My PC (Dell Precision 370, about 14 months old) is emitting a high
pitched tone; I'd say between 8 and 12 KHz but that is a guess; that
guess based on recall of acoustic-coupler modems. Loud enough to be
annoying; hardly loud enough do much about.

It is not the (19 inch flat analogue, not CRT) screen and I have
isolated other items like USB disks.

Reluctantly, I switched the machine off and the noise disappeared. The
machine has been switched off only once before; not green, I agree, but
I don't like switching off critical machines.

A transformer or other power supply part?

There may be a momentary slight modulation of the sound when the screen
changes, hence the initial suspicion of the screen.

Laziness, I agree, but I'm putting off dismantling everything and
opening up the box; and given the frequency, it will be difficult to
pinpoint anyway.

TIA,

Jon C.

wrote:
My PC (Dell Precision 370, about 14 months old) is emitting a high
pitched tone; I'd say between 8 and 12 KHz but that is a guess; that
guess based on recall of acoustic-coupler modems. Loud enough to be
annoying; hardly loud enough do much about.

It is not the (19 inch flat analogue, not CRT) screen and I have
isolated other items like USB disks.

Reluctantly, I switched the machine off and the noise disappeared. The
machine has been switched off only once before; not green, I agree,
but I don't like switching off critical machines.

A transformer or other power supply part?

There may be a momentary slight modulation of the sound when the
screen changes, hence the initial suspicion of the screen.

Laziness, I agree, but I'm putting off dismantling everything and
opening up the box; and given the frequency, it will be difficult to
pinpoint anyway.

TIA,

Jon C.

If your not willing to take out cards,disconnect drives, ect then you're
not going to eliminate the source.

--
Sir Benjamin Middlethwaite

wrote in message
oups.com...
My PC (Dell Precision 370, about 14 months old) is emitting a high
pitched tone; I'd say between 8 and 12 KHz but that is a guess; that
guess based on recall of acoustic-coupler modems. Loud enough to be
annoying; hardly loud enough do much about.

It is not the (19 inch flat analogue, not CRT) screen and I have
isolated other items like USB disks.

Reluctantly, I switched the machine off and the noise disappeared. The
machine has been switched off only once before; not green, I agree, but
I don't like switching off critical machines.

A transformer or other power supply part?

There may be a momentary slight modulation of the sound when the screen
changes, hence the initial suspicion of the screen.

Laziness, I agree, but I'm putting off dismantling everything and
opening up the box; and given the frequency, it will be difficult to
pinpoint anyway.

TIA,

Jon C.

If it that much of a critical machine, then whatever software you are
running, it should be on a dedicated server, and not a standard Dell PC.

The only way to identify and rectify the problem is to open the box and take
a look.

A car mechanic can't fix a car without opening the bonnet. The same is true
for IT technicians.

ABC wrote:
wrote in message
oups.com...
My PC (Dell Precision 370, about 14 months old) is emitting a high
pitched tone; I'd say between 8 and 12 KHz but that is a guess; that
[...]


If it that much of a critical machine, then whatever software you are
running, it should be on a dedicated server, and not a standard Dell PC.


I work mostly from home, so it is critical to /me/. I suppose it could
be switched off for the eight or so hours that I sleep, but then I'm
not sure that I'm going to sleep for eight hours; anyway switching
computers off and on just gives me the creeps.

The only way to identify and rectify the problem is to open the box and take
a look.

Yes, done; and as I suspected I could hear nothing. I think I'll have
to go with the stethoscope suggestion and a concerted attack on the
problem.

Or, leave the wax to build up properly in my ears; ref. my post about a
year ago on some other newsgroup about this machine being dead quiet,
and all that happened is that I'd located it on my left and my left ear
was clogged

A car mechanic can't fix a car without opening the bonnet. The same is true
for IT technicians.

Best regards,

Jon C.

wrote in message
oups.com...

ABC wrote:
wrote in message
oups.com...
My PC (Dell Precision 370, about 14 months old) is emitting a high
pitched tone; I'd say between 8 and 12 KHz but that is a guess; that
[...]


If it that much of a critical machine, then whatever software you are
running, it should be on a dedicated server, and not a standard Dell PC.


I work mostly from home, so it is critical to /me/. I suppose it could
be switched off for the eight or so hours that I sleep, but then I'm
not sure that I'm going to sleep for eight hours; anyway switching
computers off and on just gives me the creeps.

The only way to identify and rectify the problem is to open the box and
take
a look.

