Spinning sound

[curious]

Afternoon -

(XP, Home, SR2)

This spnning sound occurs when working in a document, when viewing a doc, when on the Web. The sound will stop for a very few seconds, then resume. It doesn't seem dependent on a specific activity. I think this is a fairly recent "phenomenon" - at least I wasn't aware of it before.
Should I be concerned? (No lights appear other than the On light - i.e., no diskette activity light.)

Thanks for any advice,
Curious

[viking33]

Could be a number of things.
One of your internal fans with a dry bearing. Way to check is to open the side of the box and when the spinning sound starts, TEMPORARILY pull the plug going to the fan. If it stops, you've found it. Fans are inexpensive to buy and rather easy to replace.
One of you Hard drive bearings might be going "south". This could be a more serious problem. Sometimes you can verify this by tapping on the HD case when the noise occurs and see if it modulates ( changes ) the sound.

Anything that is moving or spinning could be the culprit. I saw once that a cable tie had drifted into the area of a fan and was gently making a noise as the fan was spinning.

[curious]

Bob -
Thanks for your quick & informative answer. I did tap the case and the sound became lower. So, it seems southbound it is....

I'm too chicken to open the box....

Curius

[viking33]

Just tapping the outside of the case doesn't localize the problem enough.
Most case sides just slide off after removing a few sheet metal screws. Once inside, get your courage up and do some real sleuthing. Also while in there it would be a good opportunity to dust out the interior and look for any blocked fan openings or clogged blades.

Not all of the problems are major ones. A LOT are really simple ones to fix. Go for it! <img src=/S/clapping.gif border=0 alt=clapping width=19 height=23>

[curious]

Teacher Bob -

You are quite persuasive! When I get a quiet minute, I think I'll take the bull by the ....

Thanks again,
Curious

[Noirenex]

Just an observation, as you have found that it is most likely the computer itself as opposed to the monitor this won't apply, but i noticed you said that it happens when viewing docs, web etc. A sound is sometimes emitted from TFT monitors when you are viewing a large area of white space, similar to a high pitched 'spinning' if you could call it that, just thought it might help...

[curious]

Danny -

Thanks for your observation. As you suggested, it doesn't apply in this case, but is an interesting piece of info.

Curious

[ledunch]

Danny,
Well, that's a new TFT monitor symptom to me.
Can you provide any additional details of your experience or information on this effect from others?

Thanks
Paul

[Noirenex]

Well, quite simply, when large bright, or white areas are shown the high pitched sound occurs, not loud, but noticeable.

[Jezza]

Paul

A similar one to Danny's is when my girls go on to the internet, the Parental control software kicks in and as they open the browser a small window pops up and a progress bar moves across. As it does so you can hear a very high pitched noise, going up in pitch as it moves across, speakers off.

It is not a problem, but it has driven me nuts for weeks, just so I can find out where the noise is coming from....LCD screen, HD or my imagination <img src=/S/nuts.gif border=0 alt=nuts width=15 height=15>

[ledunch]

Jerry , Danny
A most interesting set of observations and hard to explain. <img src=/S/confused3.gif border=0 alt=confused3 width=45 height=45>
I do not know every little bit of hardware that manufacturers put into LCD monitor case these days, but the base LCD technology and its backlight technology contain nothing that host a data dependent sonic source - the physical mechanisms are not present. There are other display technologies that contain such mechanisms. One can imagine other components that a designer might put in the monitor that might be unintentionally heard, but even then to have them modulated by the data is a real trick. What we need is more data: make and model of displays that show this, audio frequency estimate or measurement, refresh rate, other operating conditions under which the effect manifests , changes or ceases ...... Do either of these displays have an integral touch screen?

Sonically yours,
Paul