Humming

epricot · 03-25-2009, 12:03 PM

I'm not sure if I have this question posted in the right support section. I am very ignorant in the whole IT field, and so have truly no idea how to categorize my question.

Here's my problem:

I have been using my Dell Inspiron 6400 for almost three years now. So far, it has been serving me very well. One thing I really like is how quiet it is. Granted, there is the gentle humming in the background. But it came that way and is not disruptive at all, so it's all good.

Around two years ago my laptop started having occasional (once or twice every month, or less) weird little periods of very very loud humming. This would happen when I'm turning it on and it reaches the black page with the windows logo and the loading bar. It'd just be loading quietly and all of a sudden it'll start making this very loud humming sound - sort of like the kinds you hear with old desktops. This also sometimes happens when I start my computer after standby, or even in the middle my work.

Whenever this loud humming happens, everything on my laptop slows down a lot. My cursor moves less smoothly, all applications take a much longer time to load (if they load at all), and generally it becomes almost impossible to work. Usually I would be sort of worried that I hurt my laptop someway (by having it on too long, loading too many programs, something) and since the humming never goes away on its own, I'd shut my laptop down and restart it. (Shutting down the normal way often does not work - it loads so slowly it's just stuck there. I'd do it the manual way.) Usually that resolves the problem - the humming is gone after restarting. For the past two years it's been like that, on and off, now and then, humming, loud humming, shut down, restart.

I've let it stay like this so far. But in the past year this insane humming is getting a lot more frequent. It would happen from 7-8 times a month to sometimes 7-8 times per week. I really just want to know what is going on, and whether there is anything I need to fix - with the laptop, or my own computer-working habits. Except for the humming, my Inspiron is working perfectly. I would really appreciate it if someone could please tell me what is wrong with it.

Thank you in advance.

-Epricot

**TriggerFinger** · 03-25-2009, 12:16 PM

Hi Epricot,

My guess is the fan. If you hear the sound like during startup and occasionally during your 'use' time then it could be the fan. May be the bearing is worn out. Some use a program to show them the temperature of the laptop. At certain temps the fan will switch ON and times it will switch off. If you notice this switch ON/OFF of the fan and the humming coincides with it then it could be the fan bearing.

I would recommend a total replacement of the fan. Some suggest oiling it but I find that harmful because if you over do it, it may scatter the oil in the motherboard causing more problems.

epricot · 03-25-2009, 12:25 PM

Hey thanks for the prompt reply. I expected to get a reply some 12 hours later. O_o

Just to clarify. I understand how the fan may be the cause of the loud humming, but then will it affect my laptop's speed too? And if it does, will replacing the fan entirely deal with the problem, or is it related to my RAM card or something?

-Epricot

**TriggerFinger** · 03-25-2009, 01:50 PM

A failing fan may result in an overheating system. An overheating system may slow down or worse may shut off without warning. I cannot say if replacing it will solve the 'system is slow' problem but I am sure it is an obvious contributing factor.

I agree it could be your RAM too. You have to run Memtest86+ to know if it has some errors. IMO you should deal with the FAN first but then it's your choice.

epricot · 03-26-2009, 07:35 PM

Thank you for all the help. If it's not too much trouble, might you tell me where I can get a fan that will match my laptop? I have no idea whether these computer parts are universal or anything. Might I have to order online?

**TriggerFinger** · 03-26-2009, 08:21 PM

Another source of the humming could be the inverter or the hard drive. But I doubt if the inverter will cause a slow down. The hard drive may be. You need to run some tests on this too (use SeaTools or Hitachi DFT). As for the fan, you can try eBay.

