PC problem - help would be appreciated :)

-Seph- · Sep 12, 2014

Hey everyone,

I build my first PC earlier in the year and every thing has been fine until the past few weeks.

Recently, when I power up the PC there is occasionally an unusual 'clanking' sound from somewhere inside. The chassis fan is quite loud so it is tricky to determine exactly where the noise is coming from inside the machine. I have switched off the PC and checked connections, dusted, made sure no screws were loose, obstructions in the fans etc and it always turned on fine without the weird noise after. The strange noise on starting up the PC would return every week or so.

But today the PC gave an error message and said 'windows could not start'. I opened up the case and did the same checking routine and it now powers up ok with no warning or indication something is wrong. I have googled the issue and it seems like a faulty PSU might be to blame but how do I determine this please or is there another problem that I might be overlooking?

Thank you for any advice in advance

Beezy · Sep 12, 2014

sounds like a mechanical hard drive failure. Would also explain why windows cant be accessed or started anymore. Put your ear up to the hard drive to see if thats the reason.

Proofy · Sep 12, 2014

Can you post your computer components with PSU and on how much GHz did you overclock

JimF_35 · Sep 12, 2014

Sounds more like the hard drive to me. Have you considered unplugging the noisy fans so you can locate the noise? My bet is that it is the hard drive.

-Seph- · Sep 12, 2014

Thanks for such quick responses guys!

Beezy - the 'won't start up' issue was temporary and now I am on the PC but there is obviously an underlining problem to be addressed. The hard drive 'sounds normal' at the moment.

Proofy - Thanks mate. Which components would you like me to list and in what format please? I am quite new to tech forums and don't want to give wrong info

JimF - Thanks for the help, what makes you think its the HD and not the PSU please?

Proofy · Sep 12, 2014

Use this site,

http://pcpartpicker.com/user/Proofy/saved/G3D7YJ change the components to the ones you have and post it back here.

It could be hdd problem but could be PSU. I need your components to see if your PSU is strong enough for your PC on but it's probably hdd because if your PSU is not strong enough your PC wouldn't start at all. It could malfunction tho

Beezy · Sep 12, 2014

If you are booted back into windows download CrystalDiskInfo and check the HDD health so we can rule it out. The power supply could also be problem but most if its noises are coil clicks and whines. Can you try to describe the sound in any more detail? As mentioned earlier it could help if you unplug the noisy case fans first.

-Seph- · Sep 12, 2014

OK thanks Proofy, I'll give you my components now. I couldn't find them all on the site you gave so i'll just list them. Hope this is enough info - sorry for not linking them all to the sites I bought them.

CPU - AMD Athlon II X4 750K Black Edition 3.4GHz
Motherboard - Gigabyte GA-F2A55M-DS2 Micro ATX FM2 Motherboard
Memory - Komputerbay 8GB (2x 4GB) 240 Pin 1600MHz PC3-12800 DDR3 DIMM Desktop Memory
Storage - Seagate Barracuda 500 GB,Internal,7200 RPM,8.89 cm (3.5") (ST500DM002)
Video Card - AMD Radeon HD 7750
Case - Zalman T4 Black Mini Tower Case (M-ATX/M-ITX)
PSU - ALPINE-BLUE-500W - Alpine 500W Quiet Silent PC Power Supply
Optical Drive - Asus DVD-RW Drive (DRW-24F1ST, S-ATA, DVDR: 24x, CD-R: 48x, E-Green
OS - Windows 7 (64bit)
Case fan - Corsair Air Series AF120-LED 120mm Quiet Edition High Airflow
Monitor - Packard Bell Viseo 243D 24" Full HD LED Monitor

Proofy · Sep 12, 2014

Your pc need up to 300W with oc-ed processor so it should be fine.. I'd check hdd like others have recommended... CrystalDiskInfo is a good tool for checking the problems on hard disk

-Seph- · Sep 12, 2014

Thanks Beezy.

I downloaded CrystalDiskInfo and it says that the health is 'good' although I'm not certain I understand the attributes and raw values of the diagnosis very well.

The 'noise' has occurred three times in the past few weeks when I started up the PC, but most days it has been fine, and as I said, when the noise occurred I opened the PC and dusted etc, and it then started up fine without the noise.

I would describe the sound as a slight muffled 'clanking' as opposed to clicking. I opened the case while this happened the first time but could not determine where the sound was coming from inside the case as the fans are quite loud but it does not seem to be from the fans itself.

As I said, the PC gave an error message on starting up this morning but now turns on OK so its hard to know whats wrong!

Thanks for the ongoing help mate

-Seph- · Sep 12, 2014

Proofy :

Thanks Proofy - I have downloaded CrystalDiskInfo and it says on its first scan that the health is 'good' as I said above.

Any other ideas?

Beezy · Sep 12, 2014

I now agree the issue is probably the power supply then . I've never heard of alpine blue..I bet the 500w is overstated and not continuous. Could very likely be the cause. Also triple check to make sure no wires hit any fans anywhere

Search

PC problem - help would be appreciated :)

-Seph-

Honorable

Beezy

Dignified

Proofy

Admirable

JimF_35

Distinguished

-Seph-

Honorable

Proofy

Admirable

Beezy

Dignified

-Seph-

Honorable

Proofy

Admirable

-Seph-

Honorable

-Seph-

Honorable

Beezy

Dignified

TRENDING THREADS

Latest posts

Moderators online

Share this page