ComputerBB

OK, this is a weird one. I have an Athlon XP processor with 512 mb of ram which I built myself.

I'm running XP pro.

The problem I am having is that whenever I SCROLL through anything, there's a weird static-type noise coming from my case.

It's very low if I'm scrolling through Word or Outlook Express, but it's of medium volume if I am scrolling through a Web page with Firefox. It's very loud when I scroll with IE.

Some Web pages are louder than others. For example, scrolling through the top frame of http://www.recpoker.com makes a much louder noise than scrolling through say cnn.com, though you can hear it there also. It's failry loud scrolling through this page with IE.

It doesn't matter if I use the mouse wheel or arrow keys or click the scroll arrows to scroll.

I opened the case and listened to it and it seems to be coming from my power supply, although it could be the motherboard, I am not sure. It's a static-type noise that sounds a bit like the computer processing when it is busy, but it's slightly different.

Any ideas on what it can be?

Good chance it is your power supply.

You said you have an Athlon XP processor, which one?
How big, and how old is the power supply?
How many devices are plugged into in?

Check this out. Your voltages should be +12v, +5v, +3.3v and CPu voltage should be close to 1.65

Doesn't make sense that it only makes "the noise" when you scroll thru a webpage tho. It doesn't do it when you play games, or put the processor under a load.. in general?

Might also want to check all the screws that hold everything inplace to make sure they are tight, and you don't just a have a high freqeuncy vibration going on. (HDD, CD-Rom, motherboard, PSU, etc.)

You're right, it does make the noise whenever I do anything to tax the processor. It was just more noticeable when scrolling but now I realize it happens at other times.

My processor is an Athlon XP 2200+.

The power supply is 17 months old. I'm not sure of its specs or what is attached to it, but I have a DVD drive, CD-R drive, 2 hdds, floppy, video card and 6 USBs if that's what you were asking.

I guess I need a new power supply. My motherboard is a Gigabyte, I'm not sure which model -- how do I find that out for the program you sent me?

Take the side off your case and look at the output wattage on the power supply (should be a sticker on the visible side of the power supply). I wouldnt' recommend anything smaller than 350watts as minimum. You have 5 things plugged into the current PSU, that's average. Just make sure you don't have both HDD's fed from the same line from the PSU. (if both HDDs spin up at the same time, it could be a power hog.. and a huge drain on the PSU)

The make of the motherboard isn't important at this point. The things your need to look at are the output voltages (under load) and double check all the screws. I think something is just loose inside you case, or inside your power supply itself., and is vibrating.

I opened the case and it is 400w.

The voltages you talked about are about right at least according to dashboard.

What is interesting is that I left my computer off all night (I almost never turn it off), and this morning the case temp was at 80, no weird noise, and it didnt start making the weird noise until the case temp got to 90. Last night the case temp was at 100 and it was really loud.

Could it be related or is it just a coincidence?

The cpu temp has been steady at 177.... though that seems hot

Umm, Yeah.. that's really warm for an Xp2200+! What is the ambient temperature of the room the comp is, or outside temp? Do you have any case fans?

My comp is sitting at

CPU = 53*c/127*f (room temp is 79*f)
Mobo = 32*c/89*f

If your computer is running that warm, the whole problem could be heat/temp related.

By the way, 400W power supply should run everything you have hooked up, and then some.

What are your CPU settings in BIOS? Your freqeuncy should be 133mhz and your multiplier should be 13.5.. Is it?

Maybe your computer is just messed up, but i have a P2 Compaq and whenever it did anything that intensly used the processor, which is anything for a P2, it made a noise. I konw it not hte fan becuase a fan doesn't sound like that noise. Is it sorta like beeps, but in a funny way? If it is its probably nothing to worry about, since my Compaq has done it for years without trouble.

i have the exact same problem! im glad i finally found someone who describes it like i do, i was searching on google for weeks!! the noise is a grinding type of noise.. its very hard to explain and it is NOT the processor loading stuff, its slightly different.. maybe more of a high-pitched noise then your common processor load noise. i have replaced my graphics card with the same graphics card, i have a geforce fx 5900 and i first decided that the graphics card was the problem. after replacing it, it did the exact same thing. so then i put in an older graphics card, geforce 2mx 400/400. it worked fine. i have concluded that it is the power supply from this basic data.. i havent gotten around to replacing it yet but i will keep you guys updated with the results!

