Fan Noise

[Rick]

Hi,

It's been unseasonably warm here in the east, and my computer hasn't taken
it very well. It's gotten loud--real loud. I sniffed around this morning,
and it seems to be fan noise coming from the power supply, although this is
a highly unscientific diagnosis.
Does this make sense-- warm weather, fan goes on overdrive, noise level
increases? If so, would anyone be kind enough to offer any suggestions to
me?

It's a long, hot summer...

Thanks in advance for any advice,
Rick

 

[Jerry]

Open case, check all fans for dust, remove dust. (Use flashlight to look
inside power supply for dust - may be hard to blow out.)

 

[Guest]

If youre somewhat mechanical,remove the fans,remove the sticker,
disasemble,clean with q-tips,grease the shaft and washers (these are
the bearings),use small amount,reasemble.Its really very easy,keep the
order of removed parts,thiers only 4 or 5,you'll find the fans will last 3X
as long by servicing them once in awhile.Otherwise,buy new if in doubt with
one.

 

[T. Waters]

Your power supply most likely runs its fan at a constant speed. If it is
just as noisy in the cool of the morning, that would confirm that its parts
are wearing out. How old is it?
It is possible that you have another fan inside your computer that either
comes on or increases its cooling in response to temperature. Your BIOS may
have information on this.
You might as well familiarize yourself with the inside of your computer. Do
not, however, take apart your power supply, as it stores quite a strong
charge even when unplugged.
You can pinpoint the source of the noise once your computer is opened by
placing a tube (rolled up paper is fine) against your ear and pointing it at
various moving parts.

 

[Kenny S]

just jeck which fan is making the noise and buy a new one and replace it.

The fans they make are cheap and after some time produce noise.

 

[Rick]

If it is just as noisy in the cool of the morning, that would confirm
that its parts are wearing out. How old is it?

Thanks for your reply. No, actually, today is alot cooler here in NJ and, as
I type this, I can barely hear it. It's like night and day--today and
yesterday. FYI, my computer is a Dell Dimension 4300, made in April, 2001.
Does that give you any additional insight?

Thanks,
Rick

 

[T. Waters]

I don't know anything about the motherboard of that computer, but since the
noise appears to be temperature related, as long as the pattern continues
you should be OK as long as everything else seems to be working normally.
You can monitor your CPU temperature and a million other things with a free
program called Everest Home Edition. I recommend downloading it and running
the module that includes temperature periodically:
http://www.lavalys.com/products/overview.php?pid=1&lang=en&pageid=1

 

[Rick]

I'm dl'ing it right now. Thank you, T.!

I don't know anything about the motherboard of that computer, but since the
noise appears to be temperature related, as long as the pattern continues
you should be OK as long as everything else seems to be working normally.
You can monitor your CPU temperature and a million other things with a
free
program called Everest Home Edition. I recommend downloading it and
running
the module that includes temperature periodically:
http://www.lavalys.com/products/overview.php?pid=1&lang=en&pageid=1

 

[T. Waters]

Glad to help.

I'm dl'ing it right now. Thank you, T.!

 

[Rick]

T.,

An update...

Very cool program...I want to thank you even more now! But (and you knew
there was a "but"), I'm only getting, in the "Sensor" module, temp readings
on one of my two disk drives, and that's it! Nothing else. The screenshot on
their website shows readings for many more components, including mobo and
cpu. Here's what I got:

--------[ EVEREST Home Edition (c) 2003, 2004 Lavalys,
Inc. ]-----------------------------------------------------------

Version EVEREST v1.51.195
Homepage
http://www.lavalys.com/
Report Type Quick Report
Computer RICKSCOMPUTER
Generator Rick
Operating System Microsoft Windows XP
Home Edition 5.1.2600 (WinXP Retail)
Date 2005-04-21
Time 15:54


--------[
Sensor ]------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Sensor Properties:
Sensor Type HDD
Sensor Access SMART

Temperatures:
WDC WD800JB-00ETA0 38 °C (100 °F)

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------



I've looked throughout the program and even gone to their Discussions page,
but I can't figure out why I'm not getting the additional data. Any ideas?

Thanks, T.

Rick

 

[Michael W. Ryder]

T.,

An update...

Very cool program...I want to thank you even more now! But (and you knew
there was a "but"), I'm only getting, in the "Sensor" module, temp readings
on one of my two disk drives, and that's it! Nothing else. The screenshot on
their website shows readings for many more components, including mobo and
cpu. Here's what I got:

--------[ EVEREST Home Edition (c) 2003, 2004 Lavalys,
Inc. ]-----------------------------------------------------------

Version EVEREST v1.51.195
Homepage
http://www.lavalys.com/
Report Type Quick Report
Computer RICKSCOMPUTER
Generator Rick
Operating System Microsoft Windows XP
Home Edition 5.1.2600 (WinXP Retail)
Date 2005-04-21
Time 15:54


--------[
Sensor ]------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Sensor Properties:
Sensor Type HDD
Sensor Access SMART

Temperatures:
WDC WD800JB-00ETA0 38 °C (100 °F)

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------



I've looked throughout the program and even gone to their Discussions page,
but I can't figure out why I'm not getting the additional data. Any ideas?

You might want to try a program called Speedfan. It will display the
temperatures of the CPU, motherboard, and hard drives (if they support
it). It can also display one of the temperatures in the toolbar icon.
It is not as comprehensive as Everest, but if you don't need the extra
information it is fine. As a bonus you might be able to modify your fan
speeds. Haven't tried that yet.

