PC Help/Advice please

[Harryburgundy]

My approx. 3yo PC is getting very noisy...lots of whines etc...really noisy.
Dumb question really, as you can't hear it, but what do you think might be going on.
Its slowing down and generally not behaving. Acer Aspire SA-60.
Should I just continue hitting it with a hammer when it freezes :?:
Cheers, Carl

 

[JeRkY]

open it up and give it a good dusting. 3 years of detritus can easily build up blocking heat sinks and fans and leaving your machine likely to suffer from overheating, there fore it tells the fans to run faster....which increases the whirring noises. In more extreme cases, overheating can lead to performance issues.

Its a good place to start any way.

 

[Harryburgundy]

Thanks Jerky...I have given it a clean..but was a few months ago. Will do it again. Gone quite now :roll:
Is an upgrade fan thingy a good idea?
Cheers, Carl

 

[computerbitz]

£ year old pc whines cries creeks and crap and recently cleaned could be a few things then

1, bearings in heatsink and fan or case fan on last legs and needs replacing

2, drives are feeling there age from wear and tear turn the smart test in the bios on and will enable drive tests but these can be pre empted by checking what hdd drive it is and getting the test kit from manufactures website will run a bench test on drive if it and let know if its that

 

[Harryburgundy]

£ year old pc whines cries creeks and crap and recently cleaned could be a few things then

1, bearings in heatsink and fan or case fan on last legs and needs replacing

2, drives are feeling there age from wear and tear turn the smart test in the bios on and will enable drive tests but these can be pre empted by checking what hdd drive it is and getting the test kit from manufactures website will run a bench test on drive if it and let know if its that

Eh :?:

Thanks Compterbitz, but me no speak the language
What did that all mean.
Carl

 

[ajm]

Horrible mechanical whines are most often failing hard disks; occasionally a failing PSU can emit a strange high-pitched electrical noise but that's quite different. Likewise, screeching fans are normally quite easy to distinguish. Open the case up and have a listen.

If the machine is three years old, you've had your money's worth out of the hard disk anyway - they're horribly unreliable things and if I were you I'd be replacing the disk now before you potentially lose everything on it (or at the very least make some good backups now.)

Cheers,

AJ[/u]

 

[Harryburgundy]

Oooooo..it went a bit mad this morning on start-up. Continuous beeping from BIOS (memory problem?) and full steam ahead noise from the fan :?
Better do something before it goes pear-shaped.
Carl

 

[JeRkY]

the bios will beep differently for different reasons, maybe memory, maybe graphics may be other.

Try re setting all the cards in the slots to check the connection.

 

[computerbitz]

Take the side panel or lid off and power up watching the fans, the bios will beep if the heatsink/fan to to the CPU is knackered and not running this will cause the cpu to overheat and that isnt good, if these are running unplug the power connector to your hard drive as it may be the drive has failed or failing

 

[Harryburgundy]

Just did what I should have done a few weeks ago, and took my PC apart as much as I know how....and its nice and quiet now...guess a good clean was the answer
Thanks for your help fellas
Carl