Power Supply makes strange sound/ticking noise when scrolling windows

  • Thread starter Thread starter MCDONAMW
  • Start date Start date
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MCDONAMW

I have a strange issue and I've seen some threads where people have
the same problem. Unfortunately those threads are really old so I
didn't want to append to them. I'm just going to start fresh.

Basically if I have a large window up (i.e. this IE window that needs
to be scrolled), and I actually start scrolling, my power supply makes
this weird TICKING sound. Basically I can "hear" the scrolling, as if
I had a tick event being fired when my mouse wheel is active!. BTW it
happens in scrolling with the keyboard too.

I thought it was my power supply, so I replaced it. Same exact
problem. I know the sound is eminating from the PSU. I can pinpoint
it there. I know for a fact it isn't coming from the PC speaker or my
external speakers. I place my ear up to the PSU and I hear it there
behind the fan. (this kills the idea that the sound card and graphics
card fighting for dma or whatever someone suggested)

My question now is, if it is happening to multiple PSUs, then it is
not the power supply, so what on earth could it be?!?!?!?! What can I
do to fix this?

I've seen suggestions that the graphics card is requiring so much
power to redraw the screen that it's changing the pulse size of the
current or whatever and it's causing the switching PSU to do this. If
that's the case, what do I do about it?

I have a Brand new home built system (aside from the graphics card)
and a couple hard drives.

Specs:
P4 3.2 GHz 800Mhz FSB |
Asus p4c800e-deluxe mainboard |
1 gig DDR400-ECC Ram |
2 SATA 120 Gig HD's (RAID1 - MIRROR)|
2 ATA133 80 Gig HD's (STANDALONE) |
2 cd-rom drives (one dvd one burner) |
PNY GeForceFX 5900 Ultra 256 MB graphics card |
Soundblaster Live! Value soundcard |
Modem

The power supply that I bought brand new is an Aerocool AeroPower II+
550W pre-modded PSU. That's being returned for multiple reasons. It
has a high pitched squeal that can be prevented by squeezing the sides
together. Loose part inside I assume.

The current power supply is an unknown Wattage. I ripped it from a
Celeron 2.2 HP D220 Microtower/proprietary machine. Maybe 350W.
Still has the ticking issue.

I hope to god someone can answer this question as I have no
manufacturer that I can pinpoint to get technical support from. BTW I
am a Tech Support specialist, so feel free to speak geek.

I appreciate any assistance you can provide!!!
-Matthew
 
On 3 Mar 2004 22:22:34 -0800, (e-mail address removed) (MCDONAMW) wrote:

I have a strange issue...
Click to expand...
I actually start scrolling, my power supply makes this weird TICKING...
it happens in scrolling with the keyboard too.

I thought it was my power supply, so I replaced it. Same exact
problem. I know the sound is eminating from the PSU.
Click to expand...
My question now is, if it is happening to multiple PSUs, then it is
not the power supply, so what on earth could it be?!?!?!?! What can I
do to fix this?
Click to expand...


Buy a decent power supply, with adequate amperage capacity.

I've seen suggestions that the graphics card is requiring so much
power to redraw the screen that it's changing the pulse size of the
current or whatever and it's causing the switching PSU to do this. If
that's the case, what do I do about it?
Click to expand...

See above ^

I have a Brand new home built system (aside from the graphics card)
and a couple hard drives.

Specs:
P4 3.2 GHz 800Mhz FSB |
Asus p4c800e-deluxe mainboard |
1 gig DDR400-ECC Ram |
2 SATA 120 Gig HD's (RAID1 - MIRROR)|
2 ATA133 80 Gig HD's (STANDALONE) |
2 cd-rom drives (one dvd one burner) |
PNY GeForceFX 5900 Ultra 256 MB graphics card |
Soundblaster Live! Value soundcard |
Modem

The power supply that I bought brand new is an Aerocool AeroPower II+
550W pre-modded PSU. That's being returned for multiple reasons. It
has a high pitched squeal that can be prevented by squeezing the sides
together. Loose part inside I assume.
Click to expand...

The Aerocool is very pretty, but not worth anywhere near 550W.
Unfortuately they started spending money on modding before having the
interior worthy of the mod.

