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Name: viaro
Hey everyone,
I figured I'd make a new thread. But my older one is on page two I believe. Same problem.
My computer still occasionaly makes a sound like it's losing power when I cold boot it.
It's as if everything is having a hard time coming up to speed.
So whenever it happens I quickly scramble to the floor and open up the tower.
Listening to the sound with the tower open, I still cannot isolate the sound to one component.
Looking at the fans when it is making the sound, they all appear to be spinning at a normal rate.
The sound does not appear to be coming from the PSU or the hard drives.
The sound also does not start immediately, there is a brief pause and then it begins to make the sound for a while (about the length of time for the computer to finish booting up) - and then it stops and everything seems to 'click' and sound normal.
It's never done this before, but this is my first winter with the computer - and although computer are supposed to run better in the cold - perhaps not when they're first turned on and it trys to pull that much power to all of the components at once?
I haven't a clue. My friend told me that I might want to disconnect all of the case fans - even the CPU fan.
He said that there shouldn't be any problems, that nothing should be damaged unless I were to leave the computer on in that condition for a day or so.
Apparently his dual athlon went a week without fans because he hadn't realized they'd broke.
However I remember reading on these forums that without the CPU fan connected, the computer will sometimes not turn on (a safety feature on some motherboards).
Has anyone had this problem before? Anyone know what might be causing it? Any suggestions?
Nothing has changed, I haven't added any new hardware or anything.
All of the components work flawlessly - no problems. Just when I start up - it sounds like, well - it sounds awful. Heh.
"My friend told me that I might want to disconnect all of the case fans - even the CPU fan"
Your friend is clueless. If you take his advice, you may end up shopping for a new CPU.
Try stopping the fans one at a time with your finger. Do it carefully, don't just jam it into the blade, put pressure in the center area - it shouldn't take much to stop it.
Or you could use a short length of tubing (or even a straw) as a crude stethoscope. Hold one end up to you ear & point the other end in the general direction of the fan you wanna check
Asus A7N8X-X
2500+ Sempron @ 2100mhz
10.5 x 200mhz @ 1.80v
512mb PC3200
Ti4200/8X 128mb
WDC 60GB
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Previous thread 31717.
Probably was a good move to start a new thread, you seem to have been on your own back there.
Leaving you CPU fan disconnect is a really bad move! A few seconds maybe, but no more than that!
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WOW! one second apart! LOL
Asus A7N8X-X
2500+ Sempron @ 2100mhz
10.5 x 200mhz @ 1.80v
512mb PC3200
Ti4200/8X 128mb
WDC 60GB
0
Hey guys, thanks for the replies!
Yeah my thread got lost back there - I didn't know whether or not to make another one. If that was against the terms or what not.
Anyways, my friend isn't clueless (he really knows what he is talking about, he's fixed my computer a million times before - ok I'm exagerating - but once or twice before - he even built it for me).
But I don't know if I'm ballsy enough to just pull the plug on my CPU fan. Heh. And I don't know if it would work anyways seeing as though (correct me if I'm wrong) a lot of motherboards have a safety feature that won't allow the computer to be turned on unless the CPU fan is connected.
No one has had this problem before? I mean I guess it isn't so much a problem as it is an annoyance (and a curiosity as to what the hell is going on!) Heh.
I hadn't thought about stopping the fan blades one by one. That may be a good idea (it won't break the fans?)
Although I'm fairly certain it isn't a case fan.
If it were a case fan I'm pretty sure that I'd recognize it right away.
Hmmm...well thanks for the replies! :)
- Steven
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I hope Jam isn't also typing at the moment!
The only one to have that annoyance? I think not.
There is no problem with disconnecting the case fans to eliminate them as possibilies. Jam mentioned using a tube to isolate where the sound is coming from. Auto mechanics commonly use a piece of garden hose to find where a noise is. Hoses are very directional!
Whilst this is at the moment only an annoyance, it could also be warning of pending failure. So it is worth sticking with it!
Show your friend what you wrote about the CPU fan, I think he might correct you on what he really said.
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Well, if I could set my watch by it then I would unplug the fans.
Unfortunately it does not make the sound every time I cold boot.