http://shop.ebay.com/?_from=R40&_trk...piron+6400+fan

03-25-2009, 12:03 PM	#1 (permalink)
epricot Registered User Join Date: Mar 2009 Posts: 3 OS: Windows XP; Version 2002; Service Pack 3	Humming I'm not sure if I have this question posted in the right support section. I am very ignorant in the whole IT field, and so have truly no idea how to categorize my question. Here's my problem: I have been using my Dell Inspiron 6400 for almost three years now. So far, it has been serving me very well. One thing I really like is how quiet it is. Granted, there is the gentle humming in the background. But it came that way and is not disruptive at all, so it's all good. Around two years ago my laptop started having occasional (once or twice every month, or less) weird little periods of very very loud humming. This would happen when I'm turning it on and it reaches the black page with the windows logo and the loading bar. It'd just be loading quietly and all of a sudden it'll start making this very loud humming sound - sort of like the kinds you hear with old desktops. This also sometimes happens when I start my computer after standby, or even in the middle my work. Whenever this loud humming happens, everything on my laptop slows down a lot. My cursor moves less smoothly, all applications take a much longer time to load (if they load at all), and generally it becomes almost impossible to work. Usually I would be sort of worried that I hurt my laptop someway (by having it on too long, loading too many programs, something) and since the humming never goes away on its own, I'd shut my laptop down and restart it. (Shutting down the normal way often does not work - it loads so slowly it's just stuck there. I'd do it the manual way.) Usually that resolves the problem - the humming is gone after restarting. For the past two years it's been like that, on and off, now and then, humming, loud humming, shut down, restart. I've let it stay like this so far. But in the past year this insane humming is getting a lot more frequent. It would happen from 7-8 times a month to sometimes 7-8 times per week. I really just want to know what is going on, and whether there is anything I need to fix - with the laptop, or my own computer-working habits. Except for the humming, my Inspiron is working perfectly. I would really appreciate it if someone could please tell me what is wrong with it. Thank you in advance. -Epricot

03-25-2009, 12:16 PM	#2 (permalink)
TriggerFinger Moderator Hardware Team Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: USA Posts: 11,841 OS: Vista SP1, XP SP3, PCLinuxOS2007	Re: Humming Hi Epricot, My guess is the fan. If you hear the sound like during startup and occasionally during your 'use' time then it could be the fan. May be the bearing is worn out. Some use a program to show them the temperature of the laptop. At certain temps the fan will switch ON and times it will switch off. If you notice this switch ON/OFF of the fan and the humming coincides with it then it could be the fan bearing. I would recommend a total replacement of the fan. Some suggest oiling it but I find that harmful because if you over do it, it may scatter the oil in the motherboard causing more problems. __________________ DBAN - Memtest86+ - BartPE - Linux LiveCD - ImgBurn - HDD Diags - Disk Copy HOW TO BURN AN ISO FILE

03-25-2009, 12:25 PM	#3 (permalink)
epricot Registered User Join Date: Mar 2009 Posts: 3 OS: Windows XP; Version 2002; Service Pack 3	Re: Humming Hey thanks for the prompt reply. I expected to get a reply some 12 hours later. O_o Just to clarify. I understand how the fan may be the cause of the loud humming, but then will it affect my laptop's speed too? And if it does, will replacing the fan entirely deal with the problem, or is it related to my RAM card or something? -Epricot

03-25-2009, 01:50 PM	#4 (permalink)
TriggerFinger Moderator Hardware Team Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: USA Posts: 11,841 OS: Vista SP1, XP SP3, PCLinuxOS2007	Re: Humming A failing fan may result in an overheating system. An overheating system may slow down or worse may shut off without warning. I cannot say if replacing it will solve the 'system is slow' problem but I am sure it is an obvious contributing factor. I agree it could be your RAM too. You have to run Memtest86+ to know if it has some errors. IMO you should deal with the FAN first but then it's your choice. __________________ DBAN - Memtest86+ - BartPE - Linux LiveCD - ImgBurn - HDD Diags - Disk Copy HOW TO BURN AN ISO FILE Last edited by TriggerFinger; 03-26-2009 at 08:15 PM.

03-26-2009, 07:35 PM	#5 (permalink)
epricot Registered User Join Date: Mar 2009 Posts: 3 OS: Windows XP; Version 2002; Service Pack 3	Re: Humming Thank you for all the help. If it's not too much trouble, might you tell me where I can get a fan that will match my laptop? I have no idea whether these computer parts are universal or anything. Might I have to order online?

03-26-2009, 08:21 PM	#6 (permalink)
TriggerFinger Moderator Hardware Team Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: USA Posts: 11,841 OS: Vista SP1, XP SP3, PCLinuxOS2007	Re: Humming Another source of the humming could be the inverter or the hard drive. But I doubt if the inverter will cause a slow down. The hard drive may be. You need to run some tests on this too (use SeaTools or Hitachi DFT). As for the fan, you can try eBay. http://shop.ebay.com/?_from=R40&_trk...piron+6400+fan __________________ DBAN - Memtest86+ - BartPE - Linux LiveCD - ImgBurn - HDD Diags - Disk Copy HOW TO BURN AN ISO FILE