[scarlet.rose]

Thanks for your help. Noise reverted back to normal some days ago......not had anymore Dell alerts yet. Before that I started hearing a different noise, what sounded like the fan badly jamming and then freeing itself. Problem could reoccur at any point, it's probably clogged with dust. Regarding preventing static electricity damage, wondering what to put the computer on, I have a wooden chair with vinyl covering (latter probably isn't good)......should I buy a plank of wood? I already have an anti static ESD grounding plug / wrist strap. Got to find out how to access / take the shroud off first and I've got a lot of other things to deal with right now. Dell manual has no info about the fan other than it having a 3 pin connector.