So I'd have to unplug the fans before I go to bed each day, turn on the computer each morning with the fans unplugged - check to see if it makes the sound or not - shut down the computer - plug the fans back in - turn the computer back on.
I can do that tonight, because tommorow is Sunday and I don't have school. But I won't be able to do that any other day because I won't have time.
Unless I keep the computer off until I get home from school.
I think I like the idea of stopping the fans one by one - so long as it does not hurt the fans.
Thanks for your help guys! I really do appreciate it! :)
- Steven
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Momentarily stopping the fans won't hurt at all. I doubt that they can even be supplied enough current to burn out the windings even if you stopped them for years!
The greatest concern I have about this noise, is the possibilty it may be a hard drive.
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Rimfire,
Ah thanks again for the reply.
Well, I pointed my ear to the hard drive bay and I heard nothing that would strike me as that being the source.
I also pointed my ear in the direction of the PSU and nothing struck me either.
Seeing as though I really do not think that it is the fans, tonight I will unplug the power from the 80GB hard drive and see what happens in the morning.
I'll also do that Monday and Tuesday morning (assuming it doesn't make the sound Sunday or Monday).
- Steven
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if it sounds like a groaning noise than is 1 of the fan so will have to isolate each one to find noise
david
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To describe the noise, it sounds like...
Well, I push the power button. Everything sounds normal.
Approximately two seconds later it sounds like it is 'losing power' - thought it does not appear to be a power problem at all - that is just how I describe the sound.
Everything sounds 'deeper'
It doesn't sound right, everything sounds funny.
Then a few seconds after the computer has booted, everything seems to 'click' - it doesn't make a clicking sound - but 'click's in the sense that everything sounds right again. Like everything is brought back up to speed.
- Steven
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David,
If it were a fan I'd hear it - right? That it were one fan in particular?
I don't think it is a case fan, or a fan at all.
It sounds like the computer is struggling, is all.
I wish it were a case fan - replace it and be on my way. But I really don't think that it is.
I can put my ear in the direction of the computer's rear and hear the noise, the same noise that I'd hear if I pointed my ear in the direction towards the front of the computer.
It doesn't appear to be one component in general. (sigh)
But thanks for the reply.
- Steven
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Just a thought, you don't have a variable speed (quiet) CPU fan do you?
These fans should start at full speed and then slow down once the controller has determined that the CPU temperature is not too high.
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how many fans total in system including video. i know on my system when i'll powerup this morning i'll hear a groaning noise that eventually stops but i know which fan it is, i just have to get at it & lube it
david
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I really do not think that it is a case fan.
The CPU fan/heastsink came stock with the AMD Athlon XP 2700+ (2.17 GHz) processor.
And I don't think it's that, because it has never made this noise before.
As far as how many fans I have in total...
One on the video card, two case fans in the rear, the CPU fan, the two fans on the PSU, and I did have a case fan in the front for intake but I took that one out today.
So in total I now have...6 fans.
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Hello viaro! I´ve had a bad component on a desktop-mainboard and on a laptop too, that caused the SYSTEM SPEAKER to react with very very crazy noises. I suggest you try to unplug that for a while, and check it out. You never know... It was almost impossible to hear where it came from too. :)
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Why would you take out the front fan? That's an important one - it was probably your only intake fan!
You can disconnect any or ALL of your case fans & not have anything to fear. Disconnecting the CPU fan is not recommended though. It doesn't take long for an AthlonXP to burnout without cooling. If you're fiddling around with the fan plug, trying to get it reattached, or unable to hit the power switch to shutdown quickly enough, it may be too late. The heatsink will offer some protection, but IMO, it's not worth the risk.
Asus A7N8X-X
2500+ Sempron @ 2.05Ghz
10.5 x 195mhz @ 1.75v
512mb PC3200
Ti4200/8X 128mb
WDC 60GB
0
Hey everyone,
Ok so this morning I unplugged all of the case fans and started her up!
It didn't make that sound, but I still don't think it is the case fans making the noise.
Anyways, I just plugged back in all of the fans, two in the rear and put the intake fan back in.
I'm going to have to think of something else.
I think I'm going to start stopping the fan manually with my finger, when it makes the noise.
That might be a better idea.
Hmmmm. Well thanks for the replies guys! :)
- Steven
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