Grinding Noise From Back of Computer

Recently, a soft grinding sound comes from the back of my Dimension
4500 from time to time, i.e., it doesn't happen every time I use the
computer. Shutting down the system in the normal way stops the sound.
Then, when I restart the system, the sound is gone.

The CD drive and floppy drive are not in use when this happens, so
they are not suspects. My video card does not have a fan, so it is not
a suspect.

After the first time this happened, I ran chkdsk with /f and /r, and
all was well. I also ran the Dell Diagnostics on my hard disk and my
hard disk passed every test.

This leads me to suspect one or both of the cooling fans as the source
of the sound. If the grinding noise was continuous, I would try
running my 4500 without one of the fans, to see which one was causing
the noise. But the noise is intermittant. Can you suggest anything I
can do from here to diagnose this noise? Thanks for your help.

Quinoa S

"HamMan" wrote in message ...
"Quinoa S" wrote in message
om...
Recently, a soft grinding sound comes from the back of my Dimension
4500 from time to time, i.e., it doesn't happen every time I use the
computer. Shutting down the system in the normal way stops the sound.
Then, when I restart the system, the sound is gone.

The CD drive and floppy drive are not in use when this happens, so
they are not suspects. My video card does not have a fan, so it is not
a suspect.

After the first time this happened, I ran chkdsk with /f and /r, and
all was well. I also ran the Dell Diagnostics on my hard disk and my
hard disk passed every test.

This leads me to suspect one or both of the cooling fans as the source
of the sound. If the grinding noise was continuous, I would try
running my 4500 without one of the fans, to see which one was causing
the noise. But the noise is intermittant. Can you suggest anything I
can do from here to diagnose this noise? Thanks for your help.

Quinoa S

To rule out the possibility of the hard disk, put you pc into standby mode
which will turn the hard disk off.

The most likely culprit is the giant dell fan on the back

Putting my machine into standby (S3) also shuts off the fan. Quinoa S

I'm assuming that your 4500 is similar to my wife's 4300. Hers has a loud
fan, too. It was moderately loud when new, and is even louder now, after a
year and a half. Oh well. (But it's not a grinding noise ... more of a
vibration.)

I just bought a 4600. Extra quiet. Seems like they've solved their crappy
fan problems.

"Quinoa S" wrote in message
om...
Recently, a soft grinding sound comes from the back of my Dimension
4500 from time to time, i.e., it doesn't happen every time I use the
computer. Shutting down the system in the normal way stops the sound.
Then, when I restart the system, the sound is gone.

The CD drive and floppy drive are not in use when this happens, so
they are not suspects. My video card does not have a fan, so it is not
a suspect.

After the first time this happened, I ran chkdsk with /f and /r, and
all was well. I also ran the Dell Diagnostics on my hard disk and my
hard disk passed every test.

This leads me to suspect one or both of the cooling fans as the source
of the sound. If the grinding noise was continuous, I would try
running my 4500 without one of the fans, to see which one was causing
the noise. But the noise is intermittant. Can you suggest anything I
can do from here to diagnose this noise? Thanks for your help.

Quinoa S

Try cleaning her fan. My 4550 was getting noiser after 8 months and I
cleaned the CPU and video card fans. Now it's back to it's almost
silent self. I was surprised how crappy the fans were.

Dave

On Sat, 12 Jul 2003 23:58:13 -0400, "Lester Horwinkle"
wrote:

I'm assuming that your 4500 is similar to my wife's 4300. Hers has a loud
fan, too. It was moderately loud when new, and is even louder now, after a
year and a half. Oh well. (But it's not a grinding noise ... more of a
vibration.)

I just bought a 4600. Extra quiet. Seems like they've solved their crappy
fan problems.

"Quinoa S" wrote in message
. com...
Recently, a soft grinding sound comes from the back of my Dimension
4500 from time to time, i.e., it doesn't happen every time I use the
computer. Shutting down the system in the normal way stops the sound.
Then, when I restart the system, the sound is gone.

The CD drive and floppy drive are not in use when this happens, so
they are not suspects. My video card does not have a fan, so it is not
a suspect.

After the first time this happened, I ran chkdsk with /f and /r, and
all was well. I also ran the Dell Diagnostics on my hard disk and my
hard disk passed every test.

This leads me to suspect one or both of the cooling fans as the source
of the sound. If the grinding noise was continuous, I would try
running my 4500 without one of the fans, to see which one was causing
the noise. But the noise is intermittant. Can you suggest anything I
can do from here to diagnose this noise? Thanks for your help.

Quinoa S

Dave wrote in message . ..
Try cleaning her fan. My 4550 was getting noiser after 8 months and I
cleaned the CPU and video card fans. Now it's back to it's almost
silent self. I was surprised how crappy the fans were.

