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what happened to my computer

C

curt222

Junior Member
I am having serious problems with a computer I built and in desperate need for learned help. My wife has now lost all faith in my computer building capabilities which is leading to a cry for me to stop buying computer parts - which really is not acceptable.

I built this computer about 6 months ago. The computer has worked ok since I built it until recently. About 3 weeks ago the computer started to constantly shut down after being on for more than an hour. When it shuts down, everything goes off except you can hear a very low pitched beeping noise. I think the computer may be overheating but I am not sure? At the same time this problem came about, the computer started to run very, very loud. When I turn it on the fans sound like a race car engine starting up. Even when the fan is running at a reasonable speed, I can still hear it. If I open the computer, both the CPU and main fan are running. I am not sure about the fan on the power unit. If the fans are working doesn't that indicate I am ok on the CPU and main fan? Any chance the power supply fan has gone? I am guessing this isn't a software problem, but if anyone thinks differently I'd love to hear it.
 
It does sound like overheating. A very loud noisy fan may mean the fan is not spinning properly. You should be able to tell whether the fan in the power supply is working. Whatever is not working or very noisy, replace.

Also, your case should have at least one fan in the back blowing air out. If the case can take extra fans, that would help as well. If you can put a fan in the front, it should be on the bottom sucking air in.
 
Turn off the PC and take the side off the PC. Examine the fans, it might help to use a flashlight - especially to look at the PSU fan. what to look for is if a blade has broken off or fractured on one of the fans, when this happens they do very little cooling and vibrate a lot, which makes a lot of noise. This would be my first guess.

If they look ok, turn on the PC - still with the side off. You might aswell go into BIOS and watch the hardware monitoring/health page in there while you're at it. Now you should find it easier to hear where the noise is coming from, and may be able to see a fan spinning "wrongly" (again thge flashlight will likely help). Whatever is not working or very noisy, replace - exactly. If it'sthe PSU, you should be able to get it replaced under warranty, though if it is a cheap PSU I suggest trying to get your cash back if possible, and put it towards a quality one e.g. Antec or Enermax. Cheap PSU's are a false economy IMHO.
 
i need to ask, when you say your computer shuts down = does your OS automatically shut the computer down and turns it off properly or does it just cut off and die and if you were to unplug the power cables? hey you built that pc? what are you using to cool the CPU (just curious)? are you using the setup that came with the chip or did you slap any heat sink and fan setup you could get your hands on?
 
Let me get this straight. Your wife is upset at YOU because your computer is having an issue that is unrelated to your abilities as a computer builder? Sounds to me that you are having wife issues and she may also need to be replaced or repaired alongside your computers fans. 😉
 
I am guessing it's your power supply
What brand is your power supply?
I had three generic powersupplies, and all three died within a year.
 
As a side note for the overheating, Id check for dust.... Even one month or so's worth of dust can cripple some heatsinks.

I usually clean every 3 months as my room doesnt seem to be dusty (except for the inch 'carpet-like' layer on the top of the wardrobe)
 
Thanks for all the responses - I'll let you guys know what I find. On some of the questions - Windows is not shuttng down the machine. Rather, I get a blue screen and then the computer tries to reboot. The power supply is an Antec True 380s. The heatsink and fan came pre-packaged from AMD. Yes, I built the computer.

As to my wife - I forgot to mention this is her main computer and gateway to the internet - so I guess she has a little reason to be frustrated.
 
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