Yes, done; and as I suspected I could hear nothing. I think I'll have
to go with the stethoscope suggestion and a concerted attack on the
problem.

Sorted then - leave the side off :-)

"ABC" wrote in message
...

wrote in message
oups.com...
My PC (Dell Precision 370, about 14 months old) is emitting a high
pitched tone; I'd say between 8 and 12 KHz but that is a guess; that
guess based on recall of acoustic-coupler modems. Loud enough to be
annoying; hardly loud enough do much about.

It is not the (19 inch flat analogue, not CRT) screen and I have
isolated other items like USB disks.

Reluctantly, I switched the machine off and the noise disappeared. The
machine has been switched off only once before; not green, I agree, but
I don't like switching off critical machines.

A transformer or other power supply part?

There may be a momentary slight modulation of the sound when the screen
changes, hence the initial suspicion of the screen.

Laziness, I agree, but I'm putting off dismantling everything and
opening up the box; and given the frequency, it will be difficult to
pinpoint anyway.

TIA,

Jon C.

If it that much of a critical machine, then whatever software you are
running, it should be on a dedicated server, and not a standard Dell PC.

The same thing can happen to a dedicated server. The user merely has to back
up their data.


The only way to identify and rectify the problem is to open the box and
take a look.

A car mechanic can't fix a car without opening the bonnet. The same is
true for IT technicians.

wrote:
My PC (Dell Precision 370, about 14 months old) is emitting a high
pitched tone; I'd say between 8 and 12 KHz but that is a guess; that
guess based on recall of acoustic-coupler modems. Loud enough to be
annoying; hardly loud enough do much about.

It is not the (19 inch flat analogue, not CRT) screen and I have
isolated other items like USB disks.

Reluctantly, I switched the machine off and the noise disappeared. The
machine has been switched off only once before; not green, I agree, but
I don't like switching off critical machines.

A transformer or other power supply part?

There may be a momentary slight modulation of the sound when the screen
changes, hence the initial suspicion of the screen.

Laziness, I agree, but I'm putting off dismantling everything and
opening up the box; and given the frequency, it will be difficult to
pinpoint anyway.

TIA,

Jon C.


Make a simple stethoscope from a 30 to 50cm length of garden hose or similar
(with or without a small funnel attached) then listen to the various bits
until you pin-point the source of the whine.

Phil Anthropist wrote:
wrote:
My PC (Dell Precision 370, about 14 months old) is emitting a high
pitched tone; I'd say between 8 and 12 KHz but that is a guess; that
guess based on recall of acoustic-coupler modems. Loud enough to be
annoying; hardly loud enough do much about.

It is not the (19 inch flat analogue, not CRT) screen and I have
isolated other items like USB disks.

Reluctantly, I switched the machine off and the noise disappeared. The
[...]

Make a simple stethoscope from a 30 to 50cm length of garden hose or similar
(with or without a small funnel attached) then listen to the various bits
until you pin-point the source of the whine.

Thanks, yes I guess that's what I need. Following comments of others, I
had the box open; could hear nothing.

Thanks,

Jon C.

In article ,
Phil Anthropist wrote:
Make a simple stethoscope from a 30 to 50cm length of garden hose or
similar (with or without a small funnel attached) then listen to the
various bits until you pin-point the source of the whine.

It's worth buying a cheap one from a medical shop. About a fiver or less.

--
*Beware - animal lover - brakes for pussy*

Dave Plowman London SW
To e-mail, change noise into sound.

On Mon, 24 Jul 2006 23:38:57 +0100, "Dave Plowman (News)"
wrote:

It's worth buying a cheap [stethoscope] from a medical shop.

Don't waste your time with a medical stethoscope - the design of the
bells is different, so as to make them useful for listening to
widespread sounds from squishy things. If you're after mechanical noise,
get a mechanic's stethoscope with a rigid probe connected to a diaphram.

In article ,
Andy Dingley wrote:
It's worth buying a cheap [stethoscope] from a medical shop.

Don't waste your time with a medical stethoscope - the design of the
bells is different, so as to make them useful for listening to
widespread sounds from squishy things. If you're after mechanical noise,
get a mechanic's stethoscope with a rigid probe connected to a diaphram.

How much are those?

I've found a cheap medical type far better than the tube method and less
dangerous and as effictive as the screwdriver trick.

--
*Many hamsters only blink one eye at a time *

Dave Plowman London SW
To e-mail, change noise into sound.

On Wed, 26 Jul 2006 21:54:10 +0100, "Dave Plowman (News)"
wrote:

get a mechanic's stethoscope with a rigid probe connected to a diaphram.

