Re: "Noise" upon booting computer

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"daisypearl" wrote:


I have my fingers crossed that someone will tell me that I do NOT have a
hard drive problem but I fear the worst. I have a 3 year old Pentium 4
with XP Pro. My software is up to date, all works well and I have a TON
of info on the computer. I do have files backed up routinely offsite
but hope I do not have to deal with a new hard drive.

Yesterday morning I turned on the computer and for the first time ever
something seemed to be whirring at random speeds; it got louder and
softer and finally settled down to its normal quiet self. it booted up
in the normal time and I had no problems. Later in the morning I turned
it off to see if the noise had been a fluke; it booted up as always with
no problems and no noise. However, the same noises occurred this
morning; it takes about 5 minutes for it to settle down. I had some
automatic updates from Microsoft downloaded and restarted the computer
after they were installed, no problem.

The computer was blown out last week--my husband takes the cover off
and cleans it out about once a month. We live on a dirt road in the
boonies and have dogs so there is always dust and dog hair in it.

Is there a possibility it is anything else other than the hard drive?
I am pretty good with software but hardware is definitely not my thing.
I do not have any problems in taking the CPU in but there are very few
techs in the area and I would like to make absolutely sure it is not a
fan problem. My husband can [and has] changed a fan. I cannot go back
to the manufacturer [Monarch Computers] because they went belly up.

If it is the hard drive is there any software that the tech might have
to just migrate the system as is to a new hard drive or am I facing a
new drive with the OS on and nothing else, just waiting for me to spend
days reinstalling all that software...

Pardon me while I scream.....

daisy


--
daisypearl
Posted via http://computerhelpforums.net Forum to USENET Gateway

Rotating objects (i.e. fans) move in a very slight off-concentric centre.
This sets up a vibration when the object is at the outer and inner end of
its slightly out of circular travel. In a well engineered piece of kit all
this is reduced to a barely audible level. Dry bearings and the fan blades
hitting the air are other causes of noise. Such noises may be amplified by
sympathetic vibration.

So what moves in a computer? The lists of things to check include power
supply unit fan, hard disk drive, CPU fan, case fan, CD drive, DVD drive,
floppy disk drives, sound card fan (some) and graphics card fan (some).

The easiest thing to check is for sympathetic vibration. A computer noise
could occur dependent on where the computer is located. Try to move the
computer maybe just a few inches (or hold it , very carefully, off the
surface on which normally rests). If the noise persists the cause is not
sympathetic vibration.

The CD and DVD drives will spin when the computer starts up so if the noise
stops when you boot up and see the Desk Top it isn't that.

The floppy disk drive should spin only (unless it is connected incorrectly)
when there is a floppy disk in the drive so that probably eliminates that.

Now for the internal fans. The most likely cause of a noise is the CPU fan.
To test this very VERY carefully rest a finger on the blades. (It only
hurts when you get the direction of spin wrong). If the sound goes, you've
found the cause.

The power supply unit fan is a little trickier but a wooden spoon against
the ear may help to check this one out.

Now turning to the possibility of migrating all your files to another hard
drive.

The easiset way to do that is to use something like Acronis to clone your
hard disk onto a new one. It sounds as though you will confident to go
through the process of installing a new hard disk drive, cloning and then
uninstalling the old hard disk drive

Good luck.

Bill Ridgeway


.

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