28 replies to this topic

[krit86lr]

Hi all

Did a clean install of XP Pro SP2 on a machine, and updated everything (drivers, etc...). Now the tower is making a soft, but high pitch noise. Originally, the noise was on a 5 minutes cycle, and everytime that the noise started it would last for 5 minutes.

Now it's a 30sec noise that is on a 1 or 2 minute cycle.

Event Viewer, Device Manager, Dxdiag...non of these report any problems. Does anyone know of any tests that will narrow down what the problem is? Or even good resources to investigate?


Thanks
K

[Andavari]

I've heard high pitched noises before from within a tower (my aunts PC) and it's bloody annoying. It could be the fan or a host of other things. DJLizard would be who I'd ask about it being he's a PC technician.

[lokoike]

The only things I can think of are either the fans, the hard drives (or optical drives, if there is a disk in them), or the tower speaker. You would probably know if it was the speaker, as it would be more of a beep than a soft noise, so most likely not that.

So I would put my money on the fans or HDs. To see if it is a fan, try disconnecting your case fans (but don't disconnect the CPU fan!) and then start up the computer and see if it remains. If the noise persists, then it may still be the CPU, PSU, or north bridge fan, but at least you know it isn't (or is) the case.

To see if it is the hard drive, check and see if the noise occurs when there is HD activity. If the hard drive light is flashing and when it stops, the noise also stops, that is probably your problem.

If none of these seem to be the problem, the only other thing I can think of is to try turning off your monitor and see if the noise stops (seriously). I have dealt with computers where the monitors made a high-pitched whine.

[Eldmannen]

It could actually also be the monitor.
Strangely enough, on my old monitor when I used 85 hz refresh rate it made an noise.

[Andavari]

I hadn't thought of the monitor doing that since I haven't used a CRT monitor in ages, but yeah that could be the cause.

[lokoike]

Andavari, on Mar 25 2006, 05:33 AM, said:

I hadn't thought of the monitor doing that since I haven't used a CRT monitor in ages, but yeah that could be the cause.

Yeah, I wouldn't normally think of something like that, but I just had it happen not to long ago. No real "fix" for that, other than turning it off, but at least you can isolate the problem.

[krit86lr]

lokoike, on Mar 25 2006, 01:38 PM, said:

Yeah, I wouldn't normally think of something like that, but I just had it happen not to long ago. No real "fix" for that, other than turning it off, but at least you can isolate the problem.

You guys rock!

I will go turn on the other comp right now, and see.


@Andavari - It is very annoying.

[kobrakommander56]

Ok, it could also be a harddrive, so many possibilities, also it could be, that is if your mobo is equipped, the piezo-electronic speaker, on it. But for that to happen you would have had to be handling the mobo.

sorry, lokoike, had already covered that.

[krit86lr]

The speaker is always turned off, so I'm assuming that isn't the cause. First I'm going to check the Monitor, and HD. Then fans and belts.

Hardware is really hard to troubleshoot.

I didn't know that there were multiple fans. How do I know which is the case fan?

[Mike Rochip]

krit86lr, on Mar 25 2006, 01:03 PM, said:

The speaker is always turned off, so I'm assuming that isn't the cause. First I'm going to check the Monitor, and HD. Then fans and belts.

Hardware is really hard to troubleshoot.

I didn't know that there were multiple fans. How do I know which is the case fan?

The case fan is usually the largest and vents through the case to the outside air. It should have a connector that is easily disconnected. Older computers (like mine) that don't work hard or well enough to generate much heat often don't have one .

[krit86lr]

I stand corrected. lokoike said Tower speaker. I will google for pictures. I have only played around with a few things inside the tower, and I don't want to make a mistake. (It's not my computer)

@Mike - It's possible that this comp doesn't have a fan either. I will look.


Wish me Luck!

[Andavari]

lokoike, on Mar 25 2006, 01:38 PM, said:

No real "fix" for that, other than turning it off, but at least you can isolate the problem.

Kick it several times! If that doesn't work bribe kobrakommander56 for some of his C4 cache and blow it up.

[kobrakommander56]

thermite's also good, yes yes yes, thermite!

[Eldmannen]

I think speaker can make noise even when they are off sometimes, I think mine do that.

And yes, thermite is very good...

[lokoike]

K, here is what the case speaker will look like:

The cable will be plugged into the motherboard, and the speaker will most likely be attached to the bottom of the inside of the computer case. It might also be attached to one of the walls of the case, but it shouldn't be too difficult to find.

As far as knowing which fans to turn off, as long as you don't mess with any fans attached to the motherboard, or the PSU fan, you should be okay. Most PSU fans won't let you adjust/turn-off them anyway, so that probably won't be a problem. All newer CPUs will have a fan, which will be the biggest fan on the motherboard. Older ones don't generate as much heat, so they will just have a heatsink. Also, newer motherboards may have another heatsink and/or fan for the north bridge, so if you see more than one fan or heatsink on the motherboard, that is why. You want to leave these alone, because if you disconnect them, those components will very quickly overheat and fail.

However, you can safely turn off the case fans (at least for a short while). These will be any fans not hooked to the mobo. They may be located on the back of the case, below the PSU, on the front of the case at the top or near the bottom, on the top of the case, or on the sides of the case. They are necessary, but having the computer run without them for a short time for troubleshooting purposes won't hurt your computer.

[krit86lr]

Okay...well I think that it's the monitor. The sound always stops when I turn the monitor off.

So, I don't know what to do now, but I don't really care. I'm just glad that I can prove that the noise has nothing to do with the clean install. Therefore, it's not my fault.

Thanks Everyone!

[krit86lr]

lokoike, on Mar 27 2006, 03:11 PM, said:

K, here is what the case speaker will look like:

BTW lokoike...that is an awesome tutorial and a great picture.

OMG I was going to say that your instructions were "Speaker Info for Dummies", and I looked up and noticed the website is kids-online.net/learn....haha

[lokoike]

krit86lr, on Mar 29 2006, 09:15 PM, said:

OMG I was going to say that your instructions were "Speaker Info for Dummies", and I looked up and noticed the website is kids-online.net/learn....haha

Heh, I just used Google Image and searched for PC speakers. Didn't even look at the url.

Just in case you were thinking I was a regular there!

But seriously, glad I was able to help. And I certainly wouldn't consider you a "dummy".

[krit86lr]

Off Topic - Is Google Image a FF extention/search engine? I just want to know if it's there before I go looking for it. I honestly have never even heard of it.

[lokoike]

krit86lr, on Mar 29 2006, 09:41 PM, said:

Off Topic - Is Google Image a FF extention/search engine? I just want to know if it's there before I go looking for it. I honestly have never even heard of it.

It is just another part of Google's search engine. The original Google.com is basically just a text search for finding articles and such. Other searches that Google has:

Google Image

Google Video

Google Groups

Google News