If the power supply is a generic brand or if it came with a generic case then it is bad
If the power supply is light then it is bad
You want to buy heavy antec power supplies.

I have the same problem in my laptop! But the noise level is different. Firefox is totally silent but acrobat reader is very noisy. Most suprisingly, I hear it when I scroll in a Unix environment program!
I am also suspecting from the power supply because it disappears on battery but I can't imagine how.
My configuration is Pentium 4, XP Home.

Serkan

i hear a twinging noise somtimes from my case, like a zhewweeeeeeeeeee twiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiizwheeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee tweeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee, followed by a tweet tweet , and a cocka cocka, then finaly i hear a crockadoodle doooooo. never found out what it was.

I have the same problem with my system, I get that sort of russling noise coming from near the CPU when I scroll web pages, and is directly linked to CPU usage (animated flash ads are just great for keeping it going). I don't think it's my power supply because I've had it just a couple of months and was happily silently running my much more power hungry "three bar electric fire" 1.4gb thunderbird on essentially the same system. The only differences in my new set up: the mobo, processor, and RAM. The mobo I bought used via ebay and as long as I've had it, it has made the aforementioned noise. It's only become an annoyance since I've replaced the howler of a chipset fan with a passive Zalman heat sink. I've read somewhere on another post that the noise *might* be coming from loose windings on a torroid suppressor / choke. Those are the little donut components on circuit boards with copper loops around the donuts. If the core is loose varying current (such as a stream of binary) in its windings can induce vibrating movement in the metal core and cause it to rattle making the scratchy sound. The defective choke can *supposedly* be fixed with a dab of non conducting silcon glue to firmly connect core & windings, though I havn't tried it yet. At your own risk etc. Hope this helps! Laurence AMD Barton XP 3200+ 1GB Dual channel Crucial DDR400 Gigabyte 7N 400Pro2 Ultra Mobo RAID 0 (2 x Seagate Barracuda 120 7200) Radeon 9600XT AND a hot girlfriend

At work we've had to add dual display cards occassionally and afterwards we sometimes hear this same noise. The noise is not only from the case, but its from any attached speakers. Try disconnecting the speaker inside your case and see if it goes away. I think its just feedback coming from the graphics card. Another co-worker mentioned that installing a seperate sound card (if you're using an onboard card) as far away as possible from the video card may help. Hope that helps!

I have a similar issue with some MBs I repair in house here. If I use a curve tracer to test the cap that shunts excess current to ground, I get this noise emanating from either the video BGA or the controller BGA. This only happens in boards that have cold solder joints underneath those BGAs. Perhaps someone with a complete (cold) system could press down on these chips or their heatsinks and see if the noise goes away at this point. This noise does get louder the colder the board is. Cold solder joints seem to be the 2nd most common failure on MBs (desktop and laptop). The primary MB failure on desktops is leaky caps while the primary failure on laptops is bad DC Jacks or maybe bad RS232 controllers (shorted, dragging whole system down)

im having the same program what do u guys think i could do to fix this what can i try

I'm seeing same problem. I hear a terrible squealing/hissing noise and its definitely coming from the chokes by the CPU. (used a stethoscope to try to isolate the sound). Only hear the sound under heavy load/gaming. Here's the kicker, I don't have any problem until I install Catalyst 5.x All video drivers up to Cat. 4.12 do not cause this noise. Tried Cat. 5.2,5.3,5.4,5.5,5.7 and 5.8 and the noise in intolerable. Tried poking and prodding the choke(s) that are making the sound to no effect. For now I'll have to stick with the 4.12 drivers, but I really wish there was a fix for this. nForce 2 (Gigabyte 7N400 L), 1 gig PC2700 RAM, 2600 Barton. 128 MB 256 bit 9800 pro