noisey computer

**rebrab** · 17th January 2009

hi everyone when i turn my computer on it make a constant like growlin sound. some times the sound gets faster and louder for a bit the settles back down if any one can help thanks

**flumperino** · 17th January 2009

lol mine does that - never worked out why! I've always assumed that it's something to do with the PSU fan.

So would also be appreciative of any info here

**blaggard** · 17th January 2009

Yep probably a fan somewhere.

**Pegasus** · 17th January 2009

As above, more than likely the accumalation of dust that has built up over time has now got to the stage where a fan is struggling.

Get down to Maplin, buy yourself a can of air duster, strip the box down, and blow all that dust away.

**Soulassassin** · 17th January 2009

Take the side of your computer, switch it on. With one hand on the metal case CARFULLY gently touch each fan you see in the center slowing it down slightly with the other hand while the noise is occuring. You should find out which fan it is. Either replace that fan or try a tiny drop og oil in the bearing (or center) of it.

**rebrab** · 17th January 2009

thanks for all the info

**DejaVu** · 17th January 2009

Dust is a computers worse enemy. Get rid of it and stay on top of it.

It causes things to blow, over-heat and get annoyingly loud.

Clean them out on a regular basis and it'll keep everything running great.

Dust also creates the problem of some peoples computer running slow - they blame Spyware etc, when it could just be dust, this happens purely because it's getting hot!

**rIKmAN** · 17th January 2009

On a related note, I have a gfx card fan that does this, I have taken off the fan, cleaned it, tried a bit of wd40 on it and replaced and it was ok for about half an hour, but back to being all noisy now.

Its a 512mb GT9750 and not bad to stick in a 2nd machine, any ideas how I could fix?
Not sure of replacement as its built into a plastic cover that goes over the heatsink on the card.

**DejaVu** · 18th January 2009

There's the problem. Many people use WD-40 to lubricate all kinds of squeaky or noisy mechanical components. In fact, WD-40 is such a great multi-purpose problem solver that you might assume that you can quiet a noisy computer fan with a quick spray of WD-40. However, that's not the case.

The reason that you shouldn't use WD-40 on a computer fan is that while it is indeed a lubricant it's mainly designed as a cleaner/degreaser, that loosens stuck parts, prevents corrosion, and displaces water-obviously not the types of problems found in computer cooling fans. Furthermore, it's a light lubricant that is better for lubricating something like a hinge that only moves occasionally rather than a component that moves continuously and at high speeds such as a computer fan.

That said; what type of oil should you use? Well almost any lightweight mechanical oil, such as 3-in-1 household oil, will do just fine. Needless to say, minor amounts are needed, no point drowning the inside of your PC in oil!

I prefer to use sewing machine oil, because, in addition to being a lightweight oil, it has excellent viscosity, holds up well at high temperatures, and is specifically designed to lubricate moving parts that operate at high speeds. You can pick up a tube of sewing machine oil at almost any sewing machine dealer or even at a fabric store for about �2 to �3.

**rIKmAN** · 18th January 2009

Well thats me told!

So have I fucked it mate eoth the wd40 or can I get some of this sewing machine old and try that?
Wil the wd40 make any more oil have no effect?

**DejaVu** · 18th January 2009

I reckon the WD-40 has been removed or 'burnt off' by now. Once you stick a dribble of oil in it, it should last a lot longer.

**flumperino** · 19th January 2009

I cleaned my pc out yesterday - took the cover off the PSU and removed the fan from the processor heatsink.

Oh my god, it was disgusting! There was so much dust in there, I'm amazed that the poor pc still worked - though I had been getting regular BSODs on boot-up recently, so that was probably why.

All cleaned up now and it seems a bit happier

**DejaVu** · 19th January 2009

Another lease of life back into your machine. Nice one.

You should see quite a big difference. My PC is like a shiny penny and I never have any real problems with it!

**Shifty** · 23rd January 2009

All of the suggestions are good. If you want to help quiet your computer down, I would recommend Dynamat: http://www.dynamat.com/products_comp...puter_kit.html

It will dampen the sounds from all of your fans, HD's, etc.

**flumperino** · 22nd March 2009

A quick update in case it's helpful to the OP:

The clean out certainly made my PC run a lot happier, but didn't stop the growling noise on boot-up.

I eventually tracked this down to one of the regular 80mm cooling fans; not the PSU or mobo fan, which explains why the PC didn't actually die. This fan was screwed to the top of the base unit, right next to my DVD drive.

When I originally bought my new PC, I transferred my existing DVD writer, but the connection was wrong so I got a SATA to IDE convertor. This plugged into the back of the DVD drive, but rested uncomfortably against the fan as it barely fit. So I would imagine that the convertor made the fan angry by resting against it.

Anyway. Replaced the fan with a new one this morning, and swapped the IDE drive for a SATA one. All nice and quiet now