Member Avatar for Thalin

OK guys, this should be the correct place to post this.

Recently I have been hearing strange sounds inside my PC. It sounds like a fan, kind of slowing down and almost churning, before sounding like starting up again and the sound goes. It's not a clicking or anything like that. I removed my case of my PC to hope to find where the sound was coming from, and then it stopped happening, and it dosn't happen as much now. It either happens a few times in a short space of time, or not at all for a long time, so it's rather annoying sitting there waiting for it to happen, only to find it dosn't.

However, I have now had 2 random restarts in the space of a couple of days, and they don't happen when my PCs just left running, but when i'm about to do something, like just after clicking on a web link, and just now when I opened a folder. I get no error message although there are logs in the Windows folder which say the time it happened but I have no idea what log is best to look at, as some arn't very helpful.

Any ideas what this could be?

I'm quite sure the sounds and restarts are related because I never got any random restarts before the sound started.

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Both and are on the right lines — this is most likely a hardware problem (power delivery or fan/hardware-monitor mismatch) rather than ordinary software. The Windows System log entry for an unexpected restart will usually appear as a Kernel‑Power (Event ID 41) — that confirms Windows saw a sudden loss of power but won’t by itself name the failing part. (learn.microsoft.com)

A short, prioritized checklist to isolate the fault:

  1. Check Event Viewer → Windows Logs > System around the restart time for Kernel‑Power or BugCheck entries (copy times/codes for later correlation). (learn.microsoft.com)
  2. Check BIOS/Hardware Monitor for fan RPMs and temps (don’t rely only on Windows utilities). If the motherboard reports the "power" fan as 0 while you can feel airflow, many monitoring tools only read a tachometer signal — some PSU fans don’t provide that signal or aren’t wired to the PWR_FAN header. That produces the “below threshold / 0” warning without meaning the fan is physically stopped. (manualsdump.com)
  3. Treat the PSU as a prime suspect for random restarts (especially intermittent ones). Swap in a known‑good PSU if possible; that’s the quickest definitive test. If you must test at home, use a safe guide or a PSU tester — the paperclip trick can show whether a PSU powers on but is only a basic check and won’t prove stability under load. Don’t open the PSU; capacitors hold lethal charge. (howtogeek.com)
  4. If the noise is definitely from a case or CPU fan (not the PSU), clean the fan, check mounting screws, manually spin to feel for rough bearings, and replace any fan with worn bearings. If the sound comes from inside the PSU or restarts stop after replacing the PSU, replace the PSU rather than repairing it.

If these steps don’t isolate it, next steps are MemTest86 for RAM and running stress tests while logging temps/voltages. Prioritize safety on any PSU work and, if unsure, have a shop swap/test the PSU — swapping the PSU is the fastest, most reliable way to prove the cause.

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Member Avatar for JANINE

OK guys, this should be the correct place to post this.

Recently I have been hearing strange sounds inside my PC. It sounds like a fan, kind of slowing down and almost churning, before sounding like starting up again and the sound goes. It's not a clicking or anything like that. I removed my case of my PC to hope to find where the sound was coming from, and then it stopped happening, and it dosn't happen as much now. It either happens a few times in a short space of time, or not at all for a long time, so it's rather annoying sitting there waiting for it to happen, only to find it dosn't.

However, I have now had 2 random restarts in the space of a couple of days, and they don't happen when my PCs just left running, but when i'm about to do something, like just after clicking on a web link, and just now when I opened a folder. I get no error message although there are logs in the Windows folder which say the time it happened but I have no idea what log is best to look at, as some arn't very helpful.

Any ideas what this could be?

I'm quite sure the sounds and restarts are related because I never got any random restarts before the sound started.

it sound like u may have a cpu fan or case fan failiure which is causing the pc to overheat. check all your fans are fully functional.
secondly it could be a virus that may be slowing your fan speeds down.. i know this seems strange but it is true.. believe u me. try running a antivirus program and see if it pulls anything up.
if not try replacing the fan that you think may be the problem. fans are pretty cheap.:cool:

Member Avatar for ShawnCplus

Random shutdowns could also be cause of a faulty power supply which could make the strange sounds.

Member Avatar for Thalin

I don't know if this has anything to do with it, but an Asus Probe the Power fan is unticked and when I tick it is flashes the message - power fan below threshold, and it flashes 0 where it's meant to say it's status. I can feel air coming from the fan if I put my hand behind it though...

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