# It sounds like a freaking ambulance.



## Nashville77 (Aug 11, 2002)

Okay, so for about three months now, my computer has been sporadically making a noise that sounds like an ambulance siren, or the Ghostbusters car, or something. You can imagine how annoying this is.

It started happening right after I downloaded a program that converts quicktime and avi files to mpeg. I was right in the middle of the first conversion when the siren started going off. I deleted the program immediately, updated Norton Anti-Virus and scanned my system. No problem. Now, every once in a while, it will happen again for no reason apparent to me. I could be playing winamp, on the internet, there seems to be no pattern. Somtimes I'll have a few programs going and everything will be fine, other times I'm just using Microsoft Word and it'll happen again. Grr.

Just a bit more info-
-This doesn't seem to affect the performance of my computer. I can still play DVD's and surf while the alarm is sounding.
-If I leave it alone for fifteen minutes or so, it turns off. But it may come back on again shortly
-If I restart my computer when it's going, it will start back up again the second the computer boots up.
-I have a headache.

I want this to stop. I thank you for any and all help you offer.


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## wedor (Nov 7, 1999)

Depending on your motherboard it may be the over-heat warning.


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## Nashville77 (Aug 11, 2002)

Thanks for answering so quickly.

Overheat - never a good word. What are my options?


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## Rick1953 (Feb 16, 2002)

Only 1 good option. Install more fans in the tower. To see if it's heat causing this siren sound take the cover off and use the computer and see if the noise continues.


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## dobhar (Jul 29, 2002)

Could also just be a fan...my CPU fan was making quite a noise. I removed it and gave it a blast or 2 of "canned air". So far no noise.

My other computer has 3 cooling fan installed in it, other than the CPU fan, so if your PC is the same it could be one of those fans making the noise.


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## frenat (Jul 6, 1999)

Make sure all of the fans in your case are still running and add more if you can. At least you have the warning. I lost a hard drive because one of the 3 fans in my case stopped running. I didn't realize it because I still had the noise from the other 2 and did not notice the problem until the hard drive started to click. by that time it was too late. You may want to also clean out the dust from inside your case and make sure there is adequate ventilation around the case as well.


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## Nashville77 (Aug 11, 2002)

Well, I cracked open the casing. I've got two fans, and they're both working fine. But I'll install another one. And suggestions on where to place it so that I get the best use of it?

Oh, and thanks, guys. Your advice was great.


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## wedor (Nov 7, 1999)

If the current fans are running properly then I would do as suggested and blow out the dust.


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## Nashville77 (Aug 11, 2002)

The dust has been blown out.

Now, just to get a little back story on this, what could be causing the motherboard to overheat? Or is it possible that the motherboard is not the problem - is there any other possibility?

I just like to know what's going on.

Thanks again.


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## Rollin' Rog (Dec 9, 2000)

What type of motherboard you got?

http://forums.techguy.org/showthread.php?s=&threadid=41140&highlight=siren


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## Nashville77 (Aug 11, 2002)

Don't think me dim, but I don't normally poke around the guts of my computer - what does the motherboard look like, and how can I determine what kind I have? Is there a way I can check on the monitor?


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## Rollin' Rog (Dec 9, 2000)

The motherboard basically _is_ the computer. It is what the cpu, memory, installed cards, etc is plugged into. Since you have had the case off, you should not have any trouble identifying it if it is a major brand -- asus, abit, tyan, microstar, etc... look for a name on the board.

We can also possibly identify it from the BIOS ID string -- but the point here is that some motherboards monitor voltage as well as temp. So if heat is ruled out as an answer -- then you are looking at powersupply issues which can affect the voltage. Perhaps the power supply is just not strong enough to handle all the peripherals you have installed -- especially if some have been added.

The Belarc advisor will identify the BIOS number --- among other things.

http://www.belarc.com/Download.html


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## Nashville77 (Aug 11, 2002)

Board: MVP3-596-W877 
Bus Clock: 100 megahertz
BIOS: Award Software International, Inc. 4.51 PG 03/03/00

Since heat doesn't seem to be the problem, how do I remedy the power problem?


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## wedor (Nov 7, 1999)

I know it's an Epox board but would need more info to nail down the exact model.


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## Rollin' Rog (Dec 9, 2000)

Did you get that from Belarc? The "Board" ID is not really leading me anyplace -- I would like to have found a manual for it, but I can't even nail down the vendor.

What can I say... You may just have to bite the bullet and replace/upgrade the power supply if the problem persists.

The folks in the Hardware forum can give you better input on that.


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## wedor (Nov 7, 1999)

You would be better off getting the BIOS code that appears on one of the first boot screens, when you first start a long line of numbers appears at the bottom of the screen, press the pause key, copy down and post the numbers here.


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## Nashville77 (Aug 11, 2002)

Yeah, I downloaded the Belarc program - I'm assuming that's the info you were looking for.

Wedor - what other information might you need?


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## Nashville77 (Aug 11, 2002)

Sorry...I posted after your second reply. Disregard last message.


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## Nashville77 (Aug 11, 2002)

Okay - this is what I got from the boot screen.

MVP3-596-W877-2ASLEPAEC-00.


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## wedor (Nov 7, 1999)

It's one of 5 boards on this site, http://www.epox.com/html/english/support/motherboard/manuals/manuals_socket7.htm

You would need numbers from the board itself to get closer.


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## Nashville77 (Aug 11, 2002)

EP-MVP3G2


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## Rollin' Rog (Dec 9, 2000)

It's this one:

ftp://ftp.epox.com/support/motherboard/manuals/mvp3g101.pdf

I just dl'd it and had a gander -- useful to have I'm sure, but nothing about temperature or voltage monitoriing that I can see.


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## jakoval (Oct 28, 2001)

> _Originally posted by Nashville77:_
> ... I've got two fans, and they're both working fine.


Are you including the power supply fan in this? (Sometimes overlooked)

Is the noise continuing with the cover off and the dust blown out?


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## Pippa666 (Jul 30, 2002)

Not so long ago I too had this 'ambulance' siren going off every so often, I later found out that this was due to a setting in my BIOS which was set to raise an alarm if my CPU temperature got to a certain level. On removing the cover from my computer case I checked to make sure that CPU fan and case fan were operating correctly, which they were but on further investigation it was found that my heatsink was packed solid with dust. After removing my heatsink and cleaning it thouroughly Ive not had any problems.

This alarm could possibly go off as well if the Anti Virus warning is set up in your BIOS.

