Slight Grinding Noise
 

Hey everyone! Just recently my computer (see specs below) started making a slight grinding noise. I am not quite sure how to describe it - it is not very loud, but it is definatly noticable. It sounds almost like a fan that isnt seated right or something. If you want, i can make a quick recording of the sound and upload that so you can listen to it.

I am kind of worried about this because i want to make sure that it is not a hard drive that is on its way out. I already opened up the case, and blew out some dust, checked to make sure that there where no cables in the way of a fan, and also spun the one fan that i could access (the one over the CPU - not attached, but over the heatsink) to make sure it wasnt grnding.

Any help in getting this fixed up would really be appreciated. Thanks! :)

-Jonathan

You did not say - Were you not able to pinpoint where the sound was coming from with the cover off? It is safe to start the computer with the cover off.

Hehe...i just restarted the computer with the case open, so i will try to pinpoint where it is coming from. The problem is that the noise doesnt start right away, and sometimes it goes away after a while. I will let you know once it starts again.

Oh yea - how safe is it to leave the case open with the computer running for extended periods of time?

In a normal enviorment it is safe. I have a backup computer with a bad powersupply fan but too cheap to replace it. Its been running with the cover off for over a year. Just keep the cat out of it and dustfree and you should be fine.

Ok, I had it open for a while, but it wouldnt start making the noise, so I turned it off, closed the case, started it back up, and about 3 minlater, the noise started to come back.

It sort of "fades in", then it went on and off a few times, and now it is pretty consistant again (just like before). It does sometimes get a bit louder, then goes back to the normal level.

Does this sound like it could be the hard drive, or would that always be making this noise? I did install a new video card, but that was about a month ago...could that be the problem?

Thanks a lot!

-Jonathan

EDIT: Ok, it is definatly the video card making that noise. I think that there may be something wrong with the fan. Do you have any ideas of what may cause that? Is it harmful? The volume tends to fluctuate a bit, and i am not sure how to stop it. Thanks for any more help.