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OMG plzzzz help the buzzing stop


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#1
black_shadow_1981

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my pc has been buzzing on and off for about a month now, i hit the top of the tower and it stops for like a day or 2 (sometimes less) then starts up again, the problem comes and gos but [bleep] im a poor guy i dont have £30 to give to someone to look at it but this buzzing is driveing me nuts.....

i know nothing about pc's but im going to be brave and take the case off and look inside at the fans, maybe if i blow on them or something it will fix it (i just hope to god its not my HD) i dont think it would be the HD because when i hit my pc the buzzing stops (but then im not a pc tech so i could be wrong)

anyways i would really love some help from you guys out there in geek land (this problem is why i joined the site today, im pulling my hair out this [bleep] my pc is only just over a year old, i keep it under a desk near a window and i think ive taken good care of it, im thinking maybe its the fans, i smoke alot when useing the pc so it might have something to do with that, if it turns out to be the fans i just hope its EASY and CHEAP to fix/replace

i cant go on hitting my pc like this to make the buzzing stop!!!!

plzzzz plzzzz plzzzzzzzzzzzzz guys/geeks/girls whoever lol help meeeeeeeee :) :) :) :)

P.S...

i keep my pc on all the time (over night/day only shut down like once a week for about 20mins or so) because im always downloading films/music/games etc (torrent junkie) i dont know if that helps but i thought it might so i added it

Edited by black_shadow_1981, 25 March 2008 - 11:17 PM.

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#2
pip22

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Welcome to Geeks2Go!

Your post should be in the 'hardware' section since it's irrelevant what version of Windows you have in this particular case.
I had the same problem 6 months ago on my 4-year old tower case. I isolated it to being (mainly) the fan on the graphics card. As this fan can't be replaced I bought a new card (nothing fancy since I'm not a gamer) with just a heatsink and no fan. At the same time I also replaced the PSU fan and the rear case-fan as these were also noisier than I liked and would have in any case been fairly worn after 4 years.

Result? A much calmer working environment for little money. The 64MB passively-cooled Radeon cost me £18 at a little backstreet PC shop, and I paid £15 total for the two fans online.

Before going down that route, however, you should check that there are no loose screws or side panels on/in your tower case. You may find all you need is a screwdriver or two. But don't get too heavy-handed with them!
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#3
ScHwErV

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Canned air costs $2 here in the states. Get a can of that, take off the side panels, and blow out the fans. All of them. You should do this monthly, especially if your computer is on all the time. Sometimes the fans just get more dirt on one side than the other. The result is an unbalanced fan which will generate that buzz.

PS, we don't need to know about your habits. This is a family friendly site which does not support, nor condone torrents or your other habit. Please keep them to yourself if you want to stay a member here.
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#4
black_shadow_1981

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sorry for offending you (im not sure how i did) i just added that part at the end of my post to let you guys know that my pc gets alot of ontime because i thought that might be the reason it was messing up..... anyways i am sorry again im not here to upset people i just wanna sort my baby out (pc) :)

anyways heres a update.... today i had the side off the tower (E-SYSTEMS 305) if that helps, i cleaned the side fan out (the big one), it was FULL of dust balls, that looks to be clean now but the buzzing is still going on, i put my ear to the DVD-ROM drive and thats makeing a buzzing (not too loud for me to handle and i think thats always been there i just dont hear it because its under a desk) i then put an ear to the power box thingy (think its called a pcu) and thats buzzing really really bad, i think it was that all along, i didnt do anything with the power box because i wasnt sure if it was safe to touch or mess with, but looking thou the holes at the back the fan looks clean, i wounder if my pc is about to blow up on me :), ive looked on websites at power boxies but there are so many and im not sure witch one i need or even if i would be able to fit it by myself :) :)

anyways again im sorry for upsetting you guys, i too have kids and i didnt think i sayed anything bad, i wasnt telling people to go out and brake copyright laws, not everything has copyright on bittorrent sites, but its i understand that this is not my site and im a newbie so i am sorry it will not happen again

oh should i try spraying canned air into the power box?? i mean is that safe them things freak me out lol :) :) :)
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#5
superstar

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Welcome to geekstogo.com,

Well you did find out where the noise is coming from after trial and error. You've detected it coming from the PSU [power supply unit]. If the device below fits the description than it is so.

Posted Image

As you are finding out computers need a lot of care in order to operate smoothly. Any computer can DIE out of the blue to a user who does nothing but use their pc everyday without maintaining it. They're a lot like kids, plants, pets, etc. I'll give you a few tips on how you can maintain your pc physically, but first let's take a stab at your PSU issue.

Most PSU's build up a lot of access dust on the fan and the inside grate grill. Sometimes the PSU will also get dust stuck between the fan and the bearings [the copper wires spun up into a ball right behind the fan which is hard to see]. If there is any dust buildup at the bearing area it should come out naturally on it's own since you already cleaned the fan. But one thing you probably forgot to do was to blow the dust inside the PSU through the grate/grill panel. That way you blow the dust outwards and it will shoot out of the fan at the back. You need to use a can of compressed air which you can purchase at any local small/major computer store for about £2. Here's what a can of compressed air looks like below.

