Sorry in advance for the tedious nature of this problem but I’ve reached the limit of my IT knowledge.

Old Dell Dimension 3100 Pentium4 with 2 x 3GHz CPU and 2 GB Ram.

All running fine for ages, kept tidy with defrag, updates etc.

Problem as follows:

After running for an hour or so it starts making a fairly high pitched noise that gets louder and louder until a few bleeps come from deep inside and it just about locks up, can’t task manager or anything so just have to power off. Switch it back on and all fine.

My guess was the fan, so opened it up and vacuumed out all the dust, checked fan spinning freely, CPU heat sink and vents all free of dust, same problem remains.

Could it be the power supply on the way out?

Any suggestions as to what to do cos I could do without having to replace this at the moment and it’s ideal for what I use it for.

Cheers in advance

PL

you can get software to show you the temperatures of all the important bits, might show something

(not sure what happens if one of you sensors is playing up)

Have you checked that the fan actually spins ?

Have you checked that the fan actually spins ?

as in, under power rather than just that it’s not jammed

How about the processor heatsink is loose – lift off, check there’s some of that jizz still there and replace nice and snugly

(I know SFA about this, by the way)

(I know SFA about this, by the way)

Not at all, ‘s all good.

Tracking down the source of the noise would be good. Take the case off next time it does it, see if you can isolate where it’s coming from.

note the sequence of beeps and google bios beep codes.

also, remove and remount your RAM sticks, they can move with heat/cool cycle and cause loose connections.

note the sequence of beeps and google bios beep codes.

Doesn’t sound like POST failure, it happens when running.

also, remove and remount your RAM sticks, they can move with heat/cool cycle and cause loose connections.

“Thermal creep.” Probably not the cause, but always worth checking. Generally making sure everything is plugged in together is a good idea.

Sounds like the fans are clogged up with dust sometimes a good low out with some compressed air cans will do the trick.

well shut my gob for suggesting a solution.

thanks for your constructive input cougar.

Are you new to this here ‘discussion’ concept? Bouncing ideas off each other is a good thing, usually.

Appreciate the help chaps…feedback as follows:

CPU and power supply fans both spin under own power when pc is on, quiet as well.

How about the processor heatsink is loose – lift off, check there’s some of that jizz still there and replace nice and snugly

Now thats an interesting one. In order to clean out the big CPU fan I had to remove a plastic shroud that goes around the heat sink and the two items came away together, exposing the CPU chip covered in a thin layer of ‘gunk’. Once all dust cleaned out, I put it all back together and the heat sink is firmly in place…but could it require some more of said gunk to make sure heat is tranferred from CPU, if so what is it and where from?

I’ve removed replaced the memory, as suggested.

Just to clarify..the bleeping noise just prior to failure doesn’t sound like a diagnostic code emitted from a sound card, the best way I can describe it is a bit like a fax machine…only happens for a few seconds deep inside the machine, then locks up.

So not sure if problem is fixed yet cos like I say, it runs fine for an hour or so before going tits up.

I will report back.

White gunk is heat sink compounds, and helps conduct heat from the hot bit to the cold bit. May dry out, and not work as well when you reassemble it. Get some from maplin or Ebay. Just a very thin layer is all you need, and clean the old stuff off first.
Edit: (Not sure if this is the problem, if it runs for an hour before failure. The processor normally gets too hot pretty quickly if not being cooled, but it may just be on the edge.)

Not sure if this will help, but at uni I had a pc that started overheating & shutting down. It was right around the time I was working on my dissertation & couldn’t be without it. So I bought a cheap desk fan, opened the case & had that blowing into the case whenever the pc was on. It was fine like that & I just used it like that until the time was more convenient to repair it.

If you don’t get to the bottom of it, then perhaps that would be worth a try?

1 hr sounds like quite a long time for an overheating issue. Must be a very gradual temp rise. Are you sure it’s not some kind of virus/bug thing?

clean the old stuff off first.

It’s awful stuff to get rid of, too. I bought some specialised citrusy cleaner (calls itself “TIM cleaner” or similar) and it makes a crappy job a hell of a lot easier. Recommended.

your post didn’t seem like a discussion, more a pissing on of suggestions, with no original solutions of your own to add

Mia culpa, I didn’t realise it was a competition.

I’ve no intention of “pissing” on anything. I thought your first part was a misdiagnosis (which the OP has subsequently confirmed) and agreed that your second point, whilst probably not causal, was worth checking. Whilst not “original,” don’t you think that it’s nonetheless constructive to help the OP decide where he should be prioritising his efforts?

In a group discussion, consensus adds weight to suggestions, and vice versa with disagreement. If you don’t see any value to that, well, that’s something else we’ll have to disagree on. Sorry.

the best way I can describe it is a bit like a fax machine.

Is it definitely electronic, or could it be mechanical?

Best guess, maybe the HDD overheating? Corrupted disk or some particularly write-happy software? These things can sound surprising sometimes.

Alternatively, chuck it and buy a new shiny one…