High pitch sound from computer

[chev65]

Not to be funny, but that's some pretty good "guess work" without system specs listed. I say that because there was an issue with certain motherboards and power supplies causing coil hum. In fact, one power supply company wound up replacing the offending power supplies.

System specs would help tremendously here.

My two cents.

OP's system spec listing...

System Manufacturer/Model Number have several computers, not just one
OS Windows 7 64-bit

Sorry, just trying to help.

Thanks Sygnus, honestly this same topic has come and gone so many times at the EVGA forum that I lost count. It's also been confirmed that the coils on the MB are responsible for making the noise although the power supply is the actual culprit. Although changing the MB has also fixed this problem on occasion. No system specs required for me to figure this one out LOL.

As you summized and suggested, the only fix seems to using a different or higher out power supply or changing out the MB. This has been confirmed to work quite a few times already.

 

[WindowsStar]

Not to be funny, but that's some pretty good "guess work" without system specs listed. I say that because there was an issue with certain motherboards and power supplies causing coil hum. In fact, one power supply company wound up replacing the offending power supplies.

System specs would help tremendously here.

My two cents.

OP's system spec listing...

System Manufacturer/Model Number have several computers, not just one
OS Windows 7 64-bit

Sorry, just trying to help.

Thanks Sygnus, honestly this same topic has come and gone so many times at the EVGA forum that I lost count. It's also been confirmed that the coils on the MB are responsible for making the noise although the power supply is the actual culprit. Although changing the MB has also fixed this problem on occasion. No system specs required for me to figure this one out LOL.

As you summized and suggested, the only fix seems to using a different or higher out power supply or changing out the MB. This has been confirmed to work quite a few times already.

Again agreed seen this problem many times.

 

[sygnus21]

Yeah, I know certain Corsair power supplies & Gigabye and Asus motherboards had issue co-existing together.

Hope he figures it out.

Thanks.

 

[mikemyers]

My hardware is now listed (well, everything but the disk drives and CD/DVD).

I did some more testing, and it seems that as soon as the video/graphics starts to get pushed, the noise shows up.

My friend Art, who assembled all the bits and pieces, feels that it's a top line power supply and it's unlikely that this could be the problem. So that moves it down on the list of possible causes.

CPU --- ??
CPU temp. --- readings stay within reason
Motherboard --- ??
Video Card --- already swapped for another
Fans --- all are turning OK,
Memory --- testing did not show any problems
BIOS --- upgraded to latest
OS --- up to date
Swap space --- ??
Power Supply --- ??

If a high pitch screech like this is caused by a problem, there should be some kind of program/software that can measure the appropriate things, and indicate what the problem is, right?

 

[mikemyers]

I just downloaded and ran "CPU-Z" which seems to analyze the whole computer. My friend Art suggested I do this, but I don't know enough to recognize anything that might be "wrong". I can copy over part (or all) of the results here, if that would help...

 

[mikemyers]

An even better utility seems to be "Speedfan"
Download SpeedFan - Access temperature sensor in your computer

I'm too sleepy to do much about this tonight; will continue tomorrow.

 

[DeaconFrost]

I haven't seen an answer to my question yet. maybe I missed it. But if you take the case side off, you should be able to listen to where the noise is coming from. That's the quickest, easiest way to tell where the problem is. If you put your ear right in the case, you'll know right away.

 

[mikemyers]

I will do that today. Makes perfect sense.

The sound is as loud as if the noise was coming from a speaker - it's much louder than all my fans, and the computer itself. You can hear it from the next room.

 

[Layback Bear]

I have read all this and have a few things to say. I haven't seen the request from sygnus21 asking for all computer specs, which is much need information. Top notch power supply doesn't get the job done. I would recommend not unhooking cpu cooling fan for a hour. The sound is coming from the speakers can be caused by many of your internal computer components and also outside sources. I don't know how anybody can help you unless the information requested is given. We can all guess for the next decade. As far as I can tell we all just going in circles. You have to help us help you.

 

[sygnus21]

I have read all this and have a few things to say. I haven't seen the request from sygnus21 asking for all computer specs, which is much need information.

He posted them; they're in his "My System Specs" list

The sound is coming from the speakers can be caused by many of your internal computer components and also outside sources.

He didn't say the sound was coming "from" the speakers, he said....

The sound is as loud as if the noise was coming from a speaker

The statement has slightly different meaning, but... and you are correct about the souce being anything. I would also add that...

"If" there is sound coming from the speakers, that sounds like electrical noise, which can come from the motherboard, soundcard or any other electrical component. A bit confusing now

Question to the OP... is this a squealing noise? Can you explain it? Thanks.

 

[mikemyers]

I think all the system specs are now posted - I've added everything but for the brands of hard disks.

The sound - in the past, when I've turned on a computer with no memory chips inserted, and a few other things I can't remember, the computer has made a sound similar to what I'm hearing now, but it's continuous, not "beeping". I think I'll simply record the sound, so you can hear it yourselves. I will try to figure out where it's coming from - I just have to shut things down and move stuff out of the way. If I can determine where the sound is coming from, I'll take a photo of things as well.

One thing that seems unusual to me... I installed "speedfan 4.41 and it is now running. The temperature for "System" is 94C which is much hotter than anything else.

I'm attaching an image of the Speedfan display.

Is this typical, or is something wrong?