Buying an actual power supply manufacturer's brand-label (or knowning the
base model of a relabeled/modded unit) is your assurance of quality.
The current power supply is an unknown Wattage. I ripped it from a
Celeron 2.2 HP D220 Microtower/proprietary machine. Maybe 350W.
Still has the ticking issue.
Click to expand...

It seems unlikely that it would be a 350W coming out of an HP microtower.
If it's mATX, it's worth about 200W. If it's standard PS/2 ATX sized,
more likely worth 250W good watts, so while it might be better than a
nasty generic it's still likely to be insufficient capacity.

Your high-end parts need at least an average quality, appropriate wattage
power supply.

Try a Sparkle, Fortron, Antec Truepower, Delta, or PC Power & Cooling of
= 400W.
Click to expand...

When you're scrolling and hearing the ticking, note the voltage levels,
preferribly with a meter but a motherboard monitor utility is a good
start. The motherboard monitor utility might need be set for a lower
interval than possible to register the changes, requiring a decent
multimeter.
 
"MCDONAMW" said in news:[email protected]:
I have a strange issue and I've seen some threads where people have
the same problem. Unfortunately those threads are really old so I
didn't want to append to them. I'm just going to start fresh.

Basically if I have a large window up (i.e. this IE window that needs
to be scrolled), and I actually start scrolling, my power supply makes
this weird TICKING sound. Basically I can "hear" the scrolling, as if
I had a tick event being fired when my mouse wheel is active!. BTW it
happens in scrolling with the keyboard too.

I thought it was my power supply, so I replaced it. Same exact
problem. I know the sound is eminating from the PSU. I can pinpoint
it there. I know for a fact it isn't coming from the PC speaker or my
external speakers. I place my ear up to the PSU and I hear it there
behind the fan. (this kills the idea that the sound card and graphics
card fighting for dma or whatever someone suggested)

My question now is, if it is happening to multiple PSUs, then it is
not the power supply, so what on earth could it be?!?!?!?! What can I
do to fix this?

I've seen suggestions that the graphics card is requiring so much
power to redraw the screen that it's changing the pulse size of the
current or whatever and it's causing the switching PSU to do this. If
that's the case, what do I do about it?

I have a Brand new home built system (aside from the graphics card)
and a couple hard drives.

Specs:
P4 3.2 GHz 800Mhz FSB |
Asus p4c800e-deluxe mainboard |
1 gig DDR400-ECC Ram |
2 SATA 120 Gig HD's (RAID1 - MIRROR)|
2 ATA133 80 Gig HD's (STANDALONE) |
2 cd-rom drives (one dvd one burner) |
PNY GeForceFX 5900 Ultra 256 MB graphics card |
Soundblaster Live! Value soundcard |
Modem

The power supply that I bought brand new is an Aerocool AeroPower II+
550W pre-modded PSU. That's being returned for multiple reasons. It
has a high pitched squeal that can be prevented by squeezing the sides
together. Loose part inside I assume.

The current power supply is an unknown Wattage. I ripped it from a
Celeron 2.2 HP D220 Microtower/proprietary machine. Maybe 350W.
Still has the ticking issue.

I hope to god someone can answer this question as I have no
manufacturer that I can pinpoint to get technical support from. BTW I
am a Tech Support specialist, so feel free to speak geek.

I appreciate any assistance you can provide!!!
-Matthew
Click to expand...

So did you actually yank the internal speaker's wires off the
motherboard and pull the speaker cable from the sound card to make sure
the noise isn't getting echoed around and you just think that the noise
is coming from the PSU?

