Tech Support Guy banner
Status
Not open for further replies.

Solved: Loud humming coming from tower

2K views 16 replies 3 participants last post by  Gr3iz 
#1 ·
I have a basic acer aspire tower, recently it started to make a loud humming noise off and on, It first happened when I was playing a facebook game and when I turned the game off it stopped. It has become more and more frequent and will happen most of the time now no matter what I am doing. If I tap the tower firmly on the side sometimes that will make it stop. I am also getting frequent messages that adobe flash player has stopped working and that freezes the page for longer than it should until it starts working again- not sure if this is related. Before this happened the computer ran quietly and quickly for what I use it for- which is email, shopping, surfing and no gaming besides the facebook games where I initially had the problem.
 
#2 ·
Is the sound from the speakers? Or from inside the case? Are you comfortable with removing the side of the case? It may be a fan, perhaps wires too close to the blades, or maybe the fan's bearings going out. It could be the power supply. See if you can narrow it down to a particular area.
 
#3 ·
The sound is inside the case, the speakers are in the monitor. Just noticed there is a specific spot where I can hit the case and the noise stops, kind of on the right side upper middle of the case. I did take the case off yesterday to make sure there wasn't dust on the fans and that was causing the problem. There wasn't much to remove. It didn't solve the problem though. So I can definitely open it up again. Should I leave the side off then when I turn it on and see if I can identify the part that is humming?
 
#4 ·
You can safely leave the side off for a while to see if you can isolate the sound. It may also be part of the case vibrating. I've noticed that especially when playing CDs. Maybe they are slightly off center and cause a vibration.
 
#6 ·
With the side cover OFF and the system running, get a long, thin screwdriver and hold it against each part you suspect. Put the handle end near your ear and you can hear what is causing the noise.

Do use some common sense when doing this; do not stick the blade end into a fan, probe inside the pw supply, etc. Be careful and you should be fine.
 
#7 ·
Ok I took the side panel off when it was on and I am fairly sure the noise is coming from the large black fan in the center of the machine. Is there a way to see if it is broken or just needs to be recleaned and if I do need it to be replaced, how do I order the part and is it something easy to replace myself? I don't think I have actually replaced anything inside the computer before. Thanks again for all the advice!
 
#13 ·
That does look like it. It should not be difficult to replace, but be careful. Go easy and watch what you're doing and you should be fine. Pay attention to the locking mechanism. Examine the new one so that you know how the old one should come off.

Let us know how you make out!
 
#15 ·
Update- My new part came (ordered from Newegg) and I installed it just now, it was a perfect fit and all seems well though it makes me nervous that it is working correctly because my machine went from super loud to practically silent. The fan is continuously spinning though it really makes no noise. Hopefully this is the way it is supposed to be. At first I connected the 3 wire connection upside down and the fan didn't move but as soon as I changed directions the fan started to spin. Hopefully this is all there is to the change.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
You have insufficient privileges to reply here.
Top