loud tower,sluggish XP Pro

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June 3rd, 2010, 07:04 PM
rivrbyte

loud tower,sluggish XP Pro

Hello,
I suggested to him the other day that the tower would needed to be opened, then to get a can of air and blow all the accumulated dust off the motherboard,HSF, vents,etc., which he had never done before, so it needs it big time.

I'll also check the direction of the DELL 4600 HSF,never knew Dell would possibly put this together the wrong way. Blowing, not sucking the exhaust.

VERY LOUD TOWER SOUNDS, PROBABLY FROM THE HARD DRIVE, NOT THE SYSTEM FANS.
[ DELL Dimension 4600 XP PRO / Pentium 4 / 2.80 GHz
512 MB Ram / Nvidia GeForce FX5200 / Creative SB Live]
Hello, a friend of mine has this Dell, that sounds like the tower is ready for takeoff. He says it gets louder when the room gets warmer, but I think it's the HDD. That’s one issue.
He ran the disc cleanup, defragged the system, emptied temp internet files, and dumped his Bearshare browser..??? Don’t ask. Ran the anti-virus utility and found nothing, emptied his recycle bin, so when I go back over there I'm going to download and run the Malwarebytes utility, not that this will fix the slowness of this old computer, but may help a little with other issues. He also tells me he has about 65 processes running on startup in the windows task manager. I know there are mandatory startup files you need to start the computer, but he needs to shut a lot of them down, and that are not necessary
Where is the best place to edit which programs to use at startup only? I went to C:/ >Startup Menu> Programs> Startup, but there is nothing there.
OR do I have to go to Task Manager and Manually END PROCESS or END TASK each program every time I start the computer?

He no doubt, is in need of a new computer, but being that Dell is a proprietary system, updating the processor or adding more ram is probably a counter productive measure. I’m just trying to help speed up is online and windows function ability. His dad tells him it’s all those Jpgs, mp3 files, and e-mails…I had to laugh, E-mails are not stored on the HDD, and the storage is not the problem, it’s got to be something with WINDOWS.
That loud sound emitting from his tower could signal that the hard drive is ready to go out, and not necessarily the heat causing the constant loud sound.
I went over there yesterday, I restarted it and got this RUNDLL C:/windows/sys32 ### file missing. Asked if he had the DELL XP Disc to try to use the repair utility, but he thought he never got one. I’m not sure if a disc even comes with these Dells.
With this DLL Dynamic Library error message popping up each time he reboots, and the fact that when you click on Internet Explorer, it takes a minute or two to open up, or any other tasks moving around windows, takes too much time to react… I’m thinking it’s more a windows O.S. problem, or a corrupted registry, or whatever, causing that machine to continuously hang and acting unresponsive.
Before it’s too late, I told him to back up all the data onto a few DVD’s.
Thanks for any help or ideas! He can not afford a new computer, so I told him I would try to help him and his wife out the best I could. What are friends for anyway?

I guess I’m a magnet from friend’s computers, but I have another friend with a seven year old HP computer. She tells me today she’s had problems with the computer shutting itself off. I’m thinking it could be the power Supply Unit, but what else could be the culprit? Again, Thanks!
June 3rd, 2010, 08:57 PM
Midknyte

Quote:

I suggested to him the other day that the tower would needed to be opened, then to get a can of air and blow all the accumulated dust off the motherboard,HSF, vents,etc., which he had never done before, so it needs it big time.

It's even worse if the tower is on the ground.

Quote:

65 processes running on startup in the windows task manager

That's a lot of processes. The harder your CPU works, the hotter it gets, thus the faster the fan spins.

Quote:

Where is the best place to edit which programs to use at startup only? I went to C:/ >Startup Menu> Programs> Startup, but there is nothing there.

start - run msconfig
June 4th, 2010, 01:27 AM
foxy

Quote:

Originally Posted by rivrbyte

Hello,

I'll also check the direction of the DELL 4600 HSF,never knew Dell would possibly put this together the wrong way. Blowing, not sucking the exhaust.

1--HSF should be sucking fresh air from the side vent and blowing down onto the CPU.PSU than sucks up all that hot air and blows it out the back. If it's blowing up at your face instead, you can fry the CPU in one minute.

Both fans should be cleaned, and the inside of the comp too. You can use the flexible hose from a canister vacuum, gently disturbing any really hairy globs with an old toothbrush before sucking up.

2-- Tell him I said to let you use MBAM..:D

If you need help with msconfig, there's a database at for lookups, and some additional ones at other sites:
http://www.bleepingcomputer.com/startups/

http://keznews.com/2808_Remove_Unnec...Windows_Faster

3--Re: the RAM. Go to crucial.com and do their RAM test, to see if you can put in more.

4--Re: noise--after cleaning, disconnect the HD and turn the comp on. If you still hear noise, it's a fan. Then stick a pencil in the back of the PSU fan briefly and listen. Do not repeat the 3rd time by stopping the HSF, as you can fry the CPU. I've also had noises caused by rattling grilles and other annoying nonfatal causes.
June 4th, 2010, 08:59 AM
Train

It has one of these:
Intel® Pentium® 4 that runs at 2.26, 2.4, 2.533, 2.66, 2.8, or 3.06 GHz internally and 533 MHz externally, or 2.4, 2.6, 2.8, 3.0, 3.2, or 3.4 GHz internally and 800 MHz externally

And P 4s do run hot.
June 4th, 2010, 09:24 AM
rivrbyte

Thanks Midknyte, Train and Foxy,
This is a very good place to start.yes his tower is on the floor and the inside has never been cleaned before. Thanks for your help.

Now on my other friends problem with the computer not starting at all would be no doubt the Power Supply Unit, and do they just go out like that? Thank you!
June 4th, 2010, 09:56 AM
Train

Yes, power supplies are known to do that.

And i hope it did not take out the mobo or anything else.
June 4th, 2010, 10:29 AM
SuperSparks

Quote:

Originally Posted by rivrbyte

He says it gets louder when the room gets warmer, but I think it's the HDD. That’s one issue.

A useful trick is to place the handle of a screwdriver against your ear and the tip against whatever you suspect is making the noise (obviously you need to take great care not to short out anything electrical). It is remarkably effective in isolating where a noise is emanating from.
June 4th, 2010, 01:56 PM
foxy

Quote:

Originally Posted by rivrbyte

Thanks Midknyte, Train and Foxy,
This is a very good place to start.yes his tower is on the floor and the inside has never been cleaned before. Thanks for your help.

Now on my other friends problem with the computer not starting at all would be no doubt the Power Supply Unit, and do they just go out like that? Thank you!

Any fans running, any light on the mobo? Easist way to test the PSU is plug in a known good one. Tip the case sideways, pull the plug, and set the substitute PSU on the corner on a stiff piece of cardboard. Just the main power, CPU and mobo. Then reconnect the main plug.

But it can also be the switch. You need the find which wires lead from the switch, pull them off, and short the 2 pins with a small screwdriver. I just learned how to do this, am passing it along.

A friend let me cannibalize her old cop for parts before she tossed it. You won't believe the dirt in there, in this otherwise spotless house where the housekeeper comes 2x /week. You could spoon it out. People do this in the name of "keeping things neat, don't want a messy comp with all those wires on the desk." :p