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I researched my sons old computer ( his third - I wish he could afford a new one) and bought a stick of ram for it. I'm not techy but this is the fourth or fifth time I've matched and bought ram so I was fairly sure I'd got it right. When we installed it we didn't touch anything else inside except to blow out the dust. But now the thing is horribly noisy when it starts up, like a really noisy fan. We checked under My Computer/Properties and it recognizes the new ram. Can this by any chance be because it's the wrong kind? Jamie says that other than the noise it works OK, although too noisy to stand at times. I can't remember the ram amounts I'm afraid but it was really low before, something daft like in 56 and now it's 184. (Can't check - I'm up here and he's down there). Thanks for any help offered.
P.S.
I filled in the info for Jamie's computer except the ram, which I left blank. This site filled it in with the ram from MY computer.
"CPU/Ram: 2.6/248" has nothing to do with the computer I'm writing about. Thanks.
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Not that many moving parts in a computer, the noise is likely coming from the processor fan - you should be able to determine if that's it by stopping it briefly with a finger - easily replaced, some even advocate oiling.
If that's not it then other culprits would be power supply or other exhaust fan, hard drive, or else a loosened mounting screw in the chassis
Science is built up with facts, as a house is with stones. But a collection of facts is not more a science than a heap of stones is a home
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I think jboy means the FAN is easy to replace, NOT the finger! Just be careful when stopping the fan. :) Or, better yet, hold a pencil in it to keep it from starting when you boot the machine.
Soylent Green is PEOPLE!!!
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I agree that it's almost guaranteed to be a fan. It should be replaced soon. They are easy to replace and cheap. The only one that is a little difficult to replace is the power supply fan. You have to remove the power supply from the case and open it up.
Sorry, I do not check for private messages
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I always use my finger but,anything will do.Check for screws like jboy mentioned.Them being loose often causes more noise than you would expect.
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Yes, the fan - that finger thing sounds icky
Science is built up with facts, as a house is with stones. But a collection of facts is not more a science than a heap of stones is a home
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"we didn't touch anything else inside except to blow out the dust"
And how did you blow out the dust? Sounds like you may have dirtied the fan bearing(s)
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... so in a nutshell, you need to determine exactly where the noise is coming from then act accordingly.
Sometimes this is not too obvious but (laugh if you wish) the old car mechanics trick of using a stick of wood against suspect components/areas can work quite well. Before anyone asks, you put the other end of the wood in your ear...
DerekW
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There is very good merit to response 8 Derek.You still made me laugh with>"Before anyone asks, you put the other end of the wood in your ear."Who knows what people would try.
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Hi Maureen, I would have thought by now you could have taught Jamie enough skills to maintain his own computers.
Solid state devices such as ram do not normally make noise. When they do, it is usually accompanied by an acrid burning smell.
When you cleaned out the dust, you may have missed a bit on one of the fans. This leads to throwing the fan off balance. The other thing to check for is wires fouling the fans.
To add to Dereks suggestion. A piece of garden hose can also be used as a directional stephoscope.
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... or (in North America) stethoscope ; )
Science is built up with facts, as a house is with stones. But a collection of facts is not more a science than a heap of stones is a home
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I'm so sorry for not getting back to you all to thank for the help sooner than this. Things happened here to make me momentarily forget. I really do appreciate all the help offered, thank you all very much.
All will be passed on to Jamie.
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i wouldn't recommend oiling fan bearings. I
once lived in a boarding house that burned
down. One of the residents retrieved a noisy
window fan from the dumpster, oiled the
bearing, left it running resulting in a huge
fire. It's not worth the chance.
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gdivens51
Low voltage computer fans are totally different to mains driven Window fans and a touch of oil imposes no risk at all. You can even stall computer fans without burning them out - not so Window fans.
Even with Window fans I have a job to see why oil was the culprit. There could have been many reasons why an old fan caught fire.
Possibly the windings of the retrieved fan had alredy been damaged in the previous fire, leading to them shorting together when they got warm after extensive running.
DerekW
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