Hi all, When I either Minimize, Maximize or restore a Window in Windows xp I hear a whining sound(not loud but you can hear it when my pc isn't loading anything) , so I pulled my PC out and listened at the back while I minimized a window and I heard it loudest from the PSU, I've googled this and found one forum which told me to disable the PC speaker (This was before I thought it was the PSU) and I did which didn't help, so now I'm stuck for ideas. So can what can I do to make it stop making that sound? Thanks Scuzzy Wuzzy PC specs: Dell Dimension 8100 DVD Rewriter and CD Rewriter 120GB Hard drive(Upgraded from 20gb) 1GB of ram (Upgraded from 256MB) 1.5GHZ P4 Nvidia Geforce FX 5200 (Heatsink, no Fan and Upgraded from Nvidia Geforce 2) Original PSU (Dell, I think) I also have a Dell Dimension 8100 with normal xp sp3,1.5ghz P4,120GB hd,1GB,dvd-rom and cd-rw(also floppy drive and a ATI Radeon 9200 agp graphics card)

I guess it could be that the video card is somehow using more power and that is causing some issue with the power supply. The best way would be to use a spare power supply to see. That might be a rambus memory system, dunno if they had odd spec power supplies or a normal off the shelf type. "Best Practices", Event viewer, host file, perfmon, antivirus, anti-spyware, Live CD's, backups, are in my top 10

If it's not a fan, it's probably a capacitor. If you're certain the sound is from the PSU & not just traveling thru the PSU, replace it ASAP.

Ok will try and replace the PSU, but strangely only happens when I minimize, maximize or restore windows as I said? I see again is it is the PSU for sure. I also have a Dell Dimension 8100 with normal xp sp3,1.5ghz P4,120GB hd,1GB,dvd-rom and cd-rw(also floppy drive and a ATI Radeon 9200 agp graphics card)

Use a mechanic's trick to determine where the sound is coming from. Use a length of hose or tubing as a stethoscope. DO NOT actually touch moving parts. Non-metallic works best. The tube from wrapping paper works well. Place against your ear while holding in the general area. Take care with static discharge when working inside the case.

"....but strangely only happens when I minimize, maximize or restore windows ..." I have noticed some systems do that in XP under various circumstances when you have installed certain video cards. I think the noise - it's quite high pitched - comes from the video card. It may do that in normal mode but not in Safe mode or Enable VGA mode. I am presently working on someone elses's dual boot computer that does that in XP in some situations but not in Vista. In that case there's often nothing you can do about it, and it's harmless. ....... "Nvidia Geforce FX 5200 (Heatsink, no Fan and Upgraded from Nvidia Geforce 2) Original PSU (Dell, I think)" When you upgrade your video you may need to install a PS with more capacity as well. Your power supply must have at least the minumum capacity required to support a system with the graphics card you are using installed, or the max graphics card you might install in the future. (Onboard video - video built into the mboard - IS NOT A CARD!) You can go to the video card maker's web site and look up the specs for the model - often under system requirements - the minimum PS wattage, and, more important, the minimum amperage the PS must supply at 12v is stated. If you don't find that, any card with the same video chipset including any letters after the model number has very similar minimum PS requirements. (This applied several months ago:) If you want to cover any possible video card, a minimum 600 ot 650 watt power supply will handle any current high end video card, or even a X2 card (two video chipsets on one card) or two cards in two slots. You can usually replace it with any decent standard sized standard ATX PS that has enough capacity, or more. Standard (PS/2) power supply size - 86mm high, 150mm wide, 140mm deep, or 3 3/8" h x 5 7/8" w x 5 1/2" d , or very close to that, though the depth can be more or less for some PSs. Don't buy an el-cheapo PS. See response 3 in this: http://www.computing.net/answers/ha... ....... Other possibilities? If you have a sound card in a mboard slot it may be picking up electronic noise from the video.In that case the sound usually goes away when you uplug the speakers, or turn down the speaker's volume all the way, or mute the speakers in the sound mixer settings - try installing it in a different slot. If you have an audio cable plugged into the back of an optical drive, it may be picking up electronic noise - you don't need that cable for more recent optical drives - the audio that cable provides is also available via the data cable (it's not needed in order to play standard audio CDs).