Illegal Operation! Fatal Exception!
Error, Error Will Robinson!
Accent on Computers to the rescue! 203-625-7575.
June 2, 2006
Whiz, Bang, Uh-oh – Good and Bad Computer Noises
Dear Larry,
Suddenly my computer is making a clicking noise and won’t
start up into Windows. Is my computer dead?
C. D.
Dear C. D.,
Of all the sounds a computer can utter, perhaps the most
feared is the dreaded clicking sound at startup. It indicates that the
computer’s hard drive has failed or is close to failing. Hopefully you have a
backup of your data because chances are, you’re going to be needing it soon.
Before you do anything else, I recommend you have your PC examined by me or
another computer professional to see if anything can be recovered before it’s
too late.
What about all the other noises a computer can make? Which are
good noises and which are bad?
If your computer turns on with a couple different beeps, some
long, some short, and then stops dead in its tracks, this indicates that one of
the computer’s circuit boards has failed or has come loose. Again, the help of a
professional is called for in this case.
Assuming your computer turns on and seems to be functioning as
expected, most sounds will be fairly typical: the quiet whirring of the fan(s),
the operation of the DVD/CD spinning up to speed, and the
chickety-chickety-chick sounds produced by a normal hard drive.
Here are some things to watch out for:
If your computer seems to pause for long periods of time or
hang up, and you hear an identical sound repeat incessantly—something like a
chick-chick-shhhhh, chick-chick-shhhhh—this could mean that your hard drive has
suffered a minor crash or is in danger of failing. I recommend you power down
and have an expert look into it.
If your computer seems to operate fine, but you hear a
regularly repeating sound, especially from the back of the tower, this probably
means a vibrating or dirty fan. Believe it or not, sometimes a little whack on
the top of the tower will settle it down. Cleaning the back of the tower with a
vacuum may help as well. If the noise resembles a playing card in a bicycle
spoke, it’s possible a loose wire has been sucked into the fan and is getting
whacked 100 times a second!
Noises from the front of the tower can often be traced to the
DVD/CD drives. A noisy motor may sound a little like an airplane taking off as
it spins the disk up to speed. Another cause of a loud warbling noise is a
slightly warped DVD or compact disc; if it’s not completely flat, spinning at
high speed will generate all kinds of odd noises. If your sound goes away when
the disc is removed, you’re getting closer to the source of the problem.
Grrrrr, brrrrr, click, whrrrr. Keep a listen!
This is Larry Schneider, logging off.
