PC makes very strange noise, and freezes

[MattMayhem]

Okay, so I was helping a friend of mine with this PC problem he was having with this older PC he got from someone.

He got it for free, and the guy he got it from says he used it to play WoW, so my friend figured "Hey, it plays wow, and it's free, sounds good"

I'm only asking about it, because my friend was curious, and I agreed to help him.

These are the specs I know:
Mobo: Gigabyte GA-M68M-S2P
RAM: 4GB 800Mhz (unknown brand)
CPU: AMD Athlon II 2.8Ghz
GPU: Geforce 9500 GT

Here's the problem, and honestly, I've never experienced this before.

So, when put under stress, the system will start making this STRANGE noise, and then completely freeze up, sometimes for a few minutes, other times it needs to be hard rebooted to fix it.

It doesn't happen while browsing the internet and such, ONLY when playing games.

The noise it makes is not like any one I've ever heard. It's like this super strange, musical melody. It kinda, ALMOST sounds like a POST speaker (Which I'm assuming it is), but the noise is very recognizable as a melody. It literally starts off low, and gradually gets higher tone before starting over.

It almost sounds like some sort of static, 8-bit, dubstep music.

It plays this sound like 2 or 3 times, then stops. then a few minutes later, will do the same thing.

All the time, it's frozen completely, no ctrl+alt+del will help, nothing, totally frozen.

My guess is the HDD, because it's old, and the HDD is a "Maxtor" HDD (Which I had never heard of til I saw it). and I believe the PC is pretty old, like at least 7 years old.

Summary:

-PC is old, im guessing like at least 7 years
-PC plays a weird, 8-bit, static, dubstep sounding tone about 2 or 3 times
-Whole system freezes
-Tone will replay after a few minutes of being frozen.
-System ONLY does this when put under stress, like playing intensive games for example. (System does not do this when playing really non-intensive things, like internet browsing, or non-intensive games)

 

[rhysiam]

With the side panel off can you determine where the sound is actually coming from?

If it's difficult to tell, try disconnecting the PC speaker (if you can) as that will tell you whether it's that speaker at least.

If it's the PC speaker itself, then it sounds like some sort of motherboard warning/error message - though they're always a series of beeps... not musical at all.

Dying HDDs can make very sick noises, so is it the HDD? (But musical?)
Coil whine from the PSU or GPU is also possible... but that tends to be whine rather than musical (though the pitch can change with load... so it's not impossible).

Anyway, given that the noise seems to align with the issue (it freezes), finding the source of the noise probably points you to the problem component. If it's a warning beep from the motherboard speaker then it could be indicating other components. But otherwise (if it's PSU, GPU or HDD), then you've likely identified your problem component.

 

[MattMayhem]

With the side panel off can you determine where the sound is actually coming from?

If it's difficult to tell, try disconnecting the PC speaker (if you can) as that will tell you whether it's that speaker at least.

If it's the PC speaker itself, then it sounds like some sort of motherboard warning/error message - though they're always a series of beeps... not musical at all.

Dying HDDs can make very sick noises, so is it the HDD? (But musical?)
Coil whine from the PSU or GPU is also possible... but that tends to be whine rather than musical (though the pitch can change with load... so it's not impossible).

Anyway, given that the noise seems to align with the issue (it freezes), finding the source of the noise probably points you to the problem component. If it's a warning beep from the motherboard speaker then it could be indicating other components. But otherwise (if it's PSU, GPU or HDD), then you've likely identified your problem component.

Yes, that was my first choice, I took the side panel off, checked all the fans (It only has like 2 case fans, the HSF and then the GPU fan) definitely not those. The noise definitely seems to originate from the front of the case, as if from the HDD or optical drive (Both of which are quite nearby each other).

I tried looking for a PC speaker but couldn't find it, and I've never installed or uninstalled one, so I had no idea what connections they use for PC speakers on a mobo. IF it was a PC speaker, it seems to be hidden towards the front panel of the case.

And like I said, it is distinctly musical. I even had my roommate come over & listen to it, and he laughed hysterically and asked 'Why does this computer beatbox?" it doesn't seem to be a normal whine, as it's very very consistent, it builds in its tone, and then drops immediately back down, only to build in tone again.

My question now would be, what ports would a PC speaker use, so I can see if one is plugged into it?

Otherwise I'm assuming it's the HDD, as it specifically freezes when the noise is made, and the sound comes from the front, right around where the HDD sits.

I would have guessed GPU originally, however, it's a stock GPU setup, and the noise just doesn't seem like it matches the load being pushed on the GPU. As it dies down, and then comes back, meanwhile the PC is frozen, and the GPU fan doesn't seem to speed up at all when it's frozen.