Posted Image

Buy one and blow the dust out of the entire inside of your pc and the inside of your PSU. As I mentioned before clean the PSU from inside out when you blow it with a can of compressed air.

Posted Image

Than take a moist [not wet] q tip and clean the fan, and after your done turn the q tip around to dry the fan. Lastly turn on your pc and you may or may not hear the buzz again. If you do aim your mouth right over the back PSU fan as if you were trying to look into the fan from the top. Keep your mouth a good 5-6 inches away from the top of the fan and blow inwards with your mouth in 3 second bursts of strong yet gentle breaths of air from your lungs. Use your hand to cup the air coming out of your mouth so it goes inwards if you have to. But don't cover the entire darn PSU fan with your hand because it's supposed to blow air out while your blowing in from the top. Do this for 1 minute than stop... The noise may go away while your doing it, or a couple minutes after you stop. This method is used to try and get any dust buildup out of the bearings which is a hard place to reach.

The picture below is not an actual bearing behind a PSU fan but instead a coil of copper wire which is practically the same thing if you use your imagination. If your lucky enough you'll see it behind the fan or any other pc fan for that matter. You may need a flashlight to see it though.

Posted Image

Anyways if your PSU is still buzzing and humming 1-3 days after you do all of this important cleaning you may be in for a deadly ride. It can mean that the dust has built up so much that it has damaged your PSU to the point of no return since you've never cleaned it or your pc either. Your supposed to blow your entire pc with a can of compressed air every 1-3 months. People think dust doesn't build up in a pc when it really does A LOT. & if the dust is thick enough it can create moisture from the heated pc components which can fry the hardware inside, or obstruction of airflow to fans. Like I said if you do the cleaning process I've mentioned and the noise persists for over 1-3 days your PSU may be dying, and if it does it can kill the entire computer when it goes and you'll need a lot of pounds to buy yourself a new pc! & that's a lot of weight! LOL

So if you still hear the buzzing from your PSU 1-3 days after this cleaning procedure you'll have to buy a new PSU from your local small/major pc store as this is the only way to save your pc and bring it back to normal life before your PSU dies and kills the pc with it. They can range from £10 and up, but be sure to check and see if the main fat wire plug from your PSU is a 20 pin or 24 pin plug [it's the hugest plug that comes from your PSU and attaches to your motherboard]. You have to buy the same 20 or 24 pin plug PSU or it will not attach to your motherboard to give it power. If you do have to buy a new PSU in a few days after your cleaning procedure, I'd say take a few pics of the way the PSU wires are connected to your internal pc parts so you can buy a new PSU and connect it the same way. Installing a new PSU is so simple, probably the easiest pc install there is [takes about 5/10 minutes to install]. You can search google for help if you ever get stuck on doing so, but it's way too simple so I don't think you'd have to. Also make sure that you buy a PSU that is the same wattage or more than your current PSU [you can find the watt rating on the sticker of your PSU - for example my PSU is 450 watts of power - another example is to look at the first picture in my post where it shows a PSU sticker]. Buy the same wattage or get one that's higher if you want to, it really won't matter as long as you get the same or more. & that's all you need to know about getting a new PSU!

As I mentioned your entire pc can die meaning everything can be fried and killed inside if your PSU decides to blow itself away. I've seen it happen many times. I had a mutual friend who brought me his pc to fix a while ago. He never cleaned the entire inside of his pc regularly. The pc was practically asking to malfunction and ruin. I took one look at it and told him it was over and there was nothing I could do. The PSU in his pc decided it was time to say bye bye and when it did it killed his hard drive, ram, motherboard, sound card, video card, etc. It took everything and he lost years worth of data on his HDD [hard disc drive].

Here's some tips on how to clean your pc:

http://www.directron.com/cleaning.html

http://reviews.cnet....-6240575-1.html [w/video]

http://www.pcmag.com...,1747017,00.asp

http://www.bleepingc...utorial118.html

IMPORTANT:
Remember to always make sure your pc is off and unplugged while you service it so you don't kill yourself by any electrical shock/surge/etc. And always touch the inside metal case of your pc with your hands before touching anything inside so it will release any static electricity you may have on your body. If you touch the inside of your pc without doing so you may shock your pc components with any natural static electricity buildup on your hand and that can kill/damage your pc components. Try to service your pc on top of a wooden table or any table. & stay away from servicing your pc while standing on a CARPET!



GOOD LUCK AND BE SURE TO LET US KNOW HOW EVERYTHING WENT.

Edited by superstar, 26 March 2008 - 10:00 AM.

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#6
black_shadow_1981

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thank you superstar, i can see you have gone to alot of trouble with your post :) im going out into town thursday to find some canned air and try the cleaning you recomended, if that dont work i will go and get a new pcu next week (nice to know it shouldnt cost me that much) but afther looking inside my pc and knowning how the guy from Tron felt lol theres no way im going to fit it myself lol

anyways i well try the tips then see if the buzzing stops

i will report back as soon as ive done that

thank you so much for takeing the time to help me out :)
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#7
black_shadow_1981

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thank you so much guys i did what you told me and now its running like a monster again :) i will be recomending this this site to my friends for sure 10/10
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