Tower playing up

[littleshirl]

I just switched on my pc this morning and the main unit, tower? is making a terrible noise, it is like a drone and is vibrating slightly. Might it be the fan, or what. Is it safe to leave it running, what can I do about it please? It seems to have gone a bit quieter while I have been writing this but still louder than usual.TIA

[rsvp]

have you checked if the airholes are maybe clogged with dust - the noise maybe the fan overworking.

[littleshirl]

Thank you for the suggestion rsvp, the airholes look ok, just a bit of dust. Will I be able to take the back off and maybe clean gently inside or would that be a silly thing to do? I am not very good with technology!

[Old_Geezer]

It depends on how you clean it. Putting it in the washing machine may be detrimental. Blowing the dust away or picking it off the fan ought to be ok.

Noises as you describe sound like they would be the fans. Try opening it up, switching on and seeing if you can ascertain where the noise comes from.

Doe it come from the larger fans in the case, or maybe one of the smaller ones on the processor chip or on a graphics card ?


Whatever it is, that's the clue as to what is having problems. Dust isn't kind to fans. It's not uncommon to find they need careful cleaning.

[deggers316]

could be the fan buy a can of airblaster from maplins and give it all a good blow out if poss take the comp outside to do this concentrate on the fan on the processor and the one at the back of the comp !the fan cooler that cools the power supply
having said that i grinding noise could be the hard drive thats failing fast,

[Old_Geezer]

If using airblaster cans then may be worth taking on board what has been said on earlier threads of this nature. If you allow the fan to spin using the airblaster it can generate voltage which doesn't do the components on he PC board much good. Advice read there was to not allow them to spin too fast from the air blast.

[littleshirl]

Thank you too Old_Geezer, I guess putting it in the washing machine would solve the problem tho' - one way or t'other rofl. I will do as you suggest and hope that dust IS the problem. Thanks again.

[littleshirl]

Thank you deggers 316 - really hope it isn't the hard drive tho' :o(

[vivandorron]

The noise does suggest dust on fan blades. Consequently, as O_G has indicated, best to avoid the washing machine and carefully 'hand wash'. Furthermore, he has given excellent advice about avoiding the fan blades spinning. If you should use an airblaster, it is advisable to hold the blades with thumb and forefinger when blasting away.

It would be wonderful if Computer manufacturers were to incorporate a removable dust filter which could be hand washed. A simple thing I would have thought......but comps might then last longer, and that's not what manufacturers want.

Ron.

Ron.