PSU or CPU Noise after PSU Failure

[Minks007]

I have a question for those in the know how. An ex of mine called me because she was playing around with her computer and had opened the case to do something unrelated, I think install new ram, which as far as I can see went ok. Apparently, while the computer was still on, god forbid she tried to plug the floppy disc drive plug into the fdd socket and the machine went dead.

So she calls me and I switch on off and nothing. I then do a clear CMOS and it boots up fine, however I noticed that the PSU or something, possibly cpu (pwm) fan, on the system seems slightly noisier. I say noisier because she had a 'silent' system before. She has a Zalman 600HP. I don't know whether it might have damaged a component in the psu but I would assume if it blew anything that it wouldn't work at all so any advice as to where the extra noise might be coming from, and how possibly to prevent it, would be much appreciated. Incidentally I have set the quiet fan setting in bios back again, default being disabled.

Thanks

 

[pjmelect]

Plugging the FDD plug with power on should not have caused any problems however if she accidently shorted the power supply then the power supply would have tripped and would not have worked again until the power was disconnected for a minute or so. You disconnected the power to clear the CMOS, so clearing the CMOS was probably unnecessary. Clearing the CMOS caused the speed of the fans to be set at maximum and caused them to be noisy. Are you sure that you have set the fan settings back to as they were before you cleared the CMOS and have you changed the performance back to optimal from default? Fans that are wearing out are often noisy for a while after being powered up and often quieten down after a while.

 

[Minks007]

Well how could we know? You have the computer in front of you, you should be able to tell where the noise is coming from with your ears.

I don't know how you could think WE could diagnose where the noise is coming from on the internet.

Stop the cpu fan with your fingers, if the noise goes away, then it's the cpu fan. Put your ear to the psu, if you hear noise, then it's coming from the psu. lol

Anybody that works inside a computer with it still on, should not be working on computers at all. She's lucky she didn't get electrocuted.

I'm surprised to see someone that still has a floppy drive and why she would unplug it to install memory (with the computer on??) is a mystery to me.

Hi,
Thank you for your reply. I was kinda hoping for a more technical answer than merely psu, I guess I was wondering whether such an occurence could cause some kind of capacator problem/weakening other components as opposed to just a guide on how to locate the source of the noise. Yes the psu does appear to the source of the noise but again was hoping for something of a more technical explanation than psu. But thanks anyway.
Btw this girl knows nothing about pcs, and overall is too much of a risk taker for my liking but yes I totally agree, everything she does is a mystery to me, not just with a pc!

 

[Minks007]

Plugging the FDD plug with power on should not have caused any problems however if she accidently shorted the power supply then the power supply would have tripped and would not have worked again until the power was disconnected for a minute or so. You disconnected the power to clear the CMOS, so clearing the CMOS was probably unnecessary. Clearing the CMOS caused the speed of the fans to be set at maximum and caused them to be noisy. Are you sure that you have set the fan settings back to as they were before you cleared the CMOS and have you changed the performance back to optimal from default? Fans that are wearing out are often noisy for a while after being powered up and often quieten down after a while.

Thanks,
So shortening the psu wouldn't damage any internal components of the psu that could result in additional nose? Yes I have been inside bios and set everything to optimal and set the speed of the fans, only one it seems, but the noise does appear to be slightly more apparent. I understand that from what you're saying theoretically there should be absolutely no difference pre and post fdd-gate. Re the fan wearing out, the psu is only around a year old and she always switches off at night, and in anycase would have known that the nose was the same on each morning boot if that were the case of a noisy fan becoming quieter on full spin. Seems a mystery to me, but thanks for your reply...

 

[jsc]

Thanks,
So shortening the psu wouldn't damage any internal components of the psu that could result in additional nose?

No. Shorting the PSU shouldn't cause any damage to the PSU.