High pitched buzzing/whistle in my pc

There is this high pitched buzzing/whistle sound in my comp. However, I can't seem to pin point what exactly is causing it. Does anyone know what kind of component could cause this?

And I don't really know how long it's been going on. I have nerve deafness (especially in high pitched sounds) and didn't notice the sound until today when I picked up my new set of hearing aids.

 

I tried cleaning it a bit but no success. The sound is still there. I never wore hearing aids around the computer so it could have been there from the start.

Is such a sound normal for a computer?

 

IRG Sithlord,

Do you happen to have a small, VERY stiff bristled, paint brush? I was taught to clean my machine every six months. Using a half inch wide and very flat stiff artists brush, pig hair is excelent, but if you buy one, don't break the bank to do so, since the work it will do will tear it up in a hurry, just don't use a plastic bristle or synthetic bristle brush. I also use a dryer sheet (Bounce works,) compressed air and I like to use a tiny amount of ProLong lubricant (the 'syringe' type, not the spray can type,) but you might check with someone else to see if ProLong is a good idea, since not all fans are the same.

You might have other fans as well (like on your video card for instance,) but you certaintly have a CPU fan and a power suply fan.

If you have a brush like I described, then you want to take some stiff paper (grab one of those annoying postcard inserts that fall out of magazines) and wrap it around the metal collar on the brush so that no metal is left showing (you can trim the paper down some, but more is better than less. Then secure the paper to the brush with a thick rubber band... spread out the rubber band so that it isn't bunched up in one spot, making your brush too fat to get into tight areas.
When you are brushing your components you want to wipe the brush with the dryer sheet everynow and then... the idea being that you aren't building up a static charge in the brush.
Loosen ALL the dust with the brush, then blow it all out at one time, then you can go back and lightly use the dryer sheet on the innards of your machine.

Completely remove your fans (know which one goes where and how and lol of course not disturbing the heatsink) use the lubricant sparingly after you have wiped down the fan blades and casing. Use you fingers and give the fans some spins, make sure there is no oil leaking or spinning from the fan (you shouldn't use enough to cause that anyway.)

If that doesn't fix the whine, then I would say the next step is to try replacing the fans... they are not expensive and it gives you a chance to upgrade too... pretty much no such thing as a Too Cool computer.

After having said all that... if the whine is constant then odds are it is a fan... if it comes and goes, it could still be a fan, but more likely to be a drive.

Good luck.

 

IRG Sithlord,

Do you happen to have a small, VERY stiff bristled, paint brush? I was taught to clean my machine every six months. Using a half inch wide stiff and flat artists brush, pig hair bristles work great, but if you go buy one, don't break the bank since the work it will do will tear it up in a hurry, just don't use one with plastic or synthetic bristles. I also use a dryer sheet (Bounce works,) compressed air and I like to use a tiny amount of ProLong lubricant (the 'syringe' type, not the spray can type,) but you might check with someone else on what lubricant to use, since all fans are not alike and I use ProLong because it is what I had on hand.

You might have other fans as well (like on your video card for instance,) but you certaintly have a CPU fan and a power suply fan.

If you have a brush like I described, then you want to take some stiff paper (grab one of those annoying postcard inserts that fall out of magazines) and wrap it around the metal collar on the brush so that no metal is left showing (you can trim the paper down some, but more is better than less,) then secure the paper to the brush with a thick rubber band... spread out the rubber band so that it isn't bunched up in one spot, making your brush too fat to get into tight areas.
When you are brushing your components you want to wipe the brush with the dryer sheet everynow and then... the idea being that you aren't building up a static charge in the brush.
Loosen ALL the dust with the brush, then blow it all out at one time, then you can go back and lightly use the dryer sheet on the innards of your machine.

Completely remove your fans (know which one goes where and how and lol of course not distrubing the heatsink) use the lubricant sparingly after you have wiped down the fan blades and casing. Use your fingers and give the fans some spins, make sure there is no oil leaking or spinning from the fan (you shouldn't use enough to cause that anyway.)

If that doesn't fix the whine, then I would say the next step is to try replacing the fans... they are not expensive and it gives you a chance to upgrade too... pretty much no such thing as a Too Cool computer.

After having said all that... if the whine is constant then odds are it is a fan... if it comes and goes, it could still be a fan, but it is more likely to be a drive.

Good luck.

 

lol Sorry about the double post... it said I wasn't logged in the first time I tried to Quick Reply... so I sent it agian (after editing again. lol)

 

After closer examination, it sounds as if it is the HD. I'm currently getting the diagnostics tools provided by Dell (who I purchased the comp from) to check the HD.

 

Ok, I've determined that it is definately my hard drive. I'll back up my stuff and save up in case of complete failure.

Thanks for all the help.