How can I tell if my mini computer is dying or it is just the fan?












1














I have a small Zotac mini computers, one of those computers that is in a small box like a book. Everything is crammed in there in a tight space.



The computer is making some scary noises. How can tell if it is just the fan going bad or the hard drive is dying?










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  • Is your computer running slowly and/or freezing up?
    – juniorRubyist
    2 hours ago










  • @juniorRubyist No, just a lot of bearing noise, but I don't know if its the bearings of the fan, or the bearings of the hard drive.
    – Tyler Durden
    2 hours ago






  • 1




    You might be in luck. The fans are probably jammed with dust or whatnot, otherwise just going bad. Do check the S.M.A.R.T. status on the drive, though, just to be sure.
    – juniorRubyist
    1 hour ago
















1














I have a small Zotac mini computers, one of those computers that is in a small box like a book. Everything is crammed in there in a tight space.



The computer is making some scary noises. How can tell if it is just the fan going bad or the hard drive is dying?










share|improve this question
























  • Is your computer running slowly and/or freezing up?
    – juniorRubyist
    2 hours ago










  • @juniorRubyist No, just a lot of bearing noise, but I don't know if its the bearings of the fan, or the bearings of the hard drive.
    – Tyler Durden
    2 hours ago






  • 1




    You might be in luck. The fans are probably jammed with dust or whatnot, otherwise just going bad. Do check the S.M.A.R.T. status on the drive, though, just to be sure.
    – juniorRubyist
    1 hour ago














1












1








1


1





I have a small Zotac mini computers, one of those computers that is in a small box like a book. Everything is crammed in there in a tight space.



The computer is making some scary noises. How can tell if it is just the fan going bad or the hard drive is dying?










share|improve this question















I have a small Zotac mini computers, one of those computers that is in a small box like a book. Everything is crammed in there in a tight space.



The computer is making some scary noises. How can tell if it is just the fan going bad or the hard drive is dying?







fan desktop-computer






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share|improve this question













share|improve this question




share|improve this question








edited 1 hour ago









fixer1234

17.9k144681




17.9k144681










asked 2 hours ago









Tyler Durden

2,37793063




2,37793063












  • Is your computer running slowly and/or freezing up?
    – juniorRubyist
    2 hours ago










  • @juniorRubyist No, just a lot of bearing noise, but I don't know if its the bearings of the fan, or the bearings of the hard drive.
    – Tyler Durden
    2 hours ago






  • 1




    You might be in luck. The fans are probably jammed with dust or whatnot, otherwise just going bad. Do check the S.M.A.R.T. status on the drive, though, just to be sure.
    – juniorRubyist
    1 hour ago


















  • Is your computer running slowly and/or freezing up?
    – juniorRubyist
    2 hours ago










  • @juniorRubyist No, just a lot of bearing noise, but I don't know if its the bearings of the fan, or the bearings of the hard drive.
    – Tyler Durden
    2 hours ago






  • 1




    You might be in luck. The fans are probably jammed with dust or whatnot, otherwise just going bad. Do check the S.M.A.R.T. status on the drive, though, just to be sure.
    – juniorRubyist
    1 hour ago
















Is your computer running slowly and/or freezing up?
– juniorRubyist
2 hours ago




Is your computer running slowly and/or freezing up?
– juniorRubyist
2 hours ago












@juniorRubyist No, just a lot of bearing noise, but I don't know if its the bearings of the fan, or the bearings of the hard drive.
– Tyler Durden
2 hours ago




@juniorRubyist No, just a lot of bearing noise, but I don't know if its the bearings of the fan, or the bearings of the hard drive.
– Tyler Durden
2 hours ago




1




1




You might be in luck. The fans are probably jammed with dust or whatnot, otherwise just going bad. Do check the S.M.A.R.T. status on the drive, though, just to be sure.
– juniorRubyist
1 hour ago




You might be in luck. The fans are probably jammed with dust or whatnot, otherwise just going bad. Do check the S.M.A.R.T. status on the drive, though, just to be sure.
– juniorRubyist
1 hour ago










2 Answers
2






active

oldest

votes


















1














If your hard drive is dying, you would hear repetitive clicking or buzzing noises and the computer may occasionally freeze up, getting worse as it dies. You can also tell that your hard drive is dying because of extremely slow transfer rates. You can try checking the S.M.A.R.T. status of your drive (almost like the "Check Engine" light on a car) by using the Command Prompt (or PowerShell) with the wimc utility in Windows. Corrupt files can also be a warning sign of drive failure. Linus Tech Tips does a good job explaining all sorts of hard drive issues. If you determine that your hard drive is dying, stop using it immediately and go buy yourself an external drive (1 TB+) to backup your data ASAP. Try not to rock the computer or drive around to prevent further breakage of your drive.



If your fan is broken, no big deal; just replace it. You could try opening up the case and watching the fans spin up to watch for any issues. If you have a solid state drive, then any noises would be from the fan (but you said you have a hard drive, so...).






share|improve this answer





















  • Minor typo: wimc -> wmic
    – wjandrea
    5 mins ago





















1














You open it up,stop/disconnect the fan from spinning (fo a few secs). If thenouse stops it's the fan.If not,try disconnecting thepiwerfrom the HDD to confirm the diagnosis.





