need pc tech advice

[Verdandi]

My poor, old six year old PC has developed an alarming noise that has grown more alarming as time goes on, instead of going away as I kept telling it to. I'm hoping it's just a fan dying but know it could be much worse. I'm planning to take it to a local pc repair shop to have them diagnose the problem. I still use it; aside from the noise still works just fine, if slowly. (I have another, newer one that gets used for more difficult chores.)

My question is what do I need to do to secure it a bit before taking it in? Another member of my household uses its Microsoft Outlook for email, plus it has some passwords saved in IE and Firefox. I know I could backup the email and remove it all, and delete the passwords and clear the caches from the browsers...but that's such a hassle. Is it really necessary? If I just create a new login for the repair guys to use, will that most likely keep them from getting into the other stuff?

I realize that given enough skill, time, and effort people could get anything off of it regardless of what I do. I don't need Pentagon-level security, just reasonable security. Nothing on that PC will jeopardize anyone's personal or financial safety. At worst, it might permit some irritating mischief. Would giving them a new login to use be highly likely to prevent that mischief?

[Lothay]

Well, creating a new user and giving them limited access SOUNDS reasonably safe, but it really isn't. As long as they can look at the hard drive, they'll be able to get into files.

But, it is a reasonable precaution.

Odd noises are usually fans, but it COULD be hard drive problems. Before taking it in, open up the case and clear out any dust and clean out the fans. It might just solve the problem cheaply.

[mewkus]

If the sound is fairly consistant it's more than likely a fan. If it's a klunk klunk sound, those are usually your hard drive. A cheap and easy way to determine where the noise is comming from is to open up the computer and listen. If you have difficulties narrowing down where the sound is comming from, you can use a poor mans stethescope (any 15 inch wooden stick will work). Just place one end on the edge of the fan housing and press your ear against the other end. Then do the same on each of your hard drives. Don't forget to include listening to the little fan in your power supply.

Chassis fans are cheap to replace. If it's the power supply fan, it's prolly easiest/cheapest to just replace the power supply. If you're not comfortable swapping the fan yourself, you can just pull your hard drive off when you take the computer in and have the techs at the store replace the fan.

If it's your hard drive making the noise, then you'll want move that drive to the 2nd ide channel and get a new drive on your primary channel, then load up your op system and copy the files from your old drive to your new drive. Or make a back up of your existing disk, put in new drive, then restore from back up.

If you do take your system in with your hard drive still installed, find a tech store that will do test/diagnosis while you watch. If they don't let you watch while they fix, find a different repair shop. You're the one paying the money, it's your right to be paranoid.

[Kcalehc]

If the sound is fairly consistant it's more than likely a fan. If it's a klunk klunk sound, those are usually your hard drive. A cheap and easy way to determine where the noise is comming from is to open up the computer and listen. If you have difficulties narrowing down where the sound is comming from, you can use a poor mans stethescope (any 15 inch wooden stick will work). Just place one end on the edge of the fan housing and press your ear against the other end. Then do the same on each of your hard drives. Don't forget to include listening to the little fan in your power supply.

My preferred method of deciding which fan is making a noise; just stop each one briefly with your finger till the noise stops... works for me.

[KyrosKrane]

Heh, I do that too, but it can be painful. Sometimes I'll stick a pen or something in there to save my finger -- though I do risk the life of the pen. =)

[Verdandi]

Okay, I've resigned myself to the necessity of getting stuff off of there. I hadn't thought of insisting on them diagnosing it while I wait, however. I might shop around for somewhere that'll do that, instead. It sounds like it should be a very quick thing for them to figure out.

Thanks for all the help!!

Next question, if it is "just" a fan and I have it fixed or replaced, should they even need a login at all? As long as it's moving effectively and not making noise, it's fixed, right?

[Kcalehc]

If they turn it on, take off the case (either way round) and find out it's a fan; then yes, no need to log on at all. And it should take less than 10 minutes to fix if thats all it is.
Though I would take the advice above and take your case off yourself and give it a good dust out inside, that might just cure the problem straight off without any cost to yourself. (personnaly I use the vacuum cleaner; power off and earth the case first mind).