I'm not sure why "Sys Fan" is zero, but if it means the huge fan on my case that is blowing air onto the middle of the motherboard, I think it's because I need to configure things for a large size fan.... it's explained in the help menus, but I need to do a lot more reading.


I'm not sure how these things get measured, but I've got a fan in the front of the case, blowing air over the drives, a large fan on the side of the case aimed at the motherboard, a fan on the top of the case blowing air out, and another fan on the back of the case blowing air out. The case has holes all over the place - it's like "mesh" almost.

 

[DeaconFrost]

94C is very high, but if you are over-heating the system would shut down or lock up. You are looking very far into the details now, and still skipping what is most likely a very simple solution. I'm guessing you are at the system now, since you posted the screenshot. You'll be able to tell right away, with the case side off, what component is making the noise. You don't need to take a picture of it. Just put the system under a load so the noise starts, take the side off, and move your ear around to find out where the hoise is coming from. Start with the simple troubleshooting methods first, befor worrying about software and temps, etc.

 

[archie123]

speedfan is rubbish

CPUID - System & hardware benchmark, monitoring, reporting

post up a screenie of that ^^^^

 

[Zepher]

could be the coil(s) in the PSU. I had my Antec do that a few months ago and had Antec replace it under warranty.
It was a loud squealing/whining sound, thought it was a fan at first but stopped the fans and the sound was still there, and determined it was the PSU.

Video cards can do it as well, but since you changed cards, I doubt both would end up doing it back to back, unless the PSU caused the cards to start squealing/whining.

 

[sygnus21]

The sound - in the past, when I've turned on a computer with no memory chips inserted, and a few other things I can't remember, the computer has made a sound similar to what I'm hearing now, but it's continuous, not "beeping".

If you have "continuous" sound that's coming from the motherboard's speaker, that says there's a system malfunction. You may want to check all your board connections, including memory, PCI cards, and fan connections, especially the CPU's fan.

You might also want to download and run Memtest86+ - Advanced Memory Diagnostic Tool. Scroll down to the bottom and get the latest version.

If you don't know how to use the program... check these...

How to Use Memtest86 – Memtest 86 Tutorial & Guide - Custom PC Blog
What is memtest86+, what do I use it for? - The Corsair Support Forums

Also download and run either of these temp monitoring programs... Core Temp, or Real Temp and post a screen shot.

I would also agree with archie123 about running CPUID - System & hardware benchmark, monitoring, reporting

Let us know

 

[DeaconFrost]

If you have "continuous" sound that's coming from the motherboard's speaker, that says there's a system malfunction.

That's why I'm trying to get the OP to do the simple listen test. He'd know right away if it was coming from the PSU or the motherboard.

 

[sygnus21]

Agree.

 

[mikemyers]

Well, the person who provided the right clue to fix this goes to DeaconFrost. My hearing is not as good as it used to be, but I took everything apart so I could listen to the sound, but it never made the noise. I had disconnected the second monitor to get at the case, and on a hunch, I plugged the second monitor back in. No problem until I started to play "Dirt2" and there was that sound again.

I unplugged the monitor - sound gone. Plugged it back in - sound. Finally, something that is repeatable.

I went around and around the silly thing, and all I noticed was that the sound was loudest when I was near the front, and close to the wall that the computer is next to. No matter what I did, I couldn't find a source for the sound. After several minutes of this, I noticed the volume of the sound was louder when I got down on my knees to look under the computer. Strange - and then, while looking there, the noise went off/on again, and this time I found it!! It was coming from the APC Back-UPS LS500! The red indicator light for "OVERLOAD" was flashing.

Totally my fault for posting all this here, and I'm not sure if you're all going to ban me for life, or if you're all laughing so hard that maybe I get to stay..... :-\


Anyway, thank you for all the help, and especially DeaconFrost. Yes, that was the right thing to do, and yes, sometimes it's the simplest things that are the cause of a problem.


Yikes, you guys are never gonna let me forget this....
http://www.sevenforums.com/member.php?u=24845

 

[sygnus21]

LOL. At least you got the the "bottom" of it.

Happy to hear you got it sorted.

Peace

 

[WindowsStar]

Well, the person who provided the right clue to fix this goes to DeaconFrost. My hearing is not as good as it used to be, but I took everything apart so I could listen to the sound, but it never made the noise. I had disconnected the second monitor to get at the case, and on a hunch, I plugged the second monitor back in. No problem until I started to play "Dirt2" and there was that sound again.

I unplugged the monitor - sound gone. Plugged it back in - sound. Finally, something that is repeatable.

I went around and around the silly thing, and all I noticed was that the sound was loudest when I was near the front, and close to the wall that the computer is next to. No matter what I did, I couldn't find a source for the sound. After several minutes of this, I noticed the volume of the sound was louder when I got down on my knees to look under the computer. Strange - and then, while looking there, the noise went off/on again, and this time I found it!! It was coming from the APC Back-UPS LS500! The red indicator light for "OVERLOAD" was flashing.

Totally my fault for posting all this here, and I'm not sure if you're all going to ban me for life, or if you're all laughing so hard that maybe I get to stay..... :-\


Anyway, thank you for all the help, and especially DeaconFrost. Yes, that was the right thing to do, and yes, sometimes it's the simplest things that are the cause of a problem.


Yikes, you guys are never gonna let me forget this....

No ban, we all learn. Thanks for posting back with the solution. This will help the gurus and help others fix issues as well. - Thanks.