On Sat, 4 Mar 2006 20:17:31 -0600, JMB <[log in to unmask]> wrote:

snips follow here and there

>Okay, let me take a stab at this and give you some ideas.
>
>As I understand it, this is a physical noise from the computer and not
>from the speakers, right? 

It is internal to the PC.  The sound is analogous to a buzz or whiring and a fan either seizing up or spinning way to fast.

>
>You have disconnected all CD-rom devices and any spare hard drives and
>just have your boot hard drive connected. (While doing that, check each
>power plug (four pin plug) for any pins that are pushed back. A faulty
>connection can cause lots of trouble. Be sure to eliminate any other
>peripherials you don't need for checking out this problem (printers,
>scanners, etc.). You want a bare system (keyboard, mouse, monitor).
>

I disconnected every drive including the boot drive so the only things connected  were the video card, kb, mouse, and monitor.


>On the motherboard, you may find a small, black round object, about 1/2
>inches in diameter, with a tiny (1/16th - 1/32nd in.) hole in the
>center. This is a speaker. Some motherboards have them, some do not. Is
>the sound coming from the speaker? Test it during a noisy boot by
>putting your finger over the hole. If it deadens the sound, then it is
>something in the software/board that is causing the PC to generate the
>noise.
>

I'll check that.

>Capacitors were mentioned. While a motherboard make look good, there
>were problems with Electrolytic caps made since about 1999

The MB is 3 months old.  The caps look ok.

>
>Do you have a battery operated toy recorder with a microphone (the kind
>kids sing into - like a fischer-price or some other brand)? When you
>boot the computer, with the recorder going, run the microphone in a
>gride pattern around your computer (cover off) and as you go into
>certain areas you can make a verbal clue (shout A, B C) according to
>your own plan. When you play it back, listen for an increase in the
>noise sound and relate it to where the microphone was (between C & D).
>That should help you pinpoint the source. A toy recorder usually has a
>plastic case microphone so you can get really close to things without
>worrying about shorting anything out.

I don't have one but will look into obtaining one.  Good suggestion.

I'm starting to think it may be the fan on the video card, but I'm not sure how to check that out since the fins are virtually impossible to get at considering where the AGP slot is.  Also I don't have a spare to swap out.

Thanks for taking the time and offering some excellent suggestions.

Dan

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