What is this sound coming from my computer? (sound file)

[orero]

Hi guys, over the past couple of weeks I've noticed some unusual sounds, I'm not sure I can even separate them but everything seems louder, it sounds like the hard drive is working overtime for no reason, sometimes it sounds as if one of the fans stops working for a split second and most disconcerting, there are faint printer like sounds - clicking and squeeky sounds. No other problems, just these sounds. It's not really rhythmic and when I try to locate the origin, it actually seems to come from the opposite side of where the hard drive is but I'm not sure. Mind taking a listen? It's pretty faint but you can hear it near the end.

http://vocaroo.com/i/s0PZqo0wYdCi

I unplugged my graphics cards and the sounds where still there so I know it's not that.

edit: uploaded a better sound file with the fan faltering sound at around 6 seconds in.

 

[FuzzyRedFox]

My guess is that its probably a fan. Especially since u said the sound was coming from opposite your hard drive. You can open up the casing, turn it on and see if u can spot anything when you start to hear it. If you find it is a fan, you can get it replaced very easily and it doesn't cost much to do so.

 

[orero]

Thank you for the reply! I got my dad to come check it, he said immediately it was the power supply making noises and it turns out the PSU fan is spinning too slowly. I'll check into it more closely later and post updates if necessary.

 

[FuzzyRedFox]

ok. good luck. ^^

 

[orero]

How embarrassing, it turns out the power supply was installed upside down with the fan pointing towards the bottom. Cleaning with a leaf blower and installing right side up stopped the noises.