I've tried everything to isolate the splash screen freeze-up on my computer. One of the replies to my question was that overheating might be causing the problem. That reminded me that a few weeks ago, one of the fans was louder than usual. Now the noise is gone. Is there a way to determine if a fan has gone dead without opening up the computer with the power on (I'm not real comfortable with that)?

purdue82: For the power supply fan you only have to put your hand next to where the fan blows out and feel the air blowing or you can look at it and see it turning. As for the internal fan you can feel the air being sucked in at the front of the case where there are slits for the air to be sucked in. The air being suckes in is really hard to feel as it is real light and not enough to like suck a handkerchef against the case. If you can't tell by feeling the light flow of air, then you would have to remove the case which really not a hard task. Good luck, Ralph Ralph(jazzbo)

Ralph gave you good advice. If you need to check the internal fan(s), first power the system off, remove the side cover, then power on. See if the fan moves. You don't need to touch anything while it is powered on.

My ? is how long have you owned this PC ,and have never opened up the tower and cleaned out all the dust that builds up inside ,mostly on the fans and the processor & heat sink .There are many online tutorials on bulding a PC ,and possibly even ones on cleaning the inside of the case. About every 3 months or so ,I open my tower up and using a can of compressed air I blow the dust out of the fans ,the intake fan at the bottom front of case ,the P.S. fan at the top rear ,the processor fan and heatsink located on the M.B., I also have a extra slot fan I installed, I also clean that fan out. I also take a small vacum and lightly vacum and wipe off the dust, being careful not to knock any transistors off the M.B. or suck any jumpers off also ! This is really an easy task anyone can do .Make sure you ground yourself to the case ,to prevent any static electicity. As long as you work slowly and carefully, its really quit easy and you dont need to be a PC tech to keep the inside of your tower clean and it will add life to your PC and it will run cooler ! Good Luck Nick

What Ralph told you above is good advice; I've had the same problem. My internal fan has done that about once a year. If I use a flashlight and get at the right angle I can even see it without doing anything farther. I also oil the bearing. It is not made to be oiled BUT I take the sticker and rubber plug off the end of the bearing and hold the fan horizontal. Then place a tiny amount of oil on the shaft and bearing. I then start the PC so that the fan is running- the oil will work itself into the bearing. I repeat this 3-4 times(oiling). Use a Q tip or tooth pick to apply the oil. Synthetic(Mobil 1)oil lasts the longest. This fan is only a 12volt fan so there is no danger from it BUT if you can't tell the difference between what to touch and not to touch maybe you should call someone who does know.