Genealogy Chat

but every now and then my putor seems to be making a "sniffing" noise!! and please dont tell me it has a virus!
Any ideas please?
cos this is a bit spooky!
and its not a wind up either!

mine does gurgling dont know what it is....is your sniffing the fan kicking in?

No Colin, its just now and then, has done it twice thismorning, once while I was on msn, and the other time just reading your thread on gen!
It sounds as if I am picking up sounds from another p.c!???

it might be a taxi going passed, i get it every day as a taxi driver lives across the road. Sometimes i hear voices as well when he on his C.B, i used to think it was my ancesters trying to get through to give me some information but i was wrong.
Debbie

(Found this on the web but I don't think its the noise ou are describing);

Strange Computer Noise

Your computer just started making a strange sound when you turn it on. It sounds like rapid ticking or rattleing (not hard drive sounds either) and goes away after a few minutes. It sounds like a problem with one of your fans (no, not the people who love you, the ones that blow air).

Your computer probably has two internal fans - one that sits on top of the CPU and one inside your power supply. Most of the time the sound you're describing comes from the fan in the power supply. Note they can make that annoying noise for a long time before they finally belly up and die.

However, if it's your CPU fan, you may have a serious issue. If that puppy dies, your CPU can turn to toast in a hurry (and trust me, they're not very good with butter and jelly).

So, the best advice is to wait till your computer is completely cooled off and remove the case cover. Turn the computer on and see if you can determine where the sound is coming from. If it's the CPU fan, that'll need replaced.

If it's the power supply fan, you'll need to repalce the entire power supply to get rid of the noise. If you think you're going to open the power supply and fix the fan - don't. They're not user serviceable. Besides, if you touch one of its capacitors on accident you'll take a nice little flight across the room.

You may want to listen to your hard drive too (it's the square, slim box looking thingy). The sound described in the question above probably isn't hard drive related, but it's always a good idea to give it a quick listen.

Remember, most of the time these power supply fans still work for years after they start rattling, so usually there's no rush - just keep a close eye on it. If that fan dies, your computer can overheat in a hurry.

Oh, after you're done playing with your machines innards, be sure to put the cover back on. Believe it or not, your computer can overheat with the cover off. The computer is desigend to pull air thorugh the case in a certain pattern. If there's no cover, the airflow is all wrong and things don't cool as they should.

Turn your sound off, to see if that stops it. If it does, you could try CTRL-ALT-DEL and look on your task master to see if there are any suspicious .exe programs running.

If turning the sound off has no effect, then it's a mechanical thing.

Alistair

Found a site I've used in the past - not certain if it will answer your question though:

http://www.oncallcomputerdoctor.co.uk/faqs/troubleshooting_pc.htm

oh my word,thank you all, and colin thanks for scaring me to death! luckily I know what a belt touching the capacitor gives, hence my frizzy hair!
Debbie you could be right as well!
Alistrair, have the mute on as sons still asleep!
so if its mechanical, I will have to resort to Colins post!!!
Thanks for taking me seriously, I,me not a nut honest!
xxx