How much are those?

Expensive! Mine came from the usual route (mil-surpus from Anchor)

You can improvise though. The screwdriver in the ear is effective, if
inconvenient in layout. You can make all sorts of lashups with two
tincans and a length of string, then work up from there.

In article .com,
says...
My PC (Dell Precision 370, about 14 months old) is emitting a high
pitched tone; I'd say between 8 and 12 KHz but that is a guess; that
guess based on recall of acoustic-coupler modems. Loud enough to be
annoying; hardly loud enough do much about.

It is not the (19 inch flat analogue, not CRT) screen and I have
isolated other items like USB disks.

Reluctantly, I switched the machine off and the noise disappeared. The
machine has been switched off only once before; not green, I agree, but
I don't like switching off critical machines.

A transformer or other power supply part?

There may be a momentary slight modulation of the sound when the screen
changes, hence the initial suspicion of the screen.

Laziness, I agree, but I'm putting off dismantling everything and
opening up the box; and given the frequency, it will be difficult to
pinpoint anyway.

TIA,

Jon C.


Probably the PSU, i've had similar things happen to mine and it drove me
potty(er) too
--
Alex Threlfall
Cyberprog New Media
www.cyberprog.net
tel - 0870 446 0789
fax - 0870 446 1789

"Alex Threlfall" wrote in message
...


Probably the PSU, i've had similar things happen to mine and it drove me
potty(er) too

Some motherboards emit that sort of sound when a fan has failed.
But he doesn't want to open the box so he can't see if the fans are OK.

dennis@home wrote:
"Alex Threlfall" wrote in message
...


Probably the PSU, i've had similar things happen to mine and it drove me
potty(er) too

Some motherboards emit that sort of sound when a fan has failed.
But he doesn't want to open the box so he can't see if the fans are OK.

Of course the fan is running, I knew that all the time. Just because I
ask a simple question on a newsgroup doesn't mean I'm a total idiot.

And, yes, I did open the box, see above. As I suspected I was not able
to locate the (high pitched and very faint) sound; indeed, I could not
hear it at all with the lid off. Note: this is so faint that you would
never hear it in an ordinary office, nor, I suspect, in a machine with
a reasonably noisy fan.

Aha, though, mention of fan makes me think; I cannot hear it now;
temperature in the room is now 21.5 C; was about 24 yesterday when I
was provoked into making the original post.

Best regards,

Jon C.

On Tue, 25 Jul 2006 07:09:21 UTC, wrote:

dennis@home wrote:
"Alex Threlfall" wrote in message
...


Probably the PSU, i've had similar things happen to mine and it drove me
potty(er) too

Some motherboards emit that sort of sound when a fan has failed.
But he doesn't want to open the box so he can't see if the fans are OK.

Of course the fan is running, I knew that all the time. Just because I
ask a simple question on a newsgroup doesn't mean I'm a total idiot.

The fan can still be failing. Calm down. That kind of noise can come
from a fan bearing on its way out, and it can come and go. Feel free to
ignore this advice too.

--
The information contained in this post is copyright the
poster, and specifically may not be published in, or used by
Avenue Supplies, http://avenuesupplies.co.uk

Alex Threlfall wrote:
In article .com,
says...
My PC (Dell Precision 370, about 14 months old) is emitting a high
pitched tone; I'd say between 8 and 12 KHz but that is a guess; that
guess based on recall of acoustic-coupler modems. Loud enough to be
annoying; hardly loud enough do much about.

[...]
A transformer or other power supply part?

There may be a momentary slight modulation of the sound when the screen
changes, hence the initial suspicion of the screen.

[...]

Probably the PSU, i've had similar things happen to mine and it drove me
potty(er) too

When I change to another window or change significantly what is in the
currently displayed window, there is a noticable increase in volume
aabout a second or two afte the changer. I guess a graphics card
(Radion 128-MB something) does draw significant current. So could point
at power supply.

I'll report back as soon as I get hold of a stethoscope and do a peoper
investigation.

Thanks all,

Jon C.

On 2006-07-25 09:15:24 +0100, said:


Alex Threlfall wrote:
In article .com,
says...
My PC (Dell Precision 370, about 14 months old) is emitting a high
pitched tone; I'd say between 8 and 12 KHz but that is a guess; that
guess based on recall of acoustic-coupler modems. Loud enough to be
annoying; hardly loud enough do much about.

[...]
A transformer or other power supply part?

