Odd churning noise upon startup.

[rspassey]

Every once and a while I get an odd churning noise upon start up, and most noticibly I get this noise when I turn on my computer after it has been off for a long time (8 hours or more). If I turn it off and then on again - no noise, but over night when I turn it on in the morning - noise. It isn't a grinding noise, but more a churning. This happened once when I moved the case and it turned out to be a fan was scraping, but I haven't moved the case in forever and I have no clue where the noise is coming from. I have unpluged the Hdd and no noise, then pluged them back in and again no noise. I have disconnected the fans and no noise, and connected them again and no noise. The souind seems like it is either coming form the HDDs or the opticals, but I think if it was the HDDs it would happened everytime I access a program or anthing, and when I run a CD, no noise. B/c of this noise I put off cleaning my case in case it is a failing HDD and I take it out and make it worse.

- Got any Ideas?

- Could a fan over night settle against its frame and then cause a churing noise upon start up?

TIA,
ryan124712

[DonVito]

I always get the exact same noise you talking about when i start up. It is my hard drive that makes the noise. It only happens when loading a game and starting up. It probly isn't supposed to do it, but i have no problems. It only has to hold out for about another month anyways, by then i will have my new gaming rig.

[rspassey]

Thanks, I tried taking off the sides of my case and starting up like 10 times to fins the source, but I think that if it really were a problem and the HDDs were failing then it would be constant when ever i open a file or rip music....I havent let it run through yet, maybe I will see how long it will go on for before cutting the power. It is odd b/c it has only started as of the last few days.. before that no problem except when I moved the case that one time.

[Cricket]

My guess is it's one of the fans. Since the noise doesn't happen unless the computer has been off for awhile you're just going to have to let the computer sit and then remove the case side before you finally turn it on and just stick your head in there to pin point the noise.

Cricket

[Electric Gnome]

I would bet on hard drives. I have known then make noises, even cause lock ups. Here in the UK it is common in winter with people who leave the machine switched of for a day or two in the spare bedroom without proper heating, or in a cool place. When you power on the HDD spin up and things do not spin as freely as we would like, once they are warm and lubricants etc warm they spin more freely, which is why you cannot here it once you have done the first start of the day. This does not mean that your HDD are on the way out give em a good shake up I use a program for testing mechanical stress which moves the read/write heads from one extream to the other quickly and for ten minutes, after which they have gone on for years without a problem.
That said I now have looked at your location, not very cold I assume, so the cold thing will not apply but I still think HDD, try swapping fans as they are cheaper than HDD and see if that cures it.
Hope this helps
Kind Regards.

[rspassey]

Thanks for the replies.
I figured it out- the front fan is scratching on the edge of the case - when i heard it just tapped the front and the noise went away.

[rspassey]

I know this problem was a while back, but its back again, and now I am convinced it is more than just my front fan scraping. (Which does continually happen every time I boot up in the morning)

There are now a few short little grind/churning sounds when I boot up along with the fan noise, not long enough for me to check where it is coming from, and not consistent every boot up. Is it possible that, like noted above, that my AC could actually be making my drive head and drive so cold that even after leaving it for a few hours not used with AC on they make a noise?
When I am playing music, loading up a map for a game, scaning for viruses an spyware I don't hear the churning noise, but I have a seagate and a five year warranty, should I just back up more frequently my important files... then if the problem persists take it with me the next time I am in the US and RMA it... or would it take like 6 weeks for a new one to come?

Thanks,
Ryan

[Cricket]

Could be the fan bearing going out. Disconnect the fan and boot up. If the noise goes away then it's probably the fan bearings are starting to get worn out and you need to replace the fan.

You could also disconnect the hard drive (but leave the fan connected) and boot up to see if you get the noise or not.

Cricket

[rspassey]

Originally Posted by Cricket Could be the fan bearing going out. Disconnect the fan and boot up. If the noise goes away then it's probably the fan bearings are starting to get worn out and you need to replace the fan. You could also disconnect the hard drive (but leave the fan connected) and boot up to see if you get the noise or not. Cricket

Good thinking.. I can't believe I didn't think of that. Thanks, I will try it this friday after school and post back if that solves the problem.

[TechieCatter]

Wow.

I have a Gateway Performance 1000 Pentium III puter I purchased in April of 2001.

Back in early May of this year, my PC started making a similar noise, kind of a grinding whirling noise. Not a consistent whirling, but rather wavering faster, slower, then faster again, sometimes getting loud for a moment, then nearly inaudible. Two more aspects: 1) It doesn't matter how long I've had the PC running, or how long I've had it off prior to turning it on. The noise starts/stops on its own--nothing seems to "trigger" it. 2) When it's making noise, I can feel serious vibrations going on if I place my hands on either side of my PC's case. Appears to be located too high to be the HDD, which makes me think it's the power supply's fans.

But, I'm not sure. Is anyone here SURE?

I called the Gateway Support techs (PC warranty is expired after 4 years, but still have Own-It Phone Support), and held the phone to my PC so they could hear the noise. Their response? It was the HardDrive getting ready to crash. Interesting note: Current HDD was only 1.5 years old at the time!

Gee, whenever I call them about a problem, I get the impression their primary purpose in life is to SELL me something, rather than help me. They're probably getting bonuses or commissions for each product they sell.

They recommended I purchase a new one from them. But I know better. I went to NewEgg.com and purchased a new Maxtor Diamond 8 replacement HDD for $50 bucks. Maxtor harddrives are built to run QUIET.

Then, even after I had 1) replaced the HDD, 2) upgraded O/S to Windows XP, and 3) upgraded memory to 384MB, the noise RETURNED!

Then I was told it was because my HDD bracket inside my PC case was "bent." So, I went in there (wearing an anti-static wrist-band) and found it maybe a millimeter out of square, so I fixed it. NO DIFFERENCE.

Now, I'm thinking maybe it's the power supply? Or some fan problem? My current power supply is an Antec 200W with dual fans. Can/should I get a new power supply with higher wattage output?

[Cricket]

TechieCatter: You really should start your own thread instead of hijacking this one.

Cricket

[TechieCatter]

Gee, Cricket,

No need to be rude.

I thought it would appear stupid having two threads dealing with the same/similar problem, plus Ryan did not do the same things I did to 'solve' his problem.

Try a chill pill--or take an apparently much-needed vacation.

[glc]

TechieCatter - I would encourage you to read the forum rules. Responses like that are not welcome here. If you have a problem with a post, please use the Report Post link and let the moderation staff handle it. Thank you.

Cricket WAS right, you should have started your own thread, that's how we are structured here.

- Admin -

[austin1]

what kind of mobo do you have? if its an asus maybe its the chipset fan (just a possibility because they were bad on the original asus a8n's)

[rspassey]

Originally Posted by austin1 what kind of mobo do you have? if its an asus maybe its the chipset fan (just a possibility because they were bad on the original asus a8n's)

It is the on in my sig, A8N - SLI Deluxe. Note: I have never had a chipset failure, and it would be practically impossible for me to RMA it. Bought it in the US and am living in Buenos Aires. I can however say that I am pretty sure when I take the side off that the sound is not coming from the chipset.

[jayb1234]

You might try oiling the fans, just a small drop of light machine oil on the shaft. Sewing machine or gun oil would work fine.