"Phew"

  • Thread starter Thread starter John
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J

John

That's what it sounds like - "Phew", sort-of like the last syllable in
''Peppi-le-Pue".

I recently upgraded from W 98 to WIN XP.
Hardware-wise, my computer handles it great (actually, software-wise also).

Every so often, I heard a funny sound something like "phew". It seemed to come
from the CPU (the little speaker that beeps on boot-up and also when using a
modem to dial).
To make sure, I turned off the speakers on my desk.
Then I realized it happened some time after booting up the computer. I started
timing it: the first few times it happened ten minutes after boot-up; then a
few times five minutes after boot-up.
Then, I just left the desk-top sitting there (didn't load any programs).
Again, after 5 minutes "phew".

If someone else told me this was happening to her/him, I would probably shake my
head a few times. However, believe me, it _is_ happening.

Any ideas? (Please don't tell me I'm certifiable - also I haven't been smoking
(anything) or drinking).

Thanks!

John <><

A wise monkey is a monkey who doesn't monkey
with an other monkey's monkey.
 
That's what it sounds like - "Phew", sort-of like the last syllable in
''Peppi-le-Pue".
Click to expand...
In addition to the information provided in my original post, also this:

I use both the Windows XP firewall, as well as the one provided as part of my
router.
I have run Ad-Aware and Spybot S&D (both with the latest definition files).
There is no indication of any "nasty's" on my computer.

John <><

A wise monkey is a monkey who doesn't monkey
with an other monkey's monkey.
 
I suggest you look into the hardware group at microsoft.public.windowsxp.hardware

Mention to them if you have recently been inside the pc case, if you have made recent hardware changes.
How old this pc & processor are.
If you are savvy .... open up the case so that you can visually seen what happens when it is powered up.
Make sure all the fans are running, and that pc is not overheating.
Good luck.
 
I heard/saw something like this once, a very long time ago, when I was doing
T.V. repair. It turned out to be an electrolytic capacitor that was over
heating, had split the case and was off gassing. The capacitor went totally
bad within a couple of hours.

Look closely at all of the devices on your M/B for any cylindrical objects
(capacitors/condensers) that look distorted, bulged, split, leaking/oozing
etc. This was a very common problem with some M/B manufacturers a year or so
back. They had received faulty capacitors from a certain vender that was not
using approved materials in their manufacturing process.

--
Regards,

Richard Urban
Microsoft MVP Windows Shell/User

Quote from: George Ankner
"If you knew as much as you think you know,
You would realize that you don't know what you thought you knew!"
 
John,
If the sound was more a whir, rather than a phew (depending on your hearing :) ).... check to see if you left a CD in its drive.
 
My computer does something similar. The sound is very faint, almost as if
coming from outdoors. I thought it was a kids' taunting sound (Nyaaah -
nyaaah) until I realised it was coming from my computer. It occurs every few
minutes whether the computer is doing any active tasks or not and does not
seem to be coming from the speaker.

I suppose it's just some occasional faint mechanical sound from the power
supply or the HDD or something. I don't worry about it, although I am a bit
miffed to hear my computer apparently 'sneering' at me!

John
 
John, do you have a Seagate HD? I have noticed these drives sometimes make that 'phew' noise under certain 'access' conditions. It's
faint, but there!

Vic
___
 
John, do you have a Seagate HD? I have noticed these drives sometimes make that 'phew' noise under certain 'access' conditions. It's
faint, but there!

Vic
Click to expand...

I have read the above suggestions, but have not yet had the time to open up the
case.
A few answers to above questions:

Vic: My HD's are Maxtor 6E040L0 (original) and WDC WD200EB-00CSF0 (Western
Digital, added by myself).

And Maurice: the sound is not more a whir, rather than a phew (in spite of my
"three score and ten" tears of age, my hearing is one of the best parts of me .
.. )
Also, I have looked for the group "microsoft.public.windowsxp.hardware" but did
not see it.
Perhaps, my ISP (Bell Sympatico) does not carry it? Will look into that . . .

Just an observation: This morning when I booted up (after there was no power to
the computer for 9 or 10 hours, it took just over 20 minutes for the sound to be
heard. Could it in fact be something heating up?

Also: This started happening only after I upgraded from W 98 to WIN XP.
Could the different software affect the hardware?

Later on today, I'll take the cover of the box, and take a look for any
overheated parts.
(I spent my career working for the telephone company (Bell Canada) and have some
idea what to look for in electronics and circuit boards.)

Thanks for all the suggestions!

John <><

A wise monkey is a monkey who doesn't monkey
with an other monkey's monkey.
 
set up the news account
msnews.microsoft.com

John said:
I have read the above suggestions, but have not yet had the time to open up the
case.
A few answers to above questions:

Vic: My HD's are Maxtor 6E040L0 (original) and WDC WD200EB-00CSF0 (Western
Digital, added by myself).

And Maurice: the sound is not more a whir, rather than a phew (in spite of my
"three score and ten" tears of age, my hearing is one of the best parts of me .
. )
Also, I have looked for the group "microsoft.public.windowsxp.hardware" but did
not see it.
Perhaps, my ISP (Bell Sympatico) does not carry it? Will look into that . .. .

Just an observation: This morning when I booted up (after there was no power to
the computer for 9 or 10 hours, it took just over 20 minutes for the sound to be
heard. Could it in fact be something heating up?

Also: This started happening only after I upgraded from W 98 to WIN XP.
Could the different software affect the hardware?

Later on today, I'll take the cover of the box, and take a look for any
overheated parts.
(I spent my career working for the telephone company (Bell Canada) and have some
idea what to look for in electronics and circuit boards.)

Thanks for all the suggestions!

John <><

A wise monkey is a monkey who doesn't monkey
with an other monkey's monkey.
Click to expand...
 
Conclusion:

By George, I think I've got it!

Before I totally switched to Win XP, I had my computer configured for dual boot,
using "BootNG".

I has W98 on the "C" partition of HD 0 (zero) and Win XP on the "E" partition.

I then upgraded W98 on "C" to Win XP (to keep all my programs) and deleted Win
XP from "E".

BootNG has six ".snd" files, one to be selected when the computer boots from
BootNG.
I choose 3.snd.

Further checking indicates that the "phew" sound is in fact the 6.snd file.
Why this file would "play" after 5 or 20 minutes is beyond me at this time, but
it probably has to do with the fact that some file(s) which existed on "E" with
the first Win XP are not there now.

Oh well, I had the box open - smelled absolutely nothing burning, and removed
about a pound (or so) of accumulated dust from the insides and the fans.

I probably should look into totally removing BootNG...... some day.

Thanks for all the suggestions - sorry to have sent you all on a wild goose
chase!

John <><

A wise monkey is a monkey who doesn't monkey
with an other monkey's monkey.
 
Nahhh gang.., thta sound comes from the XP sounds when one has a pop up
blocker.., sometime in the past a pop up blocker was down loaded and a sound
was picked.., sometimes a ding, or bell.., and when the sound is turn down
low the 'shooting' sound or noise sounds like "phew.."
 
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