My best guess is it's coming from the upper back; I think the fan.
Is this something I can fix myself? Gonna try and open it up.
Any input greatly appreciated; providing I can get back here.
TIA trueblue
(cross posted in computer questions)
[ 22. November 2006, 12:06 PM: Message edited by: trueblue ]
Posted by Vermont_Lymie (Member # 9780) on :
My best advice is -- back up everything right away!
Save your documents on an external hard drive.
So if the sound is that of your hard drive in trouble, you will not lose your data.
If you hear a clicking noise, that is usually due to a hard drive being damaged. It is not a good sign. But fortunately these days, they are relatively affordable to replace.
Posted by MagicAcorn (Member # 8786) on :
Not to worry....yet.
Open up the hard drive and then vacuum that baby with the slim nozzle attachment on your vacuum. After you have done this put the panel back on the side of your hard drive. Now vacuum the whole PC itself and the keyboard.
If it gets dusty it can overheat causing the fan to work overtime. I had a computer crash (black screen of death) and I ressurrected it just like from the dead by doing this. I there after called my computer Lazarus.
Now unplug everything from the computer. All the wiring *just make note of where they go* from the computer, hard drive, printer, etc.. and the wall, or storm surge protection. When everything is unplugged vacuum the rear of everything. Then put all the wires back in place and plug the computer back in.
Once the computer is back on do a full system scan. Depending on how long the scan takes you'll know if you have any damage. My scan usually takes about 50 minutes so if it took much longer than that I would know there is something more involved going on.
Posted by trueblue (Member # 7348) on :
Thank you VT Lymie, I opened it up and blew alot of dust around and loosened the box with the power switch and fan and dusted that pretty well. *cough, cough, sneeze, sneeze*
While it was apart, I turned is on and the noise was gone. ^shrugs^
So, I reassembled it and have just now climbed out from under the desk. So far so good.
I suppose an external hard drive wouldn't be a bad idea at this point, eh?
Thank you
Posted by trueblue (Member # 7348) on :
Hi Acorn, I didn't see your post until after I posted.
I did unplug everything but didn't do as thorough a cleaning as you did. I'll have to have another go at it after a nap.
I'll do a full system scan now.
Thank you!
(yes, I will do the rest of the vacuuming today. I only dust-busted inside the box.)
Posted by MagicAcorn (Member # 8786) on :
Good job. It should help.
Enjoy the nap.
Posted by trueblue (Member # 7348) on :
Ta, I can scan and nap together. ok, maybe best to wait on the nap.
It sounds so quiet now. Posted by stymielymie (Member # 10044) on :
spray a little bit of wd40 0r oil on the fan bearings.
also a can of liquid air is good, any office supply has it.
after you fix the computer you can fix yourself , by huffing the air in your mouth lol.
this is very dangerous and should only be done by professionals, like high school kids.
docdave
Posted by siggy (Member # 8654) on :
is it possible to do the same vacuuming on a laptop? The fan on mine also sounds like a plane taking off. I just never bothered about it - but it is annoying whenever I have visitors, or am on the phone. It supposedly sounds like I am vacuuming while I am on the phone, or out in traffic.
I would take it apart if someone would just reassure me that I won't ruin it. My - it must be very dusty, come to think of it!
Posted by MagicAcorn (Member # 8786) on :
I do not think a laptop is meant to be opened.
Vacuuming the outside ports shouldn't hurt though.
Posted by Cobweb (Member # 10053) on :
It's all Lymetoo's fault for Leaving on a Jet Plane.
Posted by siggy (Member # 8654) on :
Cobweb:
Nimzovich: I wouldn't know what I was doing, so ... and with lymebrain maybe it's not such a good idea to open it. I probably would end up with many spare parts.
I'll let my vacuumer have a go at it- hopefully not pulling out any parts.
Posted by lou (Member # 81) on :
My laptop stopped functioning. Turned out the power switch connection had become disconnected. But while the tech was inside the box, she said the motherboard was very dusty and that could also cause problems. Suggested that vaccuuming could be done on the keyboard as that was a way the dust could get in. This would be done without opening anything which might be hazardous for untrained people.
Dust can cause a machine to overheat.
Don't really understand how the dust gets in since my machine is closed when not in use.
Posted by trueblue (Member # 7348) on :
quote:Originally posted by Cobweb: It's all Lymetoo's fault for Leaving on a Jet Plane.
Bwahahaha, I didn;t even think of that. Posted by Aligondo Bruce (Member # 6219) on :
yes, I'm afraid you've been victimized by the NSA's super secret electronic c--k blocking program. they ran that as a test, a robot on the 'net, and it got out of control sort of like what happened in the terminator series.
that was a couple of years back, they haven't told anyone about it, they were hoping the code would eventually decay and render the robot harmless, but obviously that isn't the case and the american public should be informed about the dangers lurking over the internet posed by this dangerous virus, otherwise many more computers will be damaged or destroyed.
a tip, avoid e-dating websites.
Posted by trueblue (Member # 7348) on :
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