Which part of my PC is dying?

[VP :3]

So when I woke up this morning, I did my morning routine as usual. Lay in bed for 5 minutes, get breakfast, blah blah blah.

When I was booting up my computer, all was well. The fans were spinning, screen was turning on... For a couple of seconds. Then this is what my lovely machine sounded like:

Sorry for bad quality, but you just need sound.

[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0G6SXaf4d0k[/ame]

That was my lovely computer, making that sound, believe it or not... My dad's a techy guy, so I'm gonna ask him what's up with it, but I'd also like from you guys to know what part is dying. The facts:

• My screen was turning on and off
• The motherboard didn't have a green light on as it used to
• Fans were spinning.
• Worked perfectly fine when I got off last night.

 

[Cyclone]

Might be a busted motherboard, Or maybe someone touched it, causing it to make that noise. It's best to ask your dad first though.

 

[VP :3]

Nobody has touched it recently. I haven't touched the motherboard since I built the computer. I'm thinking it may be dust that's doing something to it, but I don't think it's that simple.

Update: My dad says if it's making that sound, it might be the harddrive... Hopefully it is. That's the least expensive part that I can replace before Christmas and get back into gaming in time.

 

[Panzer1509]

OI! Do a backup if you suspect the harddrive

 

[VP :3]

Heh Panzer, I would... But I'd probably screw something up in the process.

Dad is checking it out and backing up my drive just to be safe when he gets home.

 

[PloxBox]

If you listen closely, you hear it screaming "Raaaaaaaaaagggeeeeee"

on a serious note, check inside it and see that none of the cables are sitting on anything, one of the ties that keep them tucked aside might have broken and let them hang down. Thats just me being optimistic.


It very much could be the hard drive, since my computer sounded like that when my hard drive decided to explode. (litterally) thankfully it didnt roflstomp the rest of my computer.

 

[VP :3]

Haha Plox, that was my reaction when I heard it...

I will keep that in note if it's not the hard drive, though.

 

[GamingRobot]

I haven't touched the motherboard since I built the computer.

Dust buildup?

 

[VP :3]

So apparently it's the fan on my fancy shmancy GPU. It's fine right now, but I wonder if it will do this if I play a game.

 

[Snipeye]

More or less, yes. I find the GPU to work hard during bootup (at least, the ones I've had do), and then they return back to normal. However, while in a taxing game (say BF3 or Crysis), the GPU will be pressed and the fan will spin faster to offset the increased amount of heat. You can force it to stay at a certain fan speed, but then it may cook the GPU.

Try cleaning the GPU by blowing the dust out of it (canned air). If it continues to do it, it could indicate a dying fan. Whichever you do, check up on your GPU warranty to see if you can return it in the case of a fan failure.

 

[VP :3]

We finally got around to the issue. We cleaned out my PC and the noise continued. We then screwed in the screws tighter on my fan and it's not so wobbly now. It still makes a slight noise, but not as bad as before or as loud. Going to see if my warranty is still good for it. I got it at Christmas of 2010. Void or not?

HIS AMD Radeon HD 6850