Computer makes whirring/grinding noises at random times.?

Question

Lately my computer has been making weird whirring/grinding noises every hour or so and on start up. I recently replaced my hard drive thinking it would solve the problem but it didn't. Non of the fans are making the noise because when I stop them, the noise doesn't go away. What could this noise be?

Answer 1

Hi,

Yes I used to get the same problem as you. There are many different reasons why you might be receiving this problem which is why you can't just say "it's one certain issue". Here are some things I recommend doing (In any order you like)

1. Open the shell of your computer (check first to see if it voids the warranty) then get a can of compressed air and blast all the dirt and dust into it.

Why: Dirt and dust builds up over time and settles on the base, motherboard and drives on your computer thus causing less air flow and furthermore heating up of the machinery. This causes more friction and poor efficiency causing parts to get cranky on you.

2. Check your virus protection to make sure it isn't running a system scan. This will slow your computer down a ton. I personally have AVG and it will run a scan when I least expect it. My computer will fire up and I won't know why until I realize it is just the scan running. If it is just your virus protection running a scan you should be able to change it in it's settings. I also got this problem with Mcafee.

3. You will also want to go through a series of steps to get rid of all the junk that is slowing down your computer. Microsoft puts out a great article on this detailing the instructions on how to perform these tasks. I have included this article for your comfort. I strongly recommend performing these tasks regardless of whether or not you have this problem, yet this will definitely be one thing you will want to go to help solve it.

http://www.microsoft.com/atwork/getstart...

If you are still having the problem after going through this let me know and I will continue to help.

I hope this helps and good luck.

Answer 2

Seriously sounds like a fan problem, even though you said you checked those. However, be aware there's more than one fan. There's one on the CPU, possibly one on the front of the case to move cool air inside the case, one possibly on the rear of the case to move the hot air out, and one fan inside the power supply which you probably didn't check.

Answer 3

its OK   its just ur hard drive spinning.  all hard drives are like giant disks.  

Answer 4

If u have a cd it will rev up or it can be ur graphics what computer do u have model and company =]

Answer 5

Have you checked your speakers up close? The hard drive noise can sometimes carry through on your speakers, especially if they are a lesser quality set. It does that on one of my pcs but only when I use a really cheap set I have.  

Answer 6

Place your hand on the hard disk drive and try to feel if the sound is coming from inside it ---or it could be the CPU cooling fan

Answer 7

do you have a CD or DVD in the drive? if so take it out