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    2 Answers
    2






    active

    oldest

    votes








    2 Answers
    2






    active

    oldest

    votes









    active

    oldest

    votes






    active

    oldest

    votes









    1














    If your hard drive is dying, you would hear repetitive clicking or buzzing noises and the computer may occasionally freeze up, getting worse as it dies. You can also tell that your hard drive is dying because of extremely slow transfer rates. You can try checking the S.M.A.R.T. status of your drive (almost like the "Check Engine" light on a car) by using the Command Prompt (or PowerShell) with the wimc utility in Windows. Corrupt files can also be a warning sign of drive failure. Linus Tech Tips does a good job explaining all sorts of hard drive issues. If you determine that your hard drive is dying, stop using it immediately and go buy yourself an external drive (1 TB+) to backup your data ASAP. Try not to rock the computer or drive around to prevent further breakage of your drive.



    If your fan is broken, no big deal; just replace it. You could try opening up the case and watching the fans spin up to watch for any issues. If you have a solid state drive, then any noises would be from the fan (but you said you have a hard drive, so...).






    share|improve this answer





















    • Minor typo: wimc -> wmic
      – wjandrea
      5 mins ago


















    1














    If your hard drive is dying, you would hear repetitive clicking or buzzing noises and the computer may occasionally freeze up, getting worse as it dies. You can also tell that your hard drive is dying because of extremely slow transfer rates. You can try checking the S.M.A.R.T. status of your drive (almost like the "Check Engine" light on a car) by using the Command Prompt (or PowerShell) with the wimc utility in Windows. Corrupt files can also be a warning sign of drive failure. Linus Tech Tips does a good job explaining all sorts of hard drive issues. If you determine that your hard drive is dying, stop using it immediately and go buy yourself an external drive (1 TB+) to backup your data ASAP. Try not to rock the computer or drive around to prevent further breakage of your drive.



    If your fan is broken, no big deal; just replace it. You could try opening up the case and watching the fans spin up to watch for any issues. If you have a solid state drive, then any noises would be from the fan (but you said you have a hard drive, so...).






    share|improve this answer





















    • Minor typo: wimc -> wmic
      – wjandrea
      5 mins ago
















    1












    1








    1






    If your hard drive is dying, you would hear repetitive clicking or buzzing noises and the computer may occasionally freeze up, getting worse as it dies. You can also tell that your hard drive is dying because of extremely slow transfer rates. You can try checking the S.M.A.R.T. status of your drive (almost like the "Check Engine" light on a car) by using the Command Prompt (or PowerShell) with the wimc utility in Windows. Corrupt files can also be a warning sign of drive failure. Linus Tech Tips does a good job explaining all sorts of hard drive issues. If you determine that your hard drive is dying, stop using it immediately and go buy yourself an external drive (1 TB+) to backup your data ASAP. Try not to rock the computer or drive around to prevent further breakage of your drive.



    If your fan is broken, no big deal; just replace it. You could try opening up the case and watching the fans spin up to watch for any issues. If you have a solid state drive, then any noises would be from the fan (but you said you have a hard drive, so...).






    share|improve this answer












    If your hard drive is dying, you would hear repetitive clicking or buzzing noises and the computer may occasionally freeze up, getting worse as it dies. You can also tell that your hard drive is dying because of extremely slow transfer rates. You can try checking the S.M.A.R.T. status of your drive (almost like the "Check Engine" light on a car) by using the Command Prompt (or PowerShell) with the wimc utility in Windows. Corrupt files can also be a warning sign of drive failure. Linus Tech Tips does a good job explaining all sorts of hard drive issues. If you determine that your hard drive is dying, stop using it immediately and go buy yourself an external drive (1 TB+) to backup your data ASAP. Try not to rock the computer or drive around to prevent further breakage of your drive.



    If your fan is broken, no big deal; just replace it. You could try opening up the case and watching the fans spin up to watch for any issues. If you have a solid state drive, then any noises would be from the fan (but you said you have a hard drive, so...).







    share|improve this answer












    share|improve this answer



    share|improve this answer










    answered 1 hour ago









    juniorRubyist

    656928




    656928












    • Minor typo: wimc -> wmic
      – wjandrea
      5 mins ago




















    • Minor typo: wimc -> wmic
      – wjandrea
      5 mins ago


















    Minor typo: wimc -> wmic
    – wjandrea
    5 mins ago






    Minor typo: wimc -> wmic
    – wjandrea
    5 mins ago















    1














    You open it up,stop/disconnect the fan from spinning (fo a few secs). If thenouse stops it's the fan.If not,try disconnecting thepiwerfrom the HDD to confirm the diagnosis.





    share


























      1














      You open it up,stop/disconnect the fan from spinning (fo a few secs). If thenouse stops it's the fan.If not,try disconnecting thepiwerfrom the HDD to confirm the diagnosis.





      share
























        1












        1








        1






        You open it up,stop/disconnect the fan from spinning (fo a few secs). If thenouse stops it's the fan.If not,try disconnecting thepiwerfrom the HDD to confirm the diagnosis.





        share












        You open it up,stop/disconnect the fan from spinning (fo a few secs). If thenouse stops it's the fan.If not,try disconnecting thepiwerfrom the HDD to confirm the diagnosis.






        share











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        answered 43 mins ago









        davidgo

        42.8k75289




        42.8k75289






























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