noisy power supply

Hello,

My PC has a Raidmax switching power (model: RD-350W) which was
manufactured in 07/2003. During winter time, I noticed that
whenever I turned on the power, there was some noise that
could last for several minutes and then it would calm down
to its normal state. However, recently this noise became
a lot worse. Each time when I turn the power on, it is very
loud and the noisy buzz last longer and does not seem to calm
down completely before it goes up again. Of course, it is still
most noisy right after power on. I confirmed that the noise was
caused by the power supply by temporarily turned off the CPU fan.
The noisy sound does not seem to be caused by the internal fan
of the power supply.

My PC appears to continue work though. Has someone had similar
experience on this? I would like to know what caused this kind
of noisy sound. Is this dangerous? Should I replace the power
supply with a new one?

Thanks,
Caihong

"Cai" said in om:
Hello,

My PC has a Raidmax switching power (model: RD-350W) which was
manufactured in 07/2003. During winter time, I noticed that
whenever I turned on the power, there was some noise that
could last for several minutes and then it would calm down
to its normal state. However, recently this noise became
a lot worse. Each time when I turn the power on, it is very
loud and the noisy buzz last longer and does not seem to calm
down completely before it goes up again. Of course, it is still
most noisy right after power on. I confirmed that the noise was
caused by the power supply by temporarily turned off the CPU fan.
The noisy sound does not seem to be caused by the internal fan
of the power supply.

My PC appears to continue work though. Has someone had similar
experience on this? I would like to know what caused this kind
of noisy sound. Is this dangerous? Should I replace the power
supply with a new one?

Thanks,
Caihong

Turn on the computer. Stick a wood popsicle stick in the fan grill of
the power supply to *momentarily* stop its fan from spinning? Does the
noise go away?

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"*Vanguard*" wrote in message ...
"Cai" said in om:
Hello,

My PC has a Raidmax switching power (model: RD-350W) which was
manufactured in 07/2003. During winter time, I noticed that
whenever I turned on the power, there was some noise that
could last for several minutes and then it would calm down
to its normal state. However, recently this noise became
a lot worse. Each time when I turn the power on, it is very
loud and the noisy buzz last longer and does not seem to calm
down completely before it goes up again. Of course, it is still
most noisy right after power on. I confirmed that the noise was
caused by the power supply by temporarily turned off the CPU fan.
The noisy sound does not seem to be caused by the internal fan
of the power supply.

My PC appears to continue work though. Has someone had similar
experience on this? I would like to know what caused this kind
of noisy sound. Is this dangerous? Should I replace the power
supply with a new one?

Thanks,
Caihong

Turn on the computer. Stick a wood popsicle stick in the fan grill of
the power supply to *momentarily* stop its fan from spinning? Does the
noise go away?

Preferably put the popsicle stick in before power on, to avoid
snapping fan blades off. Otherwise, have fun.

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Cai wrote:

Hello,

My PC has a Raidmax switching power (model: RD-350W) which was
manufactured in 07/2003. During winter time, I noticed that
whenever I turned on the power, there was some noise that
could last for several minutes and then it would calm down
to its normal state. However, recently this noise became
a lot worse. Each time when I turn the power on, it is very
loud and the noisy buzz last longer and does not seem to calm
down completely before it goes up again. Of course, it is still
most noisy right after power on. I confirmed that the noise was
caused by the power supply by temporarily turned off the CPU fan.
The noisy sound does not seem to be caused by the internal fan
of the power supply.

My PC appears to continue work though. Has someone had similar
experience on this? I would like to know what caused this kind
of noisy sound. Is this dangerous? Should I replace the power
supply with a new one?

Thanks,
Caihong

The fan in your power supply is quite likely failing.
If the fan fails it's likely the power supply will overheat and, if it's
well-designed, just shut itself down.

Another poster suggested using a popsicle stick (these are also commonly
known as 'tongue depressers') to momentarily stop the fan blades.

Any non-metallic object will work: a cotton-tipped swab (Q-Tip), a standard
#2 pencil, even a chopstick will do.

You want to stop the rotation just long enough to ascertain that the noise
is coming from the fan.

Replacing the fan is fairly easy but make sure you replace it with a unit
that uses ball bearings rather than sleeve bearings.

In the event that you're not comfortable working *inside* the power supply,
you might want to consider replacing the power supply with a unit from
Antec or Sparkle.

- --
Ron n1zhi

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Ron Cook wrote in message ...
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Hash: SHA1

Cai wrote:

Hello,

My PC has a Raidmax switching power (model: RD-350W) which was
manufactured in 07/2003. During winter time, I noticed that
whenever I turned on the power, there was some noise that
could last for several minutes and then it would calm down
to its normal state. However, recently this noise became
a lot worse. Each time when I turn the power on, it is very
loud and the noisy buzz last longer and does not seem to calm
down completely before it goes up again. Of course, it is still
most noisy right after power on. I confirmed that the noise was
caused by the power supply by temporarily turned off the CPU fan.
The noisy sound does not seem to be caused by the internal fan
of the power supply.

My PC appears to continue work though. Has someone had similar
experience on this? I would like to know what caused this kind
of noisy sound. Is this dangerous? Should I replace the power
supply with a new one?

Thanks,
Caihong

The fan in your power supply is quite likely failing.
If the fan fails it's likely the power supply will overheat and, if it's
well-designed, just shut itself down.

Another poster suggested using a popsicle stick (these are also commonly
known as 'tongue depressers') to momentarily stop the fan blades.

Any non-metallic object will work: a cotton-tipped swab (Q-Tip), a standard
#2 pencil, even a chopstick will do.

You want to stop the rotation just long enough to ascertain that the noise
is coming from the fan.

Replacing the fan is fairly easy but make sure you replace it with a unit
that uses ball bearings rather than sleeve bearings.

In the event that you're not comfortable working *inside* the power supply,
you might want to consider replacing the power supply with a unit from
Antec or Sparkle.

- --
Ron n1zhi

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yup the bearings are failing. Invest in a good psu like HEC.