Dave

On Sat, 12 Jul 2003 23:58:13 -0400, "Lester Horwinkle"
wrote:

I'm assuming that your 4500 is similar to my wife's 4300. Hers has a loud
fan, too. It was moderately loud when new, and is even louder now, after a
year and a half. Oh well. (But it's not a grinding noise ... more of a
vibration.)

I just bought a 4600. Extra quiet. Seems like they've solved their crappy
fan problems.

"Quinoa S" wrote in message
. com...
Recently, a soft grinding sound comes from the back of my Dimension
4500 from time to time, i.e., it doesn't happen every time I use the
computer. Shutting down the system in the normal way stops the sound.
Then, when I restart the system, the sound is gone.

The CD drive and floppy drive are not in use when this happens, so
they are not suspects. My video card does not have a fan, so it is not
a suspect.

After the first time this happened, I ran chkdsk with /f and /r, and
all was well. I also ran the Dell Diagnostics on my hard disk and my
hard disk passed every test.

This leads me to suspect one or both of the cooling fans as the source
of the sound. If the grinding noise was continuous, I would try
running my 4500 without one of the fans, to see which one was causing
the noise. But the noise is intermittant. Can you suggest anything I
can do from here to diagnose this noise? Thanks for your help.

Quinoa S



Cleaning the fans sounds like good advice. Are there special steps to
follow, or do I just use common sense?

Quinoa S

Take the covers off the computer and take it outside. Blow everything out
with the blow side of your vacuum cleaner. Beware of static electricity,
don't touch components with the vacuum cleaner hose. Try to keep the fans
from turning while you blow them out. You can spin them fast enough to
damage them if you don't. (Please don't ask why I know this.)

Charlie

"Quinoa S" wrote in message
om...
Dave wrote in message
. ..
Try cleaning her fan. My 4550 was getting noiser after 8 months and I
cleaned the CPU and video card fans. Now it's back to it's almost
silent self. I was surprised how crappy the fans were.

Dave

On Sat, 12 Jul 2003 23:58:13 -0400, "Lester Horwinkle"
wrote:

I'm assuming that your 4500 is similar to my wife's 4300. Hers has a
loud
fan, too. It was moderately loud when new, and is even louder now,
after a
year and a half. Oh well. (But it's not a grinding noise ... more of a
vibration.)

I just bought a 4600. Extra quiet. Seems like they've solved their
crappy
fan problems.

"Quinoa S" wrote in message
. com...
Recently, a soft grinding sound comes from the back of my Dimension
4500 from time to time, i.e., it doesn't happen every time I use the
computer. Shutting down the system in the normal way stops the sound.
Then, when I restart the system, the sound is gone.

The CD drive and floppy drive are not in use when this happens, so
they are not suspects. My video card does not have a fan, so it is
not
a suspect.

After the first time this happened, I ran chkdsk with /f and /r, and
all was well. I also ran the Dell Diagnostics on my hard disk and my
hard disk passed every test.

This leads me to suspect one or both of the cooling fans as the
source
of the sound. If the grinding noise was continuous, I would try
running my 4500 without one of the fans, to see which one was causing
the noise. But the noise is intermittant. Can you suggest anything I
can do from here to diagnose this noise? Thanks for your help.

Quinoa S



Cleaning the fans sounds like good advice. Are there special steps to
follow, or do I just use common sense?

Quinoa S

"Charlie" wrote in message ...
Take the covers off the computer and take it outside. Blow everything out
with the blow side of your vacuum cleaner. Beware of static electricity,
don't touch components with the vacuum cleaner hose. Try to keep the fans
from turning while you blow them out. You can spin them fast enough to
damage them if you don't. (Please don't ask why I know this.)

Charlie

"Quinoa S" wrote in message
om...
Dave wrote in message
. ..
Try cleaning her fan. My 4550 was getting noiser after 8 months and I
cleaned the CPU and video card fans. Now it's back to it's almost
silent self. I was surprised how crappy the fans were.

Dave

On Sat, 12 Jul 2003 23:58:13 -0400, "Lester Horwinkle"
wrote:

I'm assuming that your 4500 is similar to my wife's 4300. Hers has a
loud
fan, too. It was moderately loud when new, and is even louder now,
after a
year and a half. Oh well. (But it's not a grinding noise ... more of a
vibration.)

I just bought a 4600. Extra quiet. Seems like they've solved their
crappy
fan problems.

"Quinoa S" wrote in message
. com...
Recently, a soft grinding sound comes from the back of my Dimension
4500 from time to time, i.e., it doesn't happen every time I use the
computer. Shutting down the system in the normal way stops the sound.
Then, when I restart the system, the sound is gone.

The CD drive and floppy drive are not in use when this happens, so
they are not suspects. My video card does not have a fan, so it is
not
a suspect.

After the first time this happened, I ran chkdsk with /f and /r, and
all was well. I also ran the Dell Diagnostics on my hard disk and my
hard disk passed every test.

