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Resolved Question

Can't find whirring noise?

Jul 18, 2013 2:41AM PDT

My PC has been making a whirring noise that I can't pin point. I have 2 hard drives (exact copies) and have removed each one at a time and whirring continues. I've halted every fan (tower, CPU, and video) temporarily and whirring continues. I thought it must be the power supply or it's fan, so I replaced it but I am still getting the whirr. I've also removed other drives (e.g. DVD & floppy) and they aren't the cause. Temperature does not seem high but I've tried external cooling anyway to no avail.

The whirring sounds like a fan going from low speed to very high speed, ~2 seconds loud, ~2 seconds quite, ever repeating (but it's obviously not a fan unless there's a hidden one somewhere). The computer makes this whirring noise about 80% of the time it's running (doing nothing or computing seems to have no affect). I don't know what other moving parts there are or what to check next. Any ideas?

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hedgecutter has chosen the best answer to their question. View answer

Best Answer

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PSU and possible frt. panel have fans
Jul 18, 2013 5:11AM PDT

The PSU also could have dual fans so don't discount the one you do find. Also, the frt. panel may have a buried fan located behind the frt. cover.

tada -----Willy Happy

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As mentioned the PSU was replaced.
Jul 18, 2013 5:47AM PDT

Thanks for the ideas. As mentioned, the PSU (and it's internal fan) was replaced (with a brand new PSU). There is no fan in the front cover, but I appreciate the creative thought. Any more ideas?

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Sounds
Jul 18, 2013 10:08AM PDT

You can make it a basic or minimized system, disconnect all drives. If the sound returns, then some fan or sound source can be located by "ear". Don't discount any "resonance" like metal contact, etc.. You can test the PSU alone by jumpering the wiring, Google PSU self-test, if the noise appears then you have your source. Remember, no drives connected and only the PSU and PC case alone to power-ON should eliminate alot of stuff. Testing the PSU alone also can be done. If you can't find a source then, well you do have a mystery, maybe allow someone else to hear it. Also, be sure no wiring is banging against any fans.

tada -----Willy Happy

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Maybe not a fan at all.
Jul 20, 2013 7:08AM PDT

The high then low thing rings a bell.
I have a Alienware R4 and had somewhat that same noise.
The tech came and could not find a thing, but he had the side panel and locking latch off when he was testing.
After a couple months of that I started pushing things on the outside of the case to see if I could get any change in the noise... once I pulled up the case locking bracket halfway in the back the noise stopped. All along I thought for sure it was a fan.
I made a little cardboard shim and stuck it between the two metal parts. No more noise.
This may not be your problem, but you can never tell on these things.

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Issue Resolved
Jul 25, 2013 10:43PM PDT

It's a little embarrassing, but it turned out to be a fan after all. Willy's recommendation of looking for a front fan turned out to be the issue. I had actually looked there in the past and saw nothing, but there in fact was a fan up there that I'd missed (thanks Willy, and sorry I responded too quickly with there is no front fan). It seems hard to miss a fan, but it's hidden very well. Anyway, I would not have found it if not for posting and getting great ideas. Thanks all.

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(NT) Good to know, heck it happens to everyone
Jul 26, 2013 5:47AM PDT
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Answer
(NT) What about the one in the PSU?
Jul 18, 2013 2:46AM PDT