Not all the time, but enough to be worrying and not a one off tantrum.
It sounds as though it is from the power supply, although I do realise noise directions can be misleading.
Should I leave well alone until it turns fatal, or would it be more likely to turn fatal if I leave well alone?
I have kept the power supply from the old Pc ,which is a similar shape but does not have an on off switch like the new one. It might do.
If I do need a new one, how can I find out what my sort is called so I can order it etc.I guess it might just be the fan on the Power supply. If you are feeling brave you can take the power supply unit out, open it and clean the fan. If not then at least turn it off and look to see if its vent is blocked and brush the bits you can reach.
As for buying one - if you get one that's around 300-350w and it mentions P4, AMD and ATX then you will be ok as it will have cables/connectors for all your needs
Do you have a roomy case for this one? the only thing that can go wrong is if you have a specially tiny case and it must squeeze in a gap. Normally the exact size and shape doesn't matter much.
They are not hard to put in really. 4 screws hold it to the back and you just unplug its connectors and note where they went to. 10 minutes probably to swap one over the first time and most of that is just checking you didn't miss a connecter.
You have one large plug goes to the motherboard plus in some cases a smaller one also to the motherboard. Then you have one each to drives and CDroms and possibly one to a case fan though not always.
And yeah if it's that fan or worse still the CPU one then you must see to it before it fails and causes worse problems.I had that, Furby (in fact I think I have had nearly every PC problem there could possibly be, though Fate is probably about to strike me down and prove that there are other, even more horrible ones out there just about to happen to me)
It was intermittent at first, like yours, but eventually I couldnt turn the PC on without the Urggh Urgghs being continuous.
It did turn out to be the power supply and I can promise it's the easiest component to fit
get one that's around 300-350w and it mentions P4, AMD and ATX
That's what I did and they are about £15 or so including postage and everything. This is the one I bought a couple of weeks ago - I know you don't use eBay but so you can see the one I got.Furbs, if your PC is a fairly standard midi tower then you should be ok in replacing the power supply. If you have a mini or compact case then the power supply may be smaller than usual and a standard replacement won't fit. If it is exactly the same size as the one in your old PC then it's a fair bet that it's a standard size. The wattage will be printed on the power supply but you will have to open the case to find it. While doing that, if you measure the power supply and post the dimensions then we can check that it can be directly replaced. As Pani says, a 350w will be plenty big enough.Almost as soon as I posted that it started going urrgh urrgh urrgh more urgently and loudly and all the time.
I am sure they know I am on to them and decide they may as well be scrapped for a sheep as a lamb.
Anyway the spare one is 200w, this one I took out of the Pc is 250w ,(FSP model ATX 250GT) the size is 150 x 140 x 85 in new fangled millimtres for both of them.
As it was intermittant noise, I will have to keep listening to it. It seems to be working on the spare one , I hope 200w is enough for it.It is now tomorrow and I should be in bed. I shall check those dimensions later, but if you were able to do a straight swap the dimensions shouldn't be a problem. The wattage of the original was a bit low and may have contributed to its early aging. The spare is underpowered. But it was good practice and you now know how easy it is to swap them. It is my belief that you should endeavour to get a new one of 300w or more.Thank you, I worried about that and have been very careful not to use much.
It is not the cheapest 19.99 but I had to have one that is in stock so they can deliver it on Thursday and I wanted one with a switch.
I know it is an irrelevance but I want an on off switch. These little things are important to me.
This one is gold plated, when it breaks I can have it melted down for scrap and I will tell it so when I get it in case it gets any ideas of breaking any time soon.
Meanwhile I can recommend that anyone who takes a power supply apart to be very careful unless they want to be furby-plaster hands like me.Furbs the Hiper power supplies have a pretty good reputation (I think I have one in this box which has been running as a room heater for the last 3 years)
As for taking power supplies apart you do have to be a bit careful. They hold charge for ages and can turn your skin to crackling faster than you can blink (as I guess you found out).
I have plugged myself into a few over the years and it is not nice at all I was very careful and did not get electocuted.
It was when I took it apart to look for dust and dead mice and the metal case was a bit stiff and I pulled at it with my fingers and have sliced my finger tips on the edge.
I have plasters on as fingertips are everywhere and it hurts a lot for such little cuts really.
Luckily I don't have to work this week or I would be on risk assesssment today.>>have sliced my finger tips on the edge
ouch furbs, that is not nice. You do know, don't you, that every PC requires a blood sacrifice sometime in its life?
Certainly all the ones I have ever built have had bits of my DNA left all over them..... Next Page...