If it's a hard drive that becomes a little more complex, and will involve them logging on (unless you don't mind losing all the data you haven't backed up, in which case you can just pull the defective one out and destroy, then get another).

[KyrosKrane]

Um. I find vacuums to be a little extreme around PC's. They can generate enough power to literally suck some of the components off the motherboard if you hold it wrong.

Instead, buy a can of compressed air from your local computer store for about $3. Completely unplug your PC and place it on a table where you can see what you're doing. Weather permitting, you can even set it up outside (and if you've never opened and dusted your PC before, I strongly suggest this -- the amount of dust inside a PC is unbelievable). Open the side panels on both sides, and use the compressed air to blast away all the dust you can see.

Never tilt the can more than a few degrees from upright -- if you turn it sideways or upside down, the air will come out as a really frigid liquid which could damage your PC. Use short, repeated blasts, not long ones, for the same reason. Most bottles of compressed air will come with a long, bendy straw that you can use to point air in whatever direction you want without tilting the can. If yours doesn't, you can usually get the same effect with a plain drinking straw. The can of air will get really cold as you use it; this is normal.

Focus on the fans you see inside your PC. Make sure to blast the dust out as much as you can. Don't forget to hold the fan's fins in place and poke the straw between them to dust thoroughly. You'll also notice some fans on top of your PC's CPU (it will usually look like a monster block of metal rising off the motherboard with a fan on top); it's safe to dust both the fan and the metal block. Blow some air around your hard drives and CD or DVD drives, too; dust can accumulate in there. Finally, you can blow some air on the motherboard itself, but again, it's critical that you not tilt your can of air while doing this.

I strongly suggest you do this about once a year. Dust can really damage a PC by clogging the airflow inside the case, which can cause the PC to overheat. A good, clean PC will last you that much longer and usually run quieter too.

[Verdandi]

I forgot to mention that I've already opened and cleaned it. I did that for both of my machines a couple months ago. I didn't have canned air but I spent a long time outside with each of them carefully picking dust bunnies out of all the nooks and crannies. My fascinated niece helped me find them. I'm too timid to open anything other than the case itself, so I didn't open the fans up but did use a tweezers to get everything I could blow into reach. I'm sure there are still some bits in there but they're certainly not choked with dust. I'm no expert but I think I caught everything fan-like, including on the graphics card for my newer machine. That one had been overheating but got much better since (although it still overheats occasionally in hot, humid weather).

[Verdandi]

Ooh, ok, I found someone willing to diagnose it while I wait. Is a $30 diagnostic fee reasonable?

[KyrosKrane]

That's not so bad. A diagnosis will take 15-30 minutes, usually, unless you get a really smart tech who can nail it in five.

[Niami DenMother]

Compressed air is a godsend for things like this. It also is a lovely way to train small pets to stay away from certain things in computer-heavy households, as the "hiss" from the air gives them the idea it is "bad", and it's more equipment-friendly than a squirt bottle. (Of course, if you're 'Mum, you already manage to do a lovely queen Alien level of hiss, and you don't need the compressed air for the kitties.)

[Bumkus]

It also is a lovely way to train small pets to stay away from certain things in computer-heavy households

Does this work on small children, as well?

[Verdandi]

Okay, get this: I got it fixed, plus a new fan on my power supply at no cost, plus a can of air and a ream of paper, for a total of $33.50. Huzzah!

At first they thought it was the power supply fan. They didn't have any other power supplies that fit so they put a new fan on the one I had. The noise didn't go away. Then they figured out it was the fan on the graphics card. They didn't have any other comparable cards but did have a fan that'd work, so they just swapped the fans. So no charge on the power supply fan and a whopping $25 for the graphics card fan and labor. I don't know what happened to the $30 diagnostic fee because the remaining $8.50 is the air, paper, and tax. *shrugs* I do know that it's purring properly again, although with a different pitch that'll take some getting used to.

The guys were super friendly and helpful. The PC itself was out on the front desk where I could see it at all times. They helped me immediately, spending a good 45 minutes on it all told, during which many of my inane questions about my pc's innards were answered while one of them was rummaging around in their supplies for parts. Oh yea, and then one of them carried it out to my car for me.

Yay!! Thanks again for all the help!!