Buzzing/Rattling PSU

[Wintermute]

Few weeks back I cleaned out my Desktop using a can of compressed air and dislodged quite a bit of crap from my tower.

For a few days afterwards whenever I would start the system the PSU would rattle. Sounded a bit as if the fan had something caught in it or as if it had come loose a bit.

I double-checked and made sure the PSU was secured properly and everything else is bolted down so I think it may be the fan on the PSU itself.

The rattling would only last a few minutes though, and after a while it would run silent.

Problem is now it doesn't make the rattle at startup, but there's a constant "buzzing".

Noise is a bit wierd. It sounds like an electrical hum/buzz similar to the one an old Hard-Disk would make when it's accessing data, but I know it's not the HDD since the sound is coming from the back of the tower case.

Only other fans back there is a tiny extractor that's pretty much mute and my Gefore 8800 which sounds like a leafblower when it's running.


Is it possible the Fan on the PSU could have been damaged or that something has come loose inside?

Tower juts out of my desk a tiny bit and I tend to give it a small bump at least once a week, wondering if I may have accidentally dislodged something.

Not sure what the PSU brand is since I bought the system from a local shop, though a friend of the family owns the place so taking it back for a look isn't an issue. Just want to try out anything I can before I end up system-less for a few days.

[levish]

the only moving parts in a psu are typically fans so its very likely that's whats making the rattling noise

I personally wouldn't advice trying to change the fan since the caps in the psu can probably kill you even with the power disconnected

[Norellicus]

It could also be just vibrations along the case. Try tightening the screws, or getting some silicone strips to place in between the spots where PSU meets case frame.

[Calina]

sounds alot like what happened to my psu a few months back made same sounds and about a week later it died on me

ended up just buying a new 1 lol

had my comp running for nearly 19 months strait so I am not to surprised it died and it was about 100watts under what i needed from what uncle told me when i had him take a look at it(wasent sure at first why it died) lol

[Mansin]

I had the same problem. I just bought a new one. You can try to find out what's at fault, I just stuck a pencil in it and stopped the bigger fan and it stopped rattling.

[Bartylby]

your psu is dieing, same thing happened with mine