computer problem

[ashbrear]

need help or info computer sounds like a vacum cleaner is
on all the time also it has gone very slow this has only just
started today and the noise is driving me nuts,anyone know
what could be causing this?

[PixelMonkey]

Hi,

Noise could be something as simple as a very dirty cpu fan or psu fan. Have you opened your tower case to have a look?

Cpu temp usually increases with a cloged/ dirty fan, if so give it or them a real good clean.

PC running slow, sounds like it needs a scan for spyware infections etc, also delete internet history and your temp folder under local settings.

Let us know how you get on.

[Frenchfarmer]

CPU fan dirty also makes them go slow.
If you are using Windows XP home edition it deteriorates after three years or so and makes your PC really slow. It needs to be reinstalled from the cd before it stops altogether.
I'd get the vacuum cleaner out and put the hairy brush attatchment on it and give the fan inside a good sook first but.
Don't forget to shut it down and turn it off at the back or pull the mains first.

[Sizer]

Defrag can help with speed sometimes as well as all of the above. Personally Id wipe it and start again, I do it almost yearly...well did until i bought a macbook pro.

[Livewire Frontera]

best resource i've found for software for windows is a site called http://www.download.com the best software i swear by fo spyware is a program called spybot search and destroy i've used it for years with no problems as long as you keep it updated also a lot of toolbars are classed as spyware as they keep a secret log of your browsing habits and provide popups in relation to them also popups that tell you that your machine is infected are to be ignored as they contain what they call malware and when you download and scan and then try to repair nice little window pops up telling you to pay $99 to get the cleaning part when its the software itself that IS the malware.... also what the other guys have said would maybe help too especially the noisy fan stuff hope this helps

Lee

[john (smifffy)]

if you press all these 3 buttons at the same time Ctrl+ALT+DEL it will open windows task master and will let you know how much of the CPU is being used

[Livewire Frontera]

as i mentioned before the site i posted there is a program called process explorer its a hell of a lot better than task manager and can even be configured to replace it like i have it gives you so much in depth detail about whats running the creator of the stuff thats running how much resources it takes up and everything give it a go you can't lose

[adyclemo]

The noise is more than likely down to a fan. Remove the side of the case and give it a good dust out paying perticular attention to the CPU heat sink and fan assembley do not use a hoover as this causes static and the components do not like this. Also it could a bearing drying up on a fan.

The slowness could be down to many problems eg overheating, a fault with memory/hard drive/mainboard etc or a software issue.

The easiest to do is the dusting out. If the machine is overheating the CPU will throttle itself to prevent damage while the mainboard will be running the CPU fan at full trying to bring the temperature down.

Get yourself to Maplins, Pc World or an independent dealer for a can of compressed air or if you have a low pressure compressor you can use that (the hobby type, the others contain oil), just do not use a hoover.

If this dosent solve the problem then you will need to look further into it, noise im not to concerned about at the moment. A memory paging issue, bad sectors on a hard drive, main board controller fault etc can all cause a machine to run slow, download and burn to a cd Hirens Boot CD http://www.hirensbootcd.net/download.html of which has some very good hardware testing utilities and is bootable so you dont need to run windows to use it.

If all else fails and hardware tests ok then wipe windows and start again, this should be last resort really as you will loose all data on the machine unless you have a back up.

[james'll fix it]

xp has a file called prefetch

this holds all progs you opened, loads part on start up so progs open quicker (allegedly)

delete the contents of prefetch and see how it goes.

google prefetch for more info.

[domino]

I'd put money on it being the PSU's fan

The bearings tend to go in them making them noisy and being gunked up doesn't help.

[actung]

pcs suck in air..dust included (make sure no open slots on rear)
or hard disks on its way out
- depending on what noise

but open it up and use a clean paint brush and a hoover
done the girls pc recently and wouldnt even know its switched on now lol

[ashbrear]

i would like to say a big thankyou to all members for the input
on my computer prob,it was the hard drive that is on its way out
so a friend put all our stuff on to dvd and cleared all the cr-p off
but he managed to wipe the modem thingy off aswell but it is all
sorted now and am glad to say i am back on line as of now bet keith
wont be happy so we are going to get a new hard drive soon
so thanks again to one and all.

ash.

[Frenchfarmer]

as i mentioned before the site i posted there is a program called process explorer its a hell of a lot better than task manager and can even be configured to replace it like i have it gives you so much in depth detail about whats running the creator of the stuff thats running how much resources it takes up and everything give it a go you can't lose

Belarc Advisor takes 10secs to download then you can see everything on your PC including which security fixes have worked & which haven't.
http://www.belarc.com/free_download.html