What happens when you boot into Recovery Console mode or real DOS mode
(you never mentioned what version of Windows) and sitting at a command
line prompt, do you still hear the noise when rolling the scroll wheel?
If you still hear the noise while at the command prompt, power down,
disconnect the hard drives, and reboot using a floppy (see
www.bootdisk.com for bootable floppy images) or let the system stall
with a message about no boot device. Still hear the noise when rolling
the scroll wheel? If you don't get the noise at a DOS prompt, try
booting without the 2 hard drives powered that are in the RAID setup on
the SATA ports. That will reduce the load on the PSU. Boot into
Windows and do whatever was making the clicking noise before when
rolling the scroll wheels. Still happen with 2 of the drives no longer
sucking up juice from the PSU? If so, and will the gear you list inside
the box, might be that 350W is too light, especially if using crappy or
overrated PSUs. Many quote a wattage that they really cannot support
and cannot even provide 75% of their claimed wattage rating, plus you
have to be careful that many will combine the wattage on the rails
rather than account for a max current draw shared across a couple of the
rails.

What happens when you boot into Safe mode (for NT-based Windows) and
scroll while NOT within any window (i.e., just when the desktop is shown
alone)?

Does it occur only when scrolling within IE or even if you open Explorer
and scroll the leftside folder pane or rightside file list pane?
 
---Trimmed to respond only to replies---
The Aerocool is very pretty, but not worth anywhere near 550W.
Unfortuately they started spending money on modding before having the
interior worthy of the mod.
Click to expand...
LOL you said pretty. Hehe. For real though, thanks for the reply. I
must admit, I know people sell products that don't explicitly live up
to the hype, but seriously, how could they legally sell this thing if
it isn't anywhere near 500 W. You suggest a good >= 400W for decent
performance. This thing HAS to be at least at that level. Also,
before buying it, I've read reviews where this thing was awesome. It
got great reviews, especially when dealing with stability and power
output. No dips in the voltage lines. At any rate, another one is
coming because I cannot return it for money. (damn internet shopping).
We'll see how that one acts. If it squeals like the last one, I will
get my money back one way or another.
When you're scrolling and hearing the ticking, note the voltage levels,
preferribly with a meter but a motherboard monitor utility is a good
start. The motherboard monitor utility might need be set for a lower
interval than possible to register the changes, requiring a decent
multimeter.
Click to expand...

I'm using my ASUS probe with the HP power supply as the other one is
boxed up, and when scrolling and what not, there's no changes.
Nothing out of the norm. None of the lines go below their respective
voltage except the 12v line. It's consistantly around 11.855 -
11.916. I know there are +/- values associated with anything like
this, but this is an acceptible level of play? I don't know for sure.
All I know is the PSU that I ripped out due to the squealing had the
best performance I've seen thus far. All Voltage lines were nearly
perfect with never dropping below it's supposed value. I checked that
with my MB probe as soon as I put it in, due to the reviews I read. I
wanted to confirm. It did well. Unfortunately I don't have a
multimeter. Even if I did, honestly I don't know what I'm looking
for. I'm not an electrician :).

---In reference to other responses---

I'm sure the sound is the PSU and not the speaker. There is no
echoing of sound, especially when I have the side of the case off.
And my speakers are turned off. Also the PC speaker is in the front
of the case and no matter where I put my ear, it eminates from the
back, through the fan of the PSU. Thanks for the suggestion, but
believe me, I know how to pinpoint a noise.

Also I'm using XP pro. Did not do anything with recovery console, or
dos, or or safemode, etc. It only happens when I'm scrolling in
internet explorer. At least that's the only time I can really notice
it. It doesn't happen when I just "scroll" for no reason. It only
happens when stuff on the screen is actually being scrolled. Keyboard
or mouse. If I move the mouse cursor to the desktop, and scroll..
nothing happens, ergo no noise generated. All I know is it's a
hardware issue of some sort and nothing to do with windows. There's
no way the OS could make electrical components make noise on the
mainboard.
 
LOL you said pretty. Hehe. For real though, thanks for the reply. I
must admit, I know people sell products that don't explicitly live up
to the hype, but seriously, how could they legally sell this thing if
it isn't anywhere near 500 W.
Click to expand...

That's just it, they do, either the law or the enforcement isn't sufficent
to keep power supply labels honest.

You suggest a good >= 400W for decent
performance. This thing HAS to be at least at that level.
Click to expand...

