[SOLVED] Rattling sound for a short time

[Nonkii]

When I startup my pc, it starts making a rattling sound for about 30 seconds,then it stops.I started happening yetsterday.I also had a power surge/outage yesterday.Can somebody tell me what the problem might be?

 

[PC Tailor]

Welcome to the forums my friend!

Please post your entire system spec including PSU make and model.
Has the rattling only occurred since the power outage?
Are there any other problems at all?

First step would be to open the side panel and find out where the rattling is coming from. After power outages/surges, the PSUs are usually the first to misbehave. Especially if they are poor quality PSUs.

 

[Nonkii]

Welcome to the forums my friend!

Please post your entire system spec including PSU make and model.
Has the rattling only occurred since the power outage?
Are there any other problems at all?

First step would be to open the side panel and find out where the rattling is coming from. After power outages/surges, the PSUs are usually the first to misbehave. Especially if they are poor quality PSUs.

Yup,it only occured since the outage.It is coming from the fan on the motherboard.Also,I gently hit that part and the sound stopped.

 

[PC Tailor]

Yup,it only occured since the outage.It is coming from the fan on the motherboard.Also,I gently hit that part and the sound stopped.

Are you referring to the CPU fan? If so it could well just be a bearing for example. If it is the whole unit rattling, you may want to check the cooler is secure to the MB.

Obviously also assuming there are no cables or anything blocking the fan at all.
And do you mean the problem has been solved? Or is it occuring every time you boot up?

 

[Nonkii]

Every time I boot up for about.The sound is 30-40 seconds.

 

[Nonkii]

Every time I boot up for about.The sound is 30-40 seconds.

I said that wrong,Everytime I boot up.And the sound stays there for 30-40 seconds.

 

[USAFRet]

Not merging due to the number of replies in each, but the preamble to this problem...

Question - Fan making rattling noises at startup.

So today I turned on my pc and I just hear rattling noises on startup.Im pretty sure they went away by time when the pc was turning on.It only happened once.Tried it twice and didnt hear anything.I really didnt know if it was the fan or another component.Any answer would be appreciated.

forums.tomshardware.com

 

[Nonkii]

That was mines.Well,the cpu fan is making rattling noises on startup for about 20-30 seconds.So the 6th time I turned on my pc I just gently hit it and the sound stopped.If hit it again the sound continues

 

[PC Tailor]

If you've ensured that the fan is completely clear from obstruction, it is fully secure, and the fan is working normally otherwise, then it sounds like it could just be a bearing as it starts up.

May be worth checking if the fan is easy to move by hand when the PC is off, but otherwise if it is working normally otherwise, I wouldn't worry.

 

[USAFRet]

Yeah, that was my thought....bad fan bearings.

 

[Nonkii]

Yeah, that was my thought....bad fan bearings.

Question,what are fan bearings?

 

[PC Tailor]

Question,what are fan bearings?

At it's simplest form, they are the small mechanism within a fan that actually allows the fan to rotate.

They sit inside the fan itself as such:

 

[Nonkii]

Thanks.Going to move it somewhere else and open it and see if thats the problem.

 

[Nonkii]

BTW.Can a surge protector help?

 

[CountMike]

BTW.Can a surge protector help?

No, not fans.

 

[Paperdoc]

Maybe a larger explanation. Over time the bearings of any fan wear out. That is, the clearance between the fan shaft and the circular sleeve around it get wider. This clearance changes slightly as the bearing temperature changes, and is loosest when the system is cold.

On a new fan the clearance is so small you hear nothing unusual. When the bearings wear down enough, what happens first is that, on a cold start-up, the shaft rattles around in its bearing sleeve for a few seconds - may be a minute - until they warm up and the clearance decreases, and then the rattling action stops and it stays quiet. Even if you re-start with a warm fan, this noise does not happen. It only happens again when you start from cold. As time goes on and the wear continues, this noise on cold start-up lasts longer before it goes away. Eventually it never stops and the fan is always noisy. After that it's only a matter of time until the fan stalls completely and cannot run.

So, you do not have an immediate problem. And no, surge protectors and other stuff will do nothing for you., This is strictly a mechanical wearing out of parts and the only solution is to replace the fan. When? Not needed when this first happens. But as it gets to longer noisy periods on cold start-ups, be prepared to buy a new fan and replace it.

Which fan? Sometimes you can tell if you open the case after the system is cold and start up. Sometimes it is not obvious. But you can do a little test. Start up cold so you have the noise. Use your finger or a pencil with an eraser. Reach in and, one at a time, stop each fan for a moment, then let it go. You will find out which is the noisy worn fan.

IF the noisy one is the one cooling your CPU, on many cooler devices the fan can be removed from the heatsink and replaced without ever having to remove / replace the entire CPU cooler system. If you do that, be sure to get a fan designed for high air pressure uses. If you can identify the old fan and look up its specs, get one that can deliver the same or better air flow at comparable backpressures.