Anyone know about computer hardware?

[IRiSHMaFIA]

I was using the computer today as usual and went downstairs to do something. All of a sudden I heard this really loud noise that sounded like a motor revving so came upstairs to see what it was. At first I thought it was the tv station having problems and put it on mute but no go, then I opened the window to see if something was happening out there....then figured out it was my computer

The noise was so loud that I panicked and ended up shutting it down by hitting the off button on the tower. I waited a wee bit and turned it back on and it ran normal again and has been for 7 hours atleast.

So here I am tonight playing a game in the arcade and it happened again. I went to shut it down but it was taking so long and the noise kept getting louder and louder so I turned it off at the tower again.

I took it apart and can't see a thing wrong, but I have a feeling it's the fan in the power supply or something.

Does anyone have a clue what this could be about? The metal box the power supply is in had so many screws that I was afraid to open them all incase it fell apart on the inside.

I've never heard a computer make this kind of noise before and I when I say a loud noise it's major loud. It's kind of like maybe the fan is seizing but I'm really not sure.

Any advise would be appreciated. I'm sure I'll have to take it into the shop but I was wondering if anyone had any ideas before I do.

(I'd put this post in the help section but not everyone goes there)

[Brown Sauce]

I think you are right with your power supply idea. I make up my pc's from ebay, and have experience with this stuff. One went belly up last week.

Sometimes it is enough to get the vacuum cleaner - plastic end, low suction - on the fan and get all that fluff and shit out, it will be there I'll bet ya, it'll do for a while anyway.

Sometimes the cpu cooler makes noise too, but not so loud as you say.

My advice would be to get a new power supply box and install it. It's no big deal, and not expensive, a tenner should do it. Just see how many watts the old one is, and try to match it up. There is no point in putting a 500 watt box in when 370 for example will do. If that doesn't clear it, it might be the cpu cooler, but that is a little more involved than the power supply. Just remember to be careful with the 'lectrics, unplug everything.

DO NOT OPEN THE POWER SUPPLY - IT CAN KILL, even after a week of shutdown, there are capacitors in there.

http://www.computerhope.com/issues/ch000302.htm

http://www.computerhope.com/help/ps.htm

[6ULDV8]

I shall start by qualifying the below with "I build high end PC custom PCs".

It can be one of several things.

Yes, it could be the PSU on it's way out, but it's more than plausible for it to be overheating of the PSU (or other component) due to dust bunnies.
When a PSU is on it's way out, it will cause random reboots & other system failure anomolies.

It could be the fan on your graphics card (if you have one), again due to over heating...

Most likely it's the fan on the CPU's heatsink...
This is the one area that often gets overlooked when cleaning a system.

My advice to Irish before she panics too much:
Get a few cans of air, first blow out the visable bunnies...
Then work on getting the dust out of the heatsink/fan on the CPU followed by the gfx card & the PSU.
Then check for crud in other case fans...

Q: how old is the PC?

Other "Noise" can be caused by the bearings in fans being shot / worn out...
This too causes over heating issues as they don't spin effectivly, this makes the PC decide the fans need to spin faster & this causes more noise.

Last but not least...
It could also be the HD on its way out.

If I was there I could tell you pretty much in an instant what the problem is.

Good preventive cleaning out dust bunnies will prolong the life of a PC but you can't prevent bearings from going, nor can you help HD's from eventualy giving out.

[IRiSHMaFIA]

First off thanks loads for all the help guys. It's really appreciated.

The reason I thought it was the power supply is when the noise was happening I put my head close to the back of the pc to listen. I put my hand on the part where the fan is on the power supply and felt the revving. I pressed on it and it effected it so that has to be the cause I'm sure.

The pc is about a year and a bit old and has 3 other fans not including that one that are pretty large. It's an Apton Cooler Master Case.

I'm going to hoover the power supply fan and hopefully get some stuff out of there. When I had it open last night I cleaned the other fans off and got all the dust out the rest of it so hopefully that will help.

If after doing this it makes that noise again I'll get another power supply for it and hopefully that will sort it, but I tell you the noise from it was incredible. This is a large house I'm in and I was downstairs and could hear it clear as a bell....and it was even loud downstairs!

Really glad you told me about opening the power supply. I had the whole thing apart and had the power supply sitting on the desk here poking a screwdriver in the fan and had a few of the screws out. I couldn't figure out how to open it so put them all back in again phew!!

I'll let you know what happens.

[IRiSHMaFIA]

It was the power supply for sure. It blew on me about a half hour ago and I've been sitting here in shock really. I'm on an older computer that hasn't given the slightest bit of hardware problems and was reasonably cheap and that one cost me a fortune and not that old.

I'm bloody gutted!

I'm going through my receipts but it's not giving me much info. Do I have to see a label or whatever on the power supply box to see what type I should get?

[faceless]

there should be a sticker on it with the wattage - I'd guess yours would be between 350-500w, so if you take a note of that you can replace it pretty easily.

[IRiSHMaFIA]

Okay thanks I'll have a look.