PC making strange noises

[Stampy]

Hi

Been having problems with my PC - sometimes if I run a programme than needs a bit of power the base unit starts making whirring noises, as though it's struggling to power what it's doing.

It also seems to have difficulty fully loading some websites on occasion - eg signing into Paypal, or into the admin section of a site of mine using Magento.

The PC also freezes for a minute or so every now and then. before making a single beep then unfreezing.

I went into Maplins and told them I thought it was the power supply, but they don't think so (they didn't suggest what it could be).

I've run every virus scanner known to man, as well as repairing my registry and deleting as many unused programmes etc from my hard drive.

Any ideas on what it could be? Thanks in advance!

 

[paultnl]

Take the cover off and check for dust build up. Many machines get heat related problems if not cleaned every now and again.

 

[Delta-SI]

Sounds like the fan whirring.

 

[KM-Tiger]

Could be fan(s) or disc(s).

If you take the cover off you will probably hear better where it's coming from.

 

[Stampy]

Thanks for the tip so far. I did clean it out of dust the other week when the problems started, so the fan etc are clear.

I'll take the cover off tomorrow and run to to see if I can narrow it down.

 

[hschwulst]

There could be a chance that your PC hard disk might be the problem.

I have in the past come across users having similar experiences in a banking environment ( I worked as a 3rd line field service engineer) - they would log the call as "a slow response".
Most of the time running a chkdsk would determine if there were any issues on the hard drive. Where a substantial number of windows files were repaired/recovered a windows repair was in order.
in 99% of the cases this problem was rectified after this process.
On the remaining 1% hardware was changed, which in turn fixed the problem.

 

[alphanumeric]

after the chkdsk....

run a defrag over night, should be under start - all progs - accessories - tools or somthing like that.

 

[FireFleur]

A bearing in the fan could be shot, depends how carefully you cleaned last time. You have to be fairly delicate with it.

But, it does sound like you have thermal problems, and that's the precursor to nearly all problem withs computer hardware.

Often the BIOS will report the temp, so you can find out, if it is getting too hot, could be near a radiator.

 

[sunitasaloni]

There could be a chance that your PC hard disk might be the problem.

 

Disk would be my first port of call, then I'd be ensuring my fan and temperature were ok.