A New Hum???
 

Greetings All,
There is a new sound emanating from my computer. I am almost positive it is coming from my power supply. Imagine a hum that sometimes dips in pitch and then returns to normal. Nothing has changed with my computer in quite a while (no new hardware, software, etc.) I am just wondering if a)this is something to worry about and if so b)what I need to do to fix the situation. Any thoughts, ideas, suggestions? Much appreciated.

You sure it's not your hard drive or cd drive? I have no idea what it could be if not either of those. Maybe your power supply is about to give out though.

Probably a fan on the way out. as the fans get older, the bearings wear down and they start making buzzing and rattling noises; eventually the fan will seize altogether.

While it is possible to replace a PSU fan, you're better off just to replace the PSU itself. There's some dangerous stuff in there and I really don't recommend opening it up unless you're able to identify what can hurt you and know how to handle it safely.

i agree with martian if you are sure its comming from the PSU. If it is old just replace it they shouldnt really make any noise except maybe a real low wurring sound from the fans. theres a good chance theres a ton of dust built up in there anyway and if a fan or something is going out all that dust could light on fire and burn pretty easy if it overheats without a fan working right.

It might be a hard drive. One of my hard drives does this and it's definitely one of the more annoying situations I've had to deal with in my entire life. You can test it out....unplug various parts of your computer and turn it on. Find what's doing it.

The Power Supply Unit (PSU) in a computer can easily develop hums that are not related to fans. PSU’s take 60 Hertz AC current (depending on the country you live in) and converting it into DC current. The components (diodes, coils, capacitors etc.) that handle the AC portion actually vibrate at the frequency of the current flowing through them because of the magnetic fields they generate. While not a very strong vibration most of the time, if a component is not properly soldered and physically insulated it can work its way loose and is often an indicator of potential failure. Bottom line, sounds like a good time to replace the Power Supply. You may also want to consider betting a slightly beefier PSU. If you have a 350 watt PSU consider getting a 400 watt PSU. The hum could be an indication that existing PSU is working harder than it was designed for.

Thank you kindly for hte help. My power supply situtation is kinda funky. Because I bought a Dell (a decision I regret to this day!) and their use of properity technology, I had to buy a third parties PSU. (Dell uses their own motherboards and you cant simply go to Best Buy and pick up a generic PSU). I wanted a ATI 9800 but my computer came with a 250w PSU so I had to buy this new PSU as the min spec for that card is 300w. Mine is 400w so I dont think that is the problem. I just think I need a new one according to the above posts. Thanks again