 

[T. Waters]

Well, that is pretty strange, and I wonder what the MVP's would have to say
about it?
The program recommended by Michael (SpeedFan) is worth a try (I plan to get
it myself). My concern is that your computer is somehow configured to elude
monitoring certain things, and SpeedFan should give some confirmation
there..
You might want to poke around in your BIOS and see what data it tracks. It
would be good to know what, if anything, the BIOS knows that Everest can't
find out.

T.,

An update...

Very cool program...I want to thank you even more now! But (and you knew
there was a "but"), I'm only getting, in the "Sensor" module, temp readings
on one of my two disk drives, and that's it! Nothing else. The screenshot on
their website shows readings for many more components, including mobo and
cpu. Here's what I got:

--------[ EVEREST Home Edition (c) 2003, 2004 Lavalys,
Inc. ]-----------------------------------------------------------

Version EVEREST v1.51.195
Homepage
http://www.lavalys.com/
Report Type Quick Report
Computer RICKSCOMPUTER
Generator Rick
Operating System Microsoft Windows XP
Home Edition 5.1.2600 (WinXP Retail)
Date 2005-04-21
Time 15:54


--------[

Sensor ]--------------------------------------------------------------------
----------------------------------

 

[Miss Perspicacia Tick]

just jeck which fan is making the noise and buy a new one and replace
it.
The fans they make are cheap and after some time produce noise.

Not all fans produce noise. Sleeve bearing fans do - ball bearing fans don't
(or very little). The heatsink and fan on my CPU cost £50.

 

[Rick]

Thanks, Michael...and again, T!

T.,

An update...

Very cool program...I want to thank you even more now! But (and you knew
there was a "but"), I'm only getting, in the "Sensor" module, temp
readings on one of my two disk drives, and that's it! Nothing else. The
screenshot on their website shows readings for many more components,
including mobo and cpu. Here's what I got:

--------[ EVEREST Home Edition (c) 2003, 2004 Lavalys,
Inc. ]-----------------------------------------------------------

Version EVEREST v1.51.195
Homepage http://www.lavalys.com/
Report Type Quick Report
Computer RICKSCOMPUTER
Generator Rick
Operating System Microsoft Windows
XP Home Edition 5.1.2600 (WinXP Retail)
Date 2005-04-21
Time 15:54


--------[
Sensor ]------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Sensor Properties:
Sensor Type HDD
Sensor Access SMART

Temperatures:
WDC WD800JB-00ETA0 38 °C (100 °F)

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------



I've looked throughout the program and even gone to their Discussions
page, but I can't figure out why I'm not getting the additional data. Any
ideas?

You might want to try a program called Speedfan. It will display the
temperatures of the CPU, motherboard, and hard drives (if they support
it). It can also display one of the temperatures in the toolbar icon.
It is not as comprehensive as Everest, but if you don't need the extra
information it is fine. As a bonus you might be able to modify your fan
speeds. Haven't tried that yet.

Thanks, T.

Rick

 

[Sunny]

T.,

An update...

Very cool program...I want to thank you even more now! But (and you knew
there was a "but"), I'm only getting, in the "Sensor" module, temp readings
on one of my two disk drives, and that's it! Nothing else. The screenshot on
their website shows readings for many more components, including mobo and
cpu. Here's what I got:

--------[ EVEREST Home Edition (c) 2003, 2004 Lavalys,
Inc. ]-----------------------------------------------------------

Version EVEREST v1.51.195
Homepage
http://www.lavalys.com/
Report Type Quick Report
Computer RICKSCOMPUTER
Generator Rick
Operating System Microsoft Windows XP
Home Edition 5.1.2600 (WinXP Retail)
Date 2005-04-21
Time 15:54


--------[
Sensor ]------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Sensor Properties:
Sensor Type HDD
Sensor Access SMART

Temperatures:
WDC WD800JB-00ETA0 38 °C (100 °F)

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------



I've looked throughout the program and even gone to their Discussions page,
but I can't figure out why I'm not getting the additional data. Any ideas?

In order to monitor temperatures and fan speeds, the motherboard must
have a sensor chip, which converts analog signals from the thermistors
and fans to digital format, and stores the results in registers for
programs like Everest to read and display.

Everest did not detect a sensor chip on the motherboard, which more than
likely means Dell saved a couple of dollars by leaving it out.

Sunny

 

[T. Waters]

How thrifty.

T.,

An update...

Very cool program...I want to thank you even more now! But (and you knew
there was a "but"), I'm only getting, in the "Sensor" module, temp readings
on one of my two disk drives, and that's it! Nothing else. The screenshot on
their website shows readings for many more components, including mobo and
cpu. Here's what I got:

--------[ EVEREST Home Edition (c) 2003, 2004 Lavalys,
Inc. ]-----------------------------------------------------------

Version EVEREST v1.51.195
Homepage
http://www.lavalys.com/
Report Type Quick Report
Computer RICKSCOMPUTER
Generator Rick
Operating System Microsoft Windows XP
Home Edition 5.1.2600 (WinXP Retail)
Date 2005-04-21
Time 15:54


--------[

Sensor ]--------------------------------------------------------------------
----------------------------------

 

[Kenny S]

I know this, but it is a 99% possibility that he has the simple fans.