Weirdness

[kayden azagthoth]

Hi gang,

I wish I could be a little more specific with my problem, but I'll try my best. Actually, I don't know if it's a problem now, or it will be really soon.

I was playing a videogame on my computer the other night and I heard a light 'beep' come from my speaker inside the tower. I didn't think anything of it. The next night, I heard a quick and light 'beep' followed by a light 'beep beep'. Do I sound like an idiot yet? http://www.PCGuide.com/ubb/rolleyes.gif

Just tonight, I fired up the cold computer and it sounded a little sickly. When I say sickly, I mean it sounded like either the one of the fans inside or possibly the hard drive was making a slower and more laboured whine than usual. As I type this, it 'seems' to sound ok, but I still feel a little concerned for my baby!! http://www.PCGuide.com/ubb/smile.gif

Am I worrying for no reason or does it sound like something is about to fall down and go boom? What should I check for? I'm running a K6-2 500, 256 M of PC-100 Ram, 13 G HD, TNT2 32M, and Windows 98. The computer is a year and a half old and under warranty until March 2002. Local company built it for me. Tis a good thing, if something's wrong!

Thanks in advance!

Kayden

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And all you touch and all you see, is all your life will ever be.

-Pink Floyd

[Ghost_Hacker]

The beeps are a sign that the computer is overheating. (some BIOS have this feature) I would have it checked for a broken fan.


Good luck http://www.PCGuide.com/ubb/smile.gif

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Comment heard from a Klingon programmer.

"Our users will know fear and cower before our software! Ship it! Ship it and let them flee like the dogs they are!"

[mjc]

Also some BIOS have a fan warning, when a fan fails they isuue an annoying beep or play music...I imagine that if a fan is running but not quite at speed or if it is fluctuating then it could issue an occasional beep...

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mjc
Links list:Computer Links (http://www.dreamwater.org/tech/mjc/index.htm)

Celts are the men that heaven made mad, For all their battles are merry and their songs are all sad.

[kayden azagthoth]

Hmmmm...good points gentlemen. How would I go about solving this problem on my own? You see, even though my computer is still under warranty and they would fix it free of charge, they also keep the darn thing for over a week. That's like a lifetime to me!! http://www.PCGuide.com/ubb/smile.gif

Is it relatively safe to take the side panel off my tower while the computer is running to see if the fan is going/fluctuating? What should I be looking for? Maybe it's dusty?

Let me know!

Thanks for the quick replys!!

Kayden

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And all you touch and all you see, is all your life will ever be.

-Pink Floyd

[mjc]

Good question...Some warranties are very specific, any entry into the case voids it, others will let you do all manner of things inside the case. Probably if it is that new then you should at least contact the tech support and maybe have them go through openning the case with you, on the phone (because if tech support tells you to do it then the warranty should still be intact...). When you do get in touch with them tell them that you suspect one of the fans may be dying...

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mjc
Links list:Computer Links (http://www.dreamwater.org/tech/mjc/index.htm)

Celts are the men that heaven made mad, For all their battles are merry and their songs are all sad.

[Paleo Pete]

I agree, you have a warranty, use it. You may not like leaving it with them for a week if that becomes necessary, but you'll like it a whole lot less if you void the warranty and your CPU dies next week...

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Support the right to keep and arm bears.
Note: Please post your questions on the forums, not in my email.

Computer Information Links (http://www.geocities.com/paleopete/)

[kayden azagthoth]

Alright then. I'm going to contact the tech support of the company I bought it from today and tell them my problem. Heck, they might even give me a new fan and some thermal grease for free and I can put the new fan on myself! They are a great, but small, company. It's family owned and they have no problems with the customer going inside the case. It doesn't void their warranty, I've checked.

I just fired up the computer again today and it sounded pretty nasty. But after a few warm up minutes, it sounds relatively normal again. It still won't hurt to call them though.

Thanks guys. Your advice was fast, accurate and amazing as usual. Hats off to the PC Guide Gods and Goddesses!! http://www.PCGuide.com/ubb/smile.gif

Kayden

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And all you touch and all you see, is all your life will ever be.

-Pink Floyd