There may be a momentary slight modulation of the sound when the screen
changes, hence the initial suspicion of the screen.

[...]

Probably the PSU, i've had similar things happen to mine and it drove me
potty(er) too

When I change to another window or change significantly what is in the
currently displayed window, there is a noticable increase in volume
aabout a second or two afte the changer. I guess a graphics card
(Radion 128-MB something) does draw significant current. So could point
at power supply.

I'll report back as soon as I get hold of a stethoscope and do a peoper
investigation.

Thanks all,

Jon C.

Fans on graphics cards as supplied by the manufacturer are notoriously crap.
Typically they have sleeve bearings and squeaking is often the
precursor to complete failure. When that happens, the card is
typically a write off because the chip will normally overheat.
Often nowadays graphics card fan speeds are wound up and down according
to the temperature and that is related to graphics activity.

Equally, the CPU fan can do the same thing. Some of these also go up and down.

What I always do when building a new PC is to replace the supplied fans
with good quality ball bearing ones like Zalman etc. These cost
about £20 a go. Considering the cost of replacing motherboard,
memory, CPU, graphics card,.... this is a good investment.

If it isn't these, then the other likely candidate is the power supply.
Again the power load can cause squeaky sounds from the electronics of
the supply as the load varies.

So I would change the fans first, as a matter of course, and if that
doesn't address the problem, the PSU.

j
When I change to another window or change significantly what is in the
currently displayed window, there is a noticable increase in volume
aabout a second or two afte the changer.

A hard drive of mine used to do exactly that, corrected for a while by a
sharp whack. The sound would also disappear when the case was off.
Turned out to be a faulty IDE connection.
Hope you're backed up. Argos are doing a nice little 40gb mp3 player for
£50 (Seagate hard drive) :-)

wrote in message
oups.com...
My PC (Dell Precision 370, about 14 months old) is emitting a high
pitched tone; I'd say between 8 and 12 KHz but that is a guess; that
guess based on recall of acoustic-coupler modems. Loud enough to be
annoying; hardly loud enough do much about.

It is not the (19 inch flat analogue, not CRT) screen and I have
isolated other items like USB disks.

Reluctantly, I switched the machine off and the noise disappeared. The
machine has been switched off only once before; not green, I agree, but
I don't like switching off critical machines.

A transformer or other power supply part?

There may be a momentary slight modulation of the sound when the screen
changes, hence the initial suspicion of the screen.

Laziness, I agree, but I'm putting off dismantling everything and
opening up the box; and given the frequency, it will be difficult to
pinpoint anyway.

TIA,

Jon C.


I've been in IT for years now and something like this could be too numerous
things to mention and not really worth speculating about - certainly not
without seeing it.

It really is process of elimination, starting with the easiest most obvious
things. The casing, for example can vibrate, especially if something is
touching it. Electrical interference. The fan, etc, etc.

I visited one user recently who had logged a call saying her mouse wasn't
working. After noticing no lights or display on her PC it quickly turned out
it simply needed switching on! I'm not implying for one minute you are of
the same callibre, but some faults aren't always what they seem.

RedOnRed wrote:
wrote in message
oups.com...
My PC (Dell Precision 370, about 14 months old) is emitting a high
pitched tone; I'd say between 8 and 12 KHz but that is a guess; that
guess based on recall of acoustic-coupler modems. Loud enough to be
annoying; hardly loud enough do much about.
[...]
I've been in IT for years now and something like this could be too numerous
things to mention and not really worth speculating about - certainly not
without seeing it.

It really is process of elimination, starting with the easiest most obvious
things. The casing, for example can vibrate, especially if something is
touching it. Electrical interference. The fan, etc, etc.

I visited one user recently who had logged a call saying her mouse wasn't
working. After noticing no lights or display on her PC it quickly turned out
it simply needed switching on! I'm not implying for one minute you are of
the same callibre, but some faults aren't always what they seem.

Thanks. And to everyone else. And apologies for earlier taking on an
attitute unbecoming of someone looking for help. I agree also that
there is no place for an assertion "it couldn't be X" until that has
been clearly proven.

When (and if) I ever locate the problem, I'll report back. Because of
the frequency, I (now) know I'm going to need a device like a
stethoscope to locate the sound. The quick rummage last night with the
case open revealed nothing because, as reported, I could hear nothing,
so there was little point in disconnecting anything.

In addition, given the list of DIY jobs to do around this house, it may
have to get a lot louder

I am backed up --- /and/ the viability of the backup has been verified
(well worth a thought).

Best regards,

Jon C.