Absolutely not. The sad truth is that when a power supply is overrated,
it's usually worth about 320W at most and more often even less. That PSU
isn't one of the "most" cheap/nasty out there, but inferior to a good 400W
unit.
Also,
before buying it, I've read reviews where this thing was awesome. It
got great reviews, especially when dealing with stability and power
output. No dips in the voltage lines. At any rate, another one is
coming because I cannot return it for money. (damn internet shopping).
We'll see how that one acts. If it squeals like the last one, I will
get my money back one way or another.
Click to expand...

Was it tested with your equipment though? Many power supplies can run at
peak output for a while, long enough to withstand a review. That doesn't
mean that power supply would continue working properly a couple years (or
even a few weeks) later. Two systems might consume 300W, but one is
varying the load by only 20%, another by quite a bit more. Processors and
video cards will vary the load more than just a few hard drives, that once
spun up, are a relatively stable load.

I'm using my ASUS probe with the HP power supply as the other one is
boxed up, and when scrolling and what not, there's no changes.
Nothing out of the norm. None of the lines go below their respective
voltage except the 12v line. It's consistantly around 11.855 -
11.916. I know there are +/- values associated with anything like
this, but this is an acceptible level of play? I don't know for sure.
All I know is the PSU that I ripped out due to the squealing had the
best performance I've seen thus far. All Voltage lines were nearly
perfect with never dropping below it's supposed value. I checked that
with my MB probe as soon as I put it in, due to the reviews I read. I
wanted to confirm. It did well. Unfortunately I don't have a
multimeter. Even if I did, honestly I don't know what I'm looking
for. I'm not an electrician :).
Click to expand...

11.85 can't be considered excessively low on a system with a 3.2GHz P4,
but the voltage reading interval, the response time of the power supply
and lack of sufficient output filtration may be making it work pretty hard
to supply power. When the power supply filtration isn't sufficient the
motherboard starts picking up the slack, as much as it can, wearing both
components more rapidly than if a better power supply were installed.
 
Also I'm using XP pro. Did not do anything with recovery console, or
dos, or or safemode, etc. It only happens when I'm scrolling in
internet explorer.
Click to expand...

Sounds like its software related...tied to IE.
At least that's the only time I can really notice
it. It doesn't happen when I just "scroll" for no reason. It only
happens when stuff on the screen is actually being scrolled. Keyboard
or mouse. If I move the mouse cursor to the desktop, and scroll..
nothing happens, ergo no noise generated.
Click to expand...

Then what makes you think its a hardware problem?...a PSU problem? I
think yer sayin' it only happens with IE.

Disconnect all yer drives 'cept the one you need to boot and run IE.
Then try it.

If yer close to the max draw when you have everything connected, doing
this may show you the problem.

Good luck...let us know.


Have a nice week...

Trent

Follow Joan Rivers' example --- get pre-embalmed!
 
kony said:
That's just it, they do, either the law or the enforcement isn't sufficent
to keep power supply labels honest.
Click to expand...

Damn them all!!
Absolutely not. The sad truth is that when a power supply is overrated,
it's usually worth about 320W at most and more often even less. That PSU
isn't one of the "most" cheap/nasty out there, but inferior to a good 400W
unit.
Click to expand...

Damn them again!
Was it tested with your equipment though? Many power supplies can run at
peak output for a while, long enough to withstand a review. That doesn't
mean that power supply would continue working properly a couple years (or
even a few weeks) later. Two systems might consume 300W, but one is
varying the load by only 20%, another by quite a bit more. Processors and
video cards will vary the load more than just a few hard drives, that once
spun up, are a relatively stable load.
Click to expand...

I guess that does make sense. I just don't want to believe that I've
been duped!!! DENIAL I SAY!
11.85 can't be considered excessively low on a system with a 3.2GHz P4,
but the voltage reading interval, the response time of the power supply
and lack of sufficient output filtration may be making it work pretty hard
to supply power. When the power supply filtration isn't sufficient the
motherboard starts picking up the slack, as much as it can, wearing both
components more rapidly than if a better power supply were installed.
Click to expand...

Makes sense yet again. I don't know. I will see how it acts when the
replacement comes back in. If it still has issues I guess I'll have
to deal with them accordingly.. i.e. shooting the bastards that make
the damn POS! I shoulda just got a good one and modded it myself!

Thanks for the help.
 
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