Fan or motherboard problem

Hi guys, a couple of days ago my comp started making a strange grunt/grinding sound. I thought it may be from the back fan so I took the sides off and blew out all the dust. I left the sides off for the rest of the day. The noise quit soon after blowing out the dust but after 2 days its back again. The problem is I dont know if the problem is with the fan or that fan looking thing on the motherboard. What is that thing anyway? The two are so close together I can't tell which one is making the noise. It doesn't hamper the opperation of the computer but it does sound awful. Any ideas? Thanks.

XP Home SP2 fully updated with a nVidia-nForce motherboard.

 

That 'THING" on the motherboard is more than likely the cooler for the processor and IS the most important fan in the box. If it should quit the processor would overheat and your computer would stop running and possibly not run again.

As for the back fan, unplug it for a short time to see if the noise stops. If so, replace it and your good to go. If the problem turns out to be the fan on the motherboard, shut your computer down and replace it immediately!

Let us know how you make out.

 

Hi beanman2k, thx for quick response. I disconnected the fan and found the noise maker to be the one on the motherboard. Is it safe to remove it and clean it good and try it or better to replace it? Can I replace just the fan or will I have to replace the mb itself? Thanks.

 

Look carefully at the way the fan is attached. You should be able to unscrew and take it off the heatsink. Do not unclip or remove the heatsink.

If there is a large build-up of dust under the fan, loosen it with a soft brush, take the case outside and blow the dust out (you can use a can of compressed air from an electronics store). Clean the fan blades and try it again. If it does not work correctly after that you will need to replace the fan.

Matt

 

Hi mattman, yeah, I took a close look and tried the screws. I thought I was taking out the entire thing but just the fan came out. The fan worked and was quiet for awhile after I took it off. Tried it for a very short time while out. But it seemed that the fan blades were expanding and hitting the outer case which appears to be the cause of the noise. I also noticed that one of the blades was broken. Gonna replace it tomorrow. Thanks alot for the help guys.

 

Bearings are gone on the fan.

What I'm unclear of is are we talking about the CPU fan or Northbridge fan?

 

Maybe he'll let us know more about the fan. Either way, he's found the problem.

 

Hi guys.

Scott - I'm assuming its the Northbridge fan since I dont know what that is.

I do no what and where the cpu fan is and it aint that one.

Its the one on the motherboard itself connected to a very small metal sky scraper looking thing that gets pretty hot. And dusty too. I cleaned the dust out replaced the fan and all is well.

Mattman - thanks for telling me not to try and remove the heatsink. If I went in blind I would have probably tried and ended up with a huge mess. Or needing a new motherboard.

Thanks all for the help.

 

You have done well considering it was so unfamiliar to begin with. I would suggest that if you do not have the motherboard manual/user guide that came with the computer, search for and download it from the internet. You will then have a blueprint of the different parts. The manual will also have information on upgrading the different parts. With a little familiarity, you may want to build your own computer when it is time to update

Matt