Grinding, Rasping Noise

[woodelf]

When I usually turn on my pc tower, there is a little "tink" sound and it gets on with the start-up, etc, but now and again - more now than again - when I turn on, there is the little tink, but it is drowned by a grinding, rasping sound and I turn off the machine. I've left it for a few seconds or so, turn on again and that sound is still there...try again and still there, leave it and try again and it's gone!...until the next time! I could (should?) get someone to have a listen (look?), but Sod's Law says it would work okay and nothing happens...until the next time! Any ideas what this horrible noise could be and/or what is causing it? Ta Muchly and Take Care All!

[barry1010]

Buy a can of air and spray the vents - I bet the fans are full of gunk.

[bhg481]

One of the cooling fans sounds favourite. There is a small one attached to the CPU and a 5" one which is fixed (usually) at the back of the case as a general cooler. The large one is the most likely and it's cheap and easy to replace yourself. It could just be that the whole thing needs a good blowing out with a can of compressed air - worth a try.

[woodelf]

If you two guys are serious about the solution - and I don't see why not - then why doesn't it happen all the time, but anyway, what would you recommend, spray-wise, as I'm a or the techno-duffer and I don't want to get the wrong stuff!...Ta for the VQR!

[barry1010]

Amazon.com User Recommendation

[Espresso125]

take it outside to clear the dust out otherwise its all over the house and that grinding noise could also be the hard drive giving up

[woodelf]

Thanks for that link Barry, I'll send for some - and Ta for that Espresso...I had a feeling that that might be at the bottom of it, hence the intermittent erraticism (Ooo) of it!...but I'll still by the spray!

[barry1010]

No need to take it outside if you have a big enough plastic bag to catch the dust.
I know you have problems with your eyesight so don't know if you can follow this but it will tell you if your hard drive is having problems
https://uk.pcmag.com/how-to/94591/how-to-check-your-hard-drives-health?p=1

[bhg481]

If you take the side off your computer before you start it up and look inside as it starts it might help to see where the noise comes from. The large fan is low voltage, so putting your finger on the fan-casing as it starts is safe and you might be able to feel the noise.

[douglas9401]

The rasping noise could be a stray file.

[aelmpvw]

:-)

[satprof]

As soon as you hear this kind of noise, it's very important to make a full backup of everything onto something external to your PC. (Even if you have C: and D: available inside your machine, these may be on the same physical disk and so shouldn't be used for backups.)

[woodelf]

You free for the Edinburgh Fringe Douglas?...what we gonna call our double act then? - Yes, Many Thanks Prof, I use an external device to backup, in fact auto one of 1st Sunday of month, e.g. tomorrow! Many Thanks too for that hard drive health check, I should be able to read it okay, as long as it's text only...or at least, hypergob should!

[woodelf]

Barry, for some reason, your link to the hard drive health didn't work, could you send it again, somehow, in a erm different format - your earlier link to amazon worked okay, can't understand why this one didn't...and as it could be important!

[aelmpvw]

i don't understand either, the link works for me?

[bhg481]

Link works for me also; I've bookmarked it. Thanks barry.

[barry1010]

Sorry, woodelf, I don't know why that link won't work for you but thinking about it, it could be totally unsuitable for you.

Can you access the cmd prompt? Does your narrator work in that? I'll see if I can find a more suitable program for you to use.

[barry1010]

This free program might be a better option for you as it emails the results - I am assuming this will make it easier for you to access the information.
https://www.lifewire.com/free-easis-drive-check-review-2624558

[woodelf]

Sorry to mess you about Barry, but the link does now work, don't know why it didn't before and it is the same one I googled in the meantime between mine and your answer, so I'm sorry again and I too bookmarked it - but if things get to techy, I'll have to get someone in or do summat, as drive is about seven years ld and has had a Windows corruption hiatus in that time too!

[barry1010]

Try the program in my link at 11:59.
Out of interest, and for future use maybe, can you use cmd prompt?

[woodelf]

Okay Barry, I'll try your latest link - and to be honest, I don't know what cmd prompt is!...a right flamin' idiot aint I?...no need to answer that one!