This leads me to suspect one or both of the cooling fans as the
source
of the sound. If the grinding noise was continuous, I would try
running my 4500 without one of the fans, to see which one was causing
the noise. But the noise is intermittant. Can you suggest anything I
can do from here to diagnose this noise? Thanks for your help.

Quinoa S



Cleaning the fans sounds like good advice. Are there special steps to
follow, or do I just use common sense?

Quinoa S

This just now occured to me. Does the speed of the cooling fan vary
with the temperature inside the case? Maybe the sound I'm hearing is
my fan speeding up to provide extra cooling - so my real problem is
that my system is overheating, for some reason.

Quinoa S

The speed of the case or processor fan varies according the
the temperature of the air passing through it. This is
effective in keeping the operating temperature of the
processor in an acceptable range, but it also affects the
fan noise level. You will find lots of posts here and on
the Dell forums about fan noise. Some Dell Dimension owners
claim (I don't believe them) that their recent model
computers are absolutely silent, or at least the quietest
machines they ever have used or owned. Others complain they
have replaced their fans three times or more and can't find
one quiet enough.

I have replaced my fan twice and the computer still can be
heard from the next room, even when it is not hot. Until
there is a significant Dell cooling design change, I fear we
are stuck with fan noise due to the amount of heat today's
faster processors produce.

However, in all the fan noise posts I have read, the phrase
"grinding noise" never has been used. If your machine is
under warranty, I recommend you ask Dell for a replacement
fan. If it is not under warranty, you can buy one from Dell
at a very reasonable price.

The new replacement fan might not be quieter than your
existing one, but it is unlikely to make a "grinding" noise.

-- Don

Quinoa S wrote:

"Charlie" wrote in message ...
Take the covers off the computer and take it outside. Blow everything out
with the blow side of your vacuum cleaner. Beware of static electricity,
don't touch components with the vacuum cleaner hose. Try to keep the fans
from turning while you blow them out. You can spin them fast enough to
damage them if you don't. (Please don't ask why I know this.)

Charlie

"Quinoa S" wrote in message
om...
Dave wrote in message
. ..
Try cleaning her fan. My 4550 was getting noiser after 8 months and I
cleaned the CPU and video card fans. Now it's back to it's almost
silent self. I was surprised how crappy the fans were.

Dave

On Sat, 12 Jul 2003 23:58:13 -0400, "Lester Horwinkle"
wrote:

I'm assuming that your 4500 is similar to my wife's 4300. Hers has a
loud
fan, too. It was moderately loud when new, and is even louder now,
after a
year and a half. Oh well. (But it's not a grinding noise ... more of a
vibration.)

I just bought a 4600. Extra quiet. Seems like they've solved their
crappy
fan problems.

"Quinoa S" wrote in message
. com...
Recently, a soft grinding sound comes from the back of my Dimension
4500 from time to time, i.e., it doesn't happen every time I use the
computer. Shutting down the system in the normal way stops the sound.
Then, when I restart the system, the sound is gone.

The CD drive and floppy drive are not in use when this happens, so
they are not suspects. My video card does not have a fan, so it is
not
a suspect.

After the first time this happened, I ran chkdsk with /f and /r, and
all was well. I also ran the Dell Diagnostics on my hard disk and my
hard disk passed every test.

This leads me to suspect one or both of the cooling fans as the
source
of the sound. If the grinding noise was continuous, I would try
running my 4500 without one of the fans, to see which one was causing
the noise. But the noise is intermittant. Can you suggest anything I
can do from here to diagnose this noise? Thanks for your help.

Quinoa S



Cleaning the fans sounds like good advice. Are there special steps to
follow, or do I just use common sense?

Quinoa S

This just now occured to me. Does the speed of the cooling fan vary
with the temperature inside the case? Maybe the sound I'm hearing is
my fan speeding up to provide extra cooling - so my real problem is
that my system is overheating, for some reason.

Quinoa S

I have one of the very quiet ones. It's a new Dimension 4600.
At work, I have an Optiplex (G150 I think). Also very quiet.
In a completely quiet room, each one produces only a soft whoosh.

In contrast, my 4100 had a slightly noisy fan and a noisy drive.
My wife has a 4300 with a moderately noisy fan (I would have said "very
noisy" but I doubt it comes close to the OP's "grinding noise", so I
downgrade this one to only "moderately noisy").

"Don Enderton" wrote in message
...
The speed of the case or processor fan varies according the
the temperature of the air passing through it. This is
effective in keeping the operating temperature of the
processor in an acceptable range, but it also affects the
fan noise level. You will find lots of posts here and on
the Dell forums about fan noise. Some Dell Dimension owners
claim (I don't believe them) that their recent model
computers are absolutely silent, or at least the quietest
machines they ever have used or owned. Others complain they
have replaced their fans three times or more and can't find
one quiet enough.

I have replaced my fan twice and the computer still can be
heard from the next room, even when it is not hot. Until
there is a significant Dell cooling design change, I fear we
are stuck with fan noise due to the amount of heat today's
faster processors produce.