Alienware making a strange noise

[ecross]

Hi everyone,

My Alienware computer has started making this noise since late last week (11/27).

I was hoping maybe you can listen to the audio I uploaded on my OneDrive account below so you might get an idea what the problem might be. I am thinking it could be a hard drive except I'm not getting any error message or noticing any other problems. This noise will sometimes last up to 4 minutes and then it will go away. The noise does come and go.

Listen and let me know what you might think.

https://onedrive.live.com/redir?resi...int=file%2cwav

[dneilson]

Sure sounds like a fan is involved. Maybe a wire gets close to the blades or the fan is going defectiv. and occasionally wobbles and the blades scruff against the grill. Might want to pop the cover off and look and listen around.

[fink]

Yes, it sounds like fan blades hitting a wire to me too.

[ecross]

I don't think anything is hitting a wire but I did recently pop the cover to reseat my memory sticks which resolve some memory problems that I was having last week. I will pop the cover off and check but the noise does quit and then starts up again later.

[Train]

Striking wires does start and stop as the wire does move.

[fink]

wires will sag or move and then straighten as they heat then cool as the internal temp of the case rises/lowers... related to both the expansion/contraction of the metal wire and the softening of the wire's insulation.

[ecross]

The noise isn't happening right at the moment but I got the side panel off will check it periodically today when I start to hear any noise. I didn't see any wires near or touching any fans.

[dneilson]

Possibly a fan going bad then. When the noise happens you should be able to find it.

[fink]

If the side panel is off then the internal case temp might not get hot enough to cause the problem assuming that's what's doing it. Maybe leave the side loose but still in position so it's easy and quick to move it if/when the buzzing starts again.

[ecross]

The noise happened everyday until I took the side panel off. I had the left side panel off over 48 hours and not heard any noise so I put the cover back on and will continue to check it.

[fink]

Another thing you can do is run SpeedFan to see both the speed of the fans and the temps. If there's a wire hitting a fan the RPM's will drop noticeably and the temp, esp if it's the CPU or GPU, will start to rise. Make a note of the data when it's quiet then have a look when you hear the noise.

http://www.almico.com/speedfan.php

[jdc2000]

Loose or vibrating case side panel?

[ecross]

The case side panel was not loose or vibrating. It definitely was something inside for sure. The Alienware actually has software called the "Alienware Command Center" that can check the fan speeds and temperature. It was something I planned to check the next time I hear the noise.