Computer question

[Star of Penumbra]

Whenever I start my computer, it buzzes loudly. For what reason, I have been unable to determine. But if I shut it down, then restart it a minute later, it doesn't buzz. While this isn't really a problem, it does happen to be annoying as hell.

So does anyone know what's up with the buzzing?

 

[Bobmi357]

OK there is little in the machine which could cause a buzz. But having said that, a buzz could be a sign of coming trouble in a couple of places.

Place your hand on the machine while its buzzing (preferably on a plastic part of the machine). Do you feel any vibration? If so, the harddrive may be trying to spin up, but its slightly offcenter. This is a serious problem as the harddisk needs to be exactly centered in order to work. If the disk is spinning up offcenter, it will wobble, causing both a noise and a vibration. I'd immediately start backing up my important files on the machine and then take the machine to be serviced, you may end up having to replace the hard disk.

Another source of the noise could be coming from the power supply. Power supplies are easier and cheaper to replace than the hard disk, but again, its best to have it done by someone that knows what they are doing. If you don't feel any vibration I'd suspect the power supply is causing the noise.

Again, in that case, back up and repair. You do NOT want to see what can happen if your power supply fries on you.

The noise could also be coming from the floppy disk, but usually the noises it makes on boot are fairly recognizeable. Remove any disks you might have in the floppy and see if you can still make the noise. If removing the disk causes the noise to go away then I'd say you had a disk causing the problem. Also, try the same procedure with the CD Rom.

Generally when you're troubleshooting a problem in a PC you want to look at all the possible sources of the problem, eliminating them one by one until you've narrowed it down to one element of the machine.

Hope this helps

 

[Guest]

 

[Weird Harold]

Whenever I start my computer, it buzzes loudly.

How old is your computer and monitor?

Can you describe the "buzz" a bit better? Drives, Power Supplies, Monitor arcing, and other things that can cause a computer to "buzz" all have distinctive sounds.

My first thought is sticky bearings in the Power Supply Fan or CPU cooling fan, but the others have made intelligent guesses as well.

While this isn't really a problem, it does happen to be annoying as hell.

PS: This IS really a problem, or at least it could be. Computers are supposed to run quietly, and when things start making noise, it is a warning that failure of something is imminent and that failure usually means lost data when it happens.

 

[Star of Penumbra]

When I first start it up, it buzzes. The computer, not the monitor. It sounds like the internal cooling fan is working overtime. I doubt this is the case, since, as I have metnioned before, if I shut the computer down for a minute than restart it, it doesn't buzz. Plus, I have the side panels off so it doen't overheat easily. And no, there are no foreign objects stuck inside the computer, and I keep the inside rather clean. The buzzing is a somewhat louder than when the CPU begins reading something of the HD and is persistant until I restart.

The computer and the monitor are both about two years old -the computer itself is one that my father built. The monitor is in perfect working condition.

I have lost no data or memory, and I have thus far had no problems with stalling or crashing.

This has been happening for a while. A couple weeks at least. I didn't make a note of the day it began, so I can't say for sure how long.

 

[realcurious]

It still coud be one of your fans (power supply, processor, many graphic cards now come with a fan, and some cases have several cooling fans.

If you feel comfortable, take off the case cover (with power disconnected) start up and search where the buzzing comes from.

The fans collect dust and could use a blast of air to clean them once in a while.

I have a power supply fan going, it buzzes when fist starting up and stops (buzzing) after a few minutes especially when cold, now that spring is here it rarely does it. The computer will be replaced soon so I have been ignoring the problem, just backing up often.

Don

 

[Weird Harold]

When I first start it up, it buzzes. The computer, not the monitor. It sounds like the internal cooling fan is working overtime. I doubt this is the case, since, as I have metnioned before, if I shut the computer down for a minute than restart it, it doesn't buzz. Plus, I have the side panels off so it doen't overheat easily. And no, there are no foreign objects stuck inside the computer, and I keep the inside rather clean. The buzzing is a somewhat louder than when the CPU begins reading something of the HD and is persistant until I restart.

That sounds like the first stage of fan bearing failure. It buzzes on a cold start beause the bearing is cold, and doesn't buzz on a restart because the bearing has warmed up and doesn't fit as tightly.

Thumping the case might stop the noise without restarting.

You need to figure out which fan is going bad and replace it.

 

[JediKyp]

When I first start it up, it buzzes. The computer, not the monitor. It sounds like the internal cooling fan is working overtime. I doubt this is the case, since, as I have metnioned before, if I shut the computer down for a minute than restart it, it doesn't buzz. Plus, I have the side panels off so it doen't overheat easily. And no, there are no foreign objects stuck inside the computer, and I keep the inside rather clean. The buzzing is a somewhat louder than when the CPU begins reading something of the HD and is persistant until I restart.

Assuming it's a fan, which by all symptoms described certainly points to it, if the fan can be stopped, the buzzing should stop. There are usually only two fans in a system, sometimes more if it's a high-end system. The power supply on the back, and the CPU. If it's a new system, the video card may have one too. High-end systems might have a case fan somewhere on the back or low on the front.

TO check power supply fans, use a firm, but flexible 'rod' (anything that is thin, about 3" or longer, roughly circular); I use a cable tie. Carefully insert the object through the grill into the fan blades. If the buzzing stops, then it's the power supply fan. SImilar test for other large fans, like case fans.

CPU and GPU (video) fans are tested using a finger, after touching the metal case for ground. Again, if the buzzing stops, that's your source of evil.

Fixing the fans, if that's indeed the problem is as follows: Power supplies are replaceable as an entire unit. Case fans can be purchased for about $10 at CompUSA or similar. Bring the old one for exact replacement. CPU fans can be replaced either the fan only, or replacing the entire heatsink assembly. The later is easy, the former is easy, but the heatsink still needs to be removed first; then after the replacement, must be re-attached properly. GPU fans might be more complex, as the heatsinks aren't removable.

If it's definitely not a fan, then it's possible it's a component in the power supply either arcing, or oscillating due to the high-voltage/current. This is usually related to build up of dust inside the unit, where it can't be cleaned. As has been suggested, it may be a drive of some sort, which needs to replaced, if it's a hard drive, then the files need to be backed up soon.