Help Me Find the Noise

[Marshall Lake]

I have a PC in my family room that I leave on all the time. A couple
of months ago it began making a noise. It's a noise similar to what
a fan in a computer might make when it's dieing or slightly touching
something as it spins. There are times when the noise stops. And there
are times when the noise sounds a little bit harsher (as if the fan was
clipping more of what it was hitting). But for the most part the noise
has stayed the same since it first started.

This PC houses two CD drives, one hard drive, and one floppy.

Yesterday I had had enough of the noise. I replaced the power supply
thinking that it's fan had the biggest chance of being the culprit.
The noise persisted. I replaced the hard drive. The noise persisted.
I pulled the plug on one of the CD drives. The noise persisted. I pulled
the plug on the other CD drive. You guessed it ... the noise persisted.

What else could be causing the noise?

 

[lkrupp]

Yesterday I had had enough of the noise. I replaced the power supply
thinking that it's fan had the biggest chance of being the culprit.
The noise persisted. I replaced the hard drive. The noise persisted.
I pulled the plug on one of the CD drives. The noise persisted. I pulled
the plug on the other CD drive. You guessed it ... the noise persisted.

What else could be causing the noise?

Does your CPU have a fan? Is there a fan anywhere else in the case?

I've had to replace CPU fans after they went bad. I've also had to add
washers to a CPU fan mount when I couldn't get the bolts tight enough to
keep the fan from rattling.

If that doesn't work, you'll need my 1992 Micro House Encyclopedia of
Main Boards, for which I'm trying to find a home. Stack all four
volumes in a pile between you and your PC, and you won't notice the
noise as much.

Louis Krupp

 

[kony]

I have a PC in my family room that I leave on all the time. A couple
of months ago it began making a noise. It's a noise similar to what
a fan in a computer might make when it's dieing or slightly touching
something as it spins. There are times when the noise stops. And there
are times when the noise sounds a little bit harsher (as if the fan was
clipping more of what it was hitting). But for the most part the noise
has stayed the same since it first started.

This PC houses two CD drives, one hard drive, and one floppy.

Yesterday I had had enough of the noise. I replaced the power supply
thinking that it's fan had the biggest chance of being the culprit.
The noise persisted. I replaced the hard drive. The noise persisted.
I pulled the plug on one of the CD drives. The noise persisted. I pulled
the plug on the other CD drive. You guessed it ... the noise persisted.

What else could be causing the noise?

What's left? Floppy, CPU heatsink, northbridge heatsink, video card, case
fan(s)... You haven't told us about ALL the moving parts in the system,
or have you?

Leave the case open, take a piece of hose or a straw and hold it to your
ear, and move it around to get a fix on the noise source.

 

[philo]

I have a PC in my family room that I leave on all the time. A couple
of months ago it began making a noise. It's a noise similar to what
a fan in a computer might make when it's dieing or slightly touching
something as it spins. There are times when the noise stops. And there
are times when the noise sounds a little bit harsher (as if the fan was
clipping more of what it was hitting). But for the most part the noise
has stayed the same since it first started.

This PC houses two CD drives, one hard drive, and one floppy.

Yesterday I had had enough of the noise. I replaced the power supply
thinking that it's fan had the biggest chance of being the culprit.
The noise persisted. I replaced the hard drive. The noise persisted.
I pulled the plug on one of the CD drives. The noise persisted. I pulled
the plug on the other CD drive. You guessed it ... the noise persisted.

What else could be causing the noise?

very possibly the cpu fan

this may sound funny but it's not a joke:

put a small rubber tube in your ear and use the other end to "snoop" out the
noise... it really works!

 

[jamotto]

very possibly the cpu fan

this may sound funny but it's not a joke:

put a small rubber tube in your ear and use the other end to "snoop" out the
noise... it really works!

Or the cardboard tube at the center of a empty papertowel package works too.

 

[Marshall Lake]

Noisy PC ...

What's left? Floppy, CPU heatsink, northbridge heatsink, video card,
case fan(s)... You haven't told us about ALL the moving parts in the
system, or have you?

Well, I guess I'm not sure. I don't believe the CPU has a fan. It's an
older PC. Does the floppy have parts that move all the time or only
when using it? I don't believe the video card has any moving parts.

Does your CPU have a fan? Is there a fan anywhere else in the case?

I don't believe so.

Thanks for all the tips everyone. I'll put some more time into finding
the source of the noise when I get some more time.