Wondering about my computer...

Tango589 · 01-24-08, 03:03 PM

Can anyone give an explanation as to why when I put my computer into 'sleep' mode and wake it up again, does the graphics card fan constantly spin and make a loud whirring sound that gets on my t*ts? I have just had a look and the fan is spinning fine, it is not jammed at all. BTW it is a BFGTech Nvidia 7950 GT card.

Also, the inside of my unit is quite dusty. Is it OK just to stick the hoover nozzle with the small brush attatchment in there, or could this lead to strife?

Cheers for any help.

Tango589

Kapitan_Phillips · 01-24-08, 03:12 PM

I wouldnt recommend the Dyson method. Just incase, use your own lungs. Blow the dust off the components and then vacuum it off the bottom of the case.

Blacklight · 01-24-08, 03:19 PM

Those little fans on the graphics cards DO go on occasion. Usually, the buzzing means that it got unbalanced (Usually because of dust). By the time it starts making noise, there's not much an easy way to stop it other than get a new fan (which usually costs about half the price of a new graphics card for some reason).

As for cleaning the inside of the computer, don't use the brush attatchment. Make sure your computer is unplugged. Just use the hose itself. Don't touch the board or components directly. Just hold the hose close enough so that it sucks the dust. Another good method is to use some caned air to blow dust out of hard to reach spots and then vaccuming as it's coming out (DON'T HOLD THE CAN UPSIDE DOWN AND KEEP THE LITTLE STRAW A BIT AWAY FROM THE COMPONENTS) When doing fans, hold one of the blades with your finger and suck all around it or used the canned air but like I said.. hold the blades(Otherwise, the suction can actually spin the fan so fast that it can be damaged). Pull out that graphics card and you can do the same directly to the card itself. The fan probably has a cap on it and you can probably pop that off with a couple of little screws. Look around the fan's axel and see if you can see any dust wrapped around it. This stuff, you can pull out with tiny tweesers. Once again, if you vacume, be sure to hold the fan blades in place.

If this doesn't fix it, like I said, you can either buy a new fan for the card (Usually half the price of a new graphics card) or just buy a new card.

Tango589 · 01-24-08, 03:32 PM

Cheers for the cleaning tips, I will get a can of compressed air and use that. As for the noisy fan, I restarted my computer and the graphics card fan is spinning normally and is as quiet as a mouse. It only makes an audible noise when I wake the unit up again. Maybe the fan is running at an increased speed?

Kapitan_Phillips · 01-24-08, 03:58 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tango589

Cheers for the cleaning tips, I will get a can of compressed air and use that. As for the noisy fan, I restarted my computer and the graphics card fan is spinning normally and is as quiet as a mouse. It only makes an audible noise when I wake the unit up again. Maybe the fan is running at an increased speed?

It might be because the card doesnt shut down completely because you're making the computer sleep. When you wake the PC up, it might act as if you're booting from a turned off state and go into hyperdrive

SUBMAN1 · 01-24-08, 04:08 PM

Because it doesn't re-initialize the drivers properly.

A little tidbit - don't use sleep or hibernation. I've seen it corrupt PC's so bad that they are unrecoverable without reloading the whole OS.

-S

Tango589 · 01-24-08, 04:31 PM

Subman, the advice is taken. Cheers for the heads up!

sonar732 · 01-24-08, 04:33 PM

At one of the shops that I worked at, we used an air compressor with spray nozzle attachment. Most of the canned air that you get is cheap crap and won't blow dust off a newly pledge dusted wood furniture.

I also agree about the sleep mode. Just shut off the computer if you don't use it for a while or just the monitor to protect from "burn in". Usually you have to reboot the computer after those two modes anyway because it takes a while after the intial wake up for the computer to go...Oh...now you want to use me...you'll have to wait for my programs to realize it also.

Peto · 01-24-08, 04:45 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SUBMAN1

Because it doesn't re-initialize the drivers properly.

A little tidbit - don't use sleep or hibernation. I've seen it corrupt PC's so bad that they are unrecoverable without reloading the whole OS.

-S

Bingo. I'd bet that's the main thing that's heppening here. I'm not a fan of using sleep or hibernate modes either. They can result in all kinds of funky behavior.

All the other cleaning tips mentioned are also good. Especially Blacklight's advice on holding fan blades still while cleaning them.

TarJak · 01-24-08, 05:48 PM

I almost never turn off my rig unless I'm going away for a few days. Otherwise I just switch off the monitor. Sleep or hibernation modes are a WOFTAM.

01-24-08, 03:03 PM	#1
Tango589 Still crazy as ever! Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: A little south of sanity Posts: 3,358 Downloads: 180 Uploads: 1	Wondering about my computer... Can anyone give an explanation as to why when I put my computer into 'sleep' mode and wake it up again, does the graphics card fan constantly spin and make a loud whirring sound that gets on my t*ts? I have just had a look and the fan is spinning fine, it is not jammed at all. BTW it is a BFGTech Nvidia 7950 GT card. Also, the inside of my unit is quite dusty. Is it OK just to stick the hoover nozzle with the small brush attatchment in there, or could this lead to strife? Cheers for any help. Tango589 __________________ Hanging on in quiet desperation is the English way...

01-24-08, 03:12 PM	#2
Kapitan_Phillips Silent Hunter Join Date: Jul 2005 Location: Swansea Posts: 3,902 Downloads: 202 Uploads: 0	I wouldnt recommend the Dyson method. Just incase, use your own lungs. Blow the dust off the components and then vacuum it off the bottom of the case. __________________ Well, here's another nice mess you've gotten me into.

01-24-08, 03:19 PM	#3
Blacklight Ocean Warrior Join Date: Sep 2006 Location: Connecticut Posts: 2,507 Downloads: 142 Uploads: 0	Those little fans on the graphics cards DO go on occasion. Usually, the buzzing means that it got unbalanced (Usually because of dust). By the time it starts making noise, there's not much an easy way to stop it other than get a new fan (which usually costs about half the price of a new graphics card for some reason). As for cleaning the inside of the computer, don't use the brush attatchment. Make sure your computer is unplugged. Just use the hose itself. Don't touch the board or components directly. Just hold the hose close enough so that it sucks the dust. Another good method is to use some caned air to blow dust out of hard to reach spots and then vaccuming as it's coming out (DON'T HOLD THE CAN UPSIDE DOWN AND KEEP THE LITTLE STRAW A BIT AWAY FROM THE COMPONENTS) When doing fans, hold one of the blades with your finger and suck all around it or used the canned air but like I said.. hold the blades(Otherwise, the suction can actually spin the fan so fast that it can be damaged). Pull out that graphics card and you can do the same directly to the card itself. The fan probably has a cap on it and you can probably pop that off with a couple of little screws. Look around the fan's axel and see if you can see any dust wrapped around it. This stuff, you can pull out with tiny tweesers. Once again, if you vacume, be sure to hold the fan blades in place. If this doesn't fix it, like I said, you can either buy a new fan for the card (Usually half the price of a new graphics card) or just buy a new card. __________________ Be my friend or be a mushroom cloud. "I am coming at you. You will explode in a couple of minutes !"

01-24-08, 03:32 PM	#4
Tango589 Still crazy as ever! Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: A little south of sanity Posts: 3,358 Downloads: 180 Uploads: 1	Cheers for the cleaning tips, I will get a can of compressed air and use that. As for the noisy fan, I restarted my computer and the graphics card fan is spinning normally and is as quiet as a mouse. It only makes an audible noise when I wake the unit up again. Maybe the fan is running at an increased speed? __________________ Hanging on in quiet desperation is the English way...

01-24-08, 04:08 PM	#6
SUBMAN1 Rear Admiral Join Date: Apr 2005 Posts: 11,866 Downloads: 0 Uploads: 0	Because it doesn't re-initialize the drivers properly. A little tidbit - don't use sleep or hibernation. I've seen it corrupt PC's so bad that they are unrecoverable without reloading the whole OS. -S __________________

01-24-08, 04:31 PM	#7
Tango589 Still crazy as ever! Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: A little south of sanity Posts: 3,358 Downloads: 180 Uploads: 1	Subman, the advice is taken. Cheers for the heads up! __________________ Hanging on in quiet desperation is the English way...

01-24-08, 04:33 PM	#8
sonar732 The Old Man Join Date: Jul 2003 Location: Central MO Posts: 1,562 Downloads: 6 Uploads: 0	At one of the shops that I worked at, we used an air compressor with spray nozzle attachment. Most of the canned air that you get is cheap crap and won't blow dust off a newly pledge dusted wood furniture. I also agree about the sleep mode. Just shut off the computer if you don't use it for a while or just the monitor to protect from "burn in". Usually you have to reboot the computer after those two modes anyway because it takes a while after the intial wake up for the computer to go...Oh...now you want to use me...you'll have to wait for my programs to realize it also.

01-24-08, 05:48 PM	#10
TarJak Fleet Admiral Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: Sydney, Australia Posts: 17,052 Downloads: 150 Uploads: 8	I almost never turn off my rig unless I'm going away for a few days. Otherwise I just switch off the monitor. Sleep or hibernation modes are a WOFTAM.