think I have a fan problem

[aliasjanedoe]

Hey all. You guys helped me out when I built my computer a couple years back, so I thought I'd come to you for advice again. I think I have a fan problem. Sometimes when I start up or wake from standby, something just sounds wrong, like a fan didn't spin up properly. I instantly put the computer into standby. Usually, when I then wake it again, it will sound fine. But this has happened several times now, so I'm worried.

How can I tell which fan might be the problem? Case, power supply, graphics card, or processor? It sounds like it's the first fan to turn on and the last to shut off. But I can't instantly pin it down. My ears aren't sensitive enough or whatever to tell which fan is making the noise, and I shutdown or standby pretty much immediately to avoid overheating anything when it makes the strange sound. When it isn't making the sound and I have time to attempt proper listening and inspection, everything looks and sounds normal.

Thanks for any advice.

[zburns]

aliasjanedoe, good morning.

Sorry to be late with this idea. Make a ear funnel out of a file folder -- good thickness for rolling up. About 3/4" for the ear side and 2 - 1/2" for the 'component side'. Dimensions are not precise. Just practice rolling one until you have something close. Small end, small enough for your ear. Large end should be smaller than any of your fans, small enough so that it captures sound primarily from the component you are trying to listen to.

I made one and tried it out on my computer. Definitely isolated the sound, separately, from rear exhaust fan and the Zalman cpu cooler fan. The video card fan is facing the bottom of the cabinet, about 3 1/2" clearance. Look at second picture where I cut the large end off to get the 'fan end' relatively flat with respect to the underside of the video card (fan end). In lieu of cutting off the funnel, you could make a simple add on piece. The four inch clearance on my Sonata cabinet is small, if your cabinet is larger, you should have more clearance -- makes it a little easier to custom the 'listening end'.

As an alternative:You could try unpluging fans two at a time; unplug the video card power to shut it up. But the funnel idea should work, more conveniently for you. It will allow you not to have to reach into the cabinet to unplug very small plugs and having to repeat the process two or three times -- more chance for error and creating a new problem by 'messing' with the computer.

Important Note: Just let the 'ear funnel' in both cases get near the fan in question -- do not let the funnel get so close that you accidentially stick it inside the fan.

Here are links to two pictures of the funnel, one for the rear exhaust and the cpu cooler fan. Another for the video card. Click on the following links to Flickr -- For rear exhaust fan and cpu cooler fan: http://www.flickr.com/photos/zburns/5680792230/in/photostream For video card with fan facing bottom of cabinet: http://www.flickr.com/photos/zburns/5680792242/in/photostream

In both cases when you pull up the picture from the link, look for the small magnifying glass symbol upper right just above the photo. Click on the 'mag glass' symbol to go to a enlarged picture with the picture surrounded entirely by a black background.

Any questions, do not hesitate to ask!

After doing all this, I compared once again the idea of using the funnel to that of unplugging fans. I am still in favor of using the funnel idea. It is just best to not 'mess with what works' meaning better not to 'undo things' and then put them back together inside your case; you always run the risk of creating a new problem.