the power on? What I mean by "systematically disconnect" is to note where the case fan is connected to either the power supply molex or to a case fan connector on the motherboard, then disconnect. That way, you'll know which connector goes back when you're reconnecting the power connector. That way, you can possibly rule out the case fans as a possible cause of the noise.
     
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  14. wizard

    wizard Petabyte Poster

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    I've done that accidentally a couple of times and managed to take tiny chunks out of my fingers :eek:
     
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  15. Raffaz

    Raffaz Kebab Lover Gold Member

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    Ha ha, i should of explained better, i push my finger on the centre of the fan to stop it:)
     
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  16. wizard

    wizard Petabyte Poster

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    doh!! :blink:biggrin
     
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  17. Rosie1

    Rosie1 Byte Poster

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    Hi everyone,

    Yes, I stuck my finger in the cpu blades (pre reading all the messages), managed to keep them in one piece - me and the fans.

    Doesn't appear to be cpu fan. Took out the graphics card. Bit dusty (doesn't help with another card in the next PCI slot). Thought of unplugging the fan but difficult to remove (obviously been around forever, but hey, it has been good to me!).

    So tried my trusty sunday mag. A ha, an amplified noisy graphics card. Hmm. What's the best thing to do? Get rid (was thinking about updating it, but would love to pass the machine to the kids without extra expense)? Or are there any little tricks up sleeves?

    Any suggestions from the Oracle much appreciated.

    Big thank you to all,

    Rosie
     
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  18. Bluerinse
    Honorary Member

    Bluerinse Exabyte Poster

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    You might have some success by dripping a tiny amount of oil (WD40) into the centre of the fan. Spray the oil onto a pointed implement, like a compass needle and then touch the centre bearing of the fan with the point. If the bearing has a sticky label over it, you will have to remove that first or make a small hole to allow the lubricant to get in.
     
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  19. MrNice

    MrNice Kilobyte Poster

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    I never heard a graphics card sounding like a pylon. If thats an accurate noise description I never heard a bearing go like that.
    Bearings creak or grind when they go, an electrical humm "pylon like" would suggest somehting else. If the cards as old as you say does it definately have a heatsink/fan?
     
  20. Rosie1

    Rosie1 Byte Poster

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    Thx very much. Will see if this does the trick.

    Rgds Rosie
     
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