Rattling/buzzing noise coming from PC when moving mouse cursor, browsing, VLC, etc.

whiteknights

Posts: 25   +0
Recently I started to notice annoying unstoppable buzzing/rattling sound coming from my pc. its almost a continuous sound, but it gets noticeably louder and faster when I scroll my mouse up/down, watch a video online or open vlc player, etc..
even if CPU,GPU and memory usages are low the noise is still there.

I think this sound is located near the PSU, so most likely its coming from the PSU (I'm not 100% certain though).
the weird thing that this sound gets noticeably quieter only when I enter the bios. any explanation to that?.

there is also another weird thing.. I guess that noise is gone when I play a high demanding game, I'm not sure though, maybe the fans spinning cover over this sound.

I recently cleaned my computer case with blower, cleaned most of the components except the PSU fan.
my pc Temps are normal on idle and under load, I never had problems through the 4 years when my pc is under load.
I tried disabling C1E, EPR, C6/C3 from the bios.. but problem still there.

Motherboard: Gigabyte H61M-S2p
Ram: 8GB
GPU: Sapphire HD 7870 XT 2GB
CPU: Intel i5-3470
HD: WD Blue 1TB
PSU: Thermaltake 500W model TT- 500 NL2NL
Case: Thermaltake commander MS-III
Windows 7 64 bit.

any Help would be appreciated.
 
Hmm when you reboot the computer, go into the bios settings, do you still hear that noise ?
Remove the video card for the moment and try using windows normally.
If the sound doesn't come back even when playing a game with your cpu only.
It might be the video card, now if it does indeed come back, power off the machine.
Unplug your case fans, put the gpu back in, repeat the same instructions do you hear any scratching noises.

Its going to be trial and error here, usually the best way to find out.
Is to break down the computer slowly to find the problem.
I would use event viewer and check the system logs.
See if something is erroring out every so hours.
If it is it will point directly at the problem if you can understand the error log message.
 
Hmm when you reboot the computer, go into the bios settings, do you still hear that noise ?
Remove the video card for the moment and try using windows normally.
If the sound doesn't come back even when playing a game with your cpu only.
It might be the video card, now if it does indeed come back, power off the machine.
Unplug your case fans, put the gpu back in, repeat the same instructions do you hear any scratching noises.

Its going to be trial and error here, usually the best way to find out.
Is to break down the computer slowly to find the problem.
I would use event viewer and check the system logs.
See if something is erroring out every so hours.
If it is it will point directly at the problem if you can understand the error log message.

thank you for your responding.. as I mentioned above that when I go into the bios I almost don't hear that noise, it become noticeably quieter. however, when I boot to safe mode the noise is still there..

I will try using windows without the video card.. but the problem is when I plugged my VGA cable now I get no signal (used to have a signal before), although I've tried the same cable on another old PC and it had a signal. I have the integrated graphics on auto in the bios settings. so I'm not sure would I get a VGA signal after removing GPU or not.
 
Just boot back into bios and switch the gpu option to igpu, save the settings and reboot,
Here is a quicky from toms, it should apply to your old lga 1155 board.
http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/235002-33-enable-integrated-graphics
thank you very much.. there is something happening, it used to happens sometimes but now I think it happens with me every day..
after a long shut down when I remove the plug and go to sleep, in the next day when I turn on my pc it doesn't beep, no post just the rattling noise or like something is trying to boot but can't, I have to turn it off and on many times so it can boot.

this only happens when I leave my pc off for a hours, but if I turn it off and on right now it will boot normally..
today I thought it won't boot again because it took me long time turning it off and on, and after I opened my case and removed a new case fan it booted, though I don't think the fan was the issue, because it happened when there is no fan also..

please help me explain this.. because I feel its related to the noise problem.
 
Sounds to me like a failing HDD. Do you have backup? have you recorded your license numbers for Windows and other software? how would you deal with a dead HDD?

After making sure you are ready to 'recover', download WD HDD utility for testing your 1TB drive and run it.
 
Sounds to me like a failing HDD. Do you have backup? have you recorded your license numbers for Windows and other software? how would you deal with a dead HDD?

After making sure you are ready to 'recover', download WD HDD utility for testing your 1TB drive and run it.
thank you.. that makes me more confuse because I was between psu or mobo, it was unlikely to be the hdd to me.. I removed my gpu and after doing that I can't boot till now.. this time pc starts but no beeping, no post..its the first time to take that long..I dont know whats happening I wish I do.
 
Now it doesnt even start, its like trying to start and the next second it reboot and so on.. I have to unplug the power so it can start like it used to be with no beeping, no post and with a whisling sound. please help me identfying the problem.
 
Now the pc is powering on and starting normally but still no beepin sound and no post. I dont understand why right after I removed my gpu the pc won't boot and no beepin. if I installed back my gpu will it boot again?. if so, it doesnt make sense. I also disconnected the hdd and I heard a beeping sound, but when I removed all ram sticks I didn't hear any beeping, does that means something. I'm sorry but I'm confused and frustrated.
 
Ok windows started normally, but I got sudden restarts and pc return to not booting again.. it happens many time I have to try powering off and on several times for it to boot. now I got at least two weeks to buy new psu. what should I do during this time if? should I use the pc normally till I buy new psu? I have urgent work to do in pc.. PS: the sound became very much louder after I removed my gpu and cleared CMOS. is it a coincidence or what?..

I became more certain that this noisy sound coming from PSU, I put the case on its back and stuck my ear below the case where the PSU fan is located and I could hear the sound coming from inside the PSU.. but as I said I got two weeks to buy a new one. I'm sorry I know I've taken too long.
 
First thing, BACKUP your data files. Second, confirm you have all necessary license keys for your OS and other software.

If those are done, please describe "sudden restarts" in detail... I guess you are in Windows with a normal boot (not "clean boot", not "safe boot").

Sounds? Screen changes? Any error messages in Device Manager or Event Viewer?

(If uncertain, please lookup terms at https://www.computerhope.com/oh.htm )
 
First thing, BACKUP your data files. Second, confirm you have all necessary license keys for your OS and other software.

If those are done, please describe "sudden restarts" in detail... I guess you are in Windows with a normal boot (not "clean boot", not "safe boot").

Sounds? Screen changes? Any error messages in Device Manager or Event Viewer?

(If uncertain, please lookup terms at https://www.computerhope.com/oh.htm )
sudden restarts happens in windows with normal boot.. but in safe mode it didn't happened till now, I'm in safe mode..
no error messages or screen changes..

as I said the that noisy sound is coming from PSU, so its unlikely to be a software issue or any hardware issue except PSU.. my guess is that PSU somehow fail to feed HDD with power when booting in Normal window.. so it restart (it always restart suddenly after a moment from starup in normal windows).

the sound is very clear and UN-stoppable now, it feels like the PSU is arcing inside.. I don't know what to do with PC after I back up data during this two weeks.
 
I am confused by your comments. I will try to explain what I think you mean. Please correct me if I get them wrong.

1. you are backed up and have license keys
2. when you start Windows in normal mode, it restarts suddenly and does so over and over
3. when you start Windows in safe mode, it runs properly without restarts
4. noise which comes from PSU is constant whenever the computer is on (both normal and safe mode)

Seems you may need new PSU. My guess is that the fan inside the PSU is failing and this could be messing up the 12v rail. Since the only people who should open PSUs are knowledgeable, experienced techs (the stored voltage can kill), you should wait for the new PSU. However, this may not be the real problem - some folks borrow known good components (like PSU or a video card) to see what works and to identify what doesn't. Troubleshooting is NOT easy.

Since using a computer with restart issues can mess up files badly, maybe you should just wait for the new PSU to see if that fixes the problem.. If you have the manual for your motherboard, you may want to review that for troubleshooting ideas.
 
I am confused by your comments. I will try to explain what I think you mean. Please correct me if I get them wrong.

1. you are backed up and have license keys
2. when you start Windows in normal mode, it restarts suddenly and does so over and over
3. when you start Windows in safe mode, it runs properly without restarts
4. noise which comes from PSU is constant whenever the computer is on (both normal and safe mode)

Seems you may need new PSU. My guess is that the fan inside the PSU is failing and this could be messing up the 12v rail. Since the only people who should open PSUs are knowledgeable, experienced techs (the stored voltage can kill), you should wait for the new PSU. However, this may not be the real problem - some folks borrow known good components (like PSU or a video card) to see what works and to identify what doesn't. Troubleshooting is NOT easy.

Since using a computer with restart issues can mess up files badly, maybe you should just wait for the new PSU to see if that fixes the problem.. If you have the manual for your motherboard, you may want to review that for troubleshooting ideas.
thank you very much.. and yes you are correct explaining my problem.. unfortunately I can't borrow a sufficient PSU for my pc to make sure of the problem, I have to buy it..

but why you're saying that "this may not be the real problem".. you mean that my PSU may be fine and the problem could be else where?.. even if I'm 100% sure that this noisy constant sound are coming from PSU?... I'm just worried to buy a new PSU and find out that it wasn't the problem (since I can't borrow).

I'm also thinking of oiling the PSU fan since it may be failing maybe that will work? but when I looked at the psu fan it seem to be spinning.
 
The noisy PSU may be a symptom, not necessarily a cause.
okay one last question please.. could a bad motherboard be a cause of a noisy PSU?.. it had to be between my mobo or PSU..
because I removed my GPU,HDD, and ram.. but the noise remained. I'm trying to narrow it down.
 
Yes, mobo could still be the problem... noise may not mean broken. Problem could be a bad driver, etc. Most effective technique is to swap components with known good ones. Software issues show up in Device Manager (triangle error flag), in mini-dump files (use Blue Screen View) or in Event Viewer (do search based on stop code).

If new PSU does not solve issue, consider exploring possible software (I.e., driver) issue.

Also, some folks remove everything from the case and reassemble on benchtop (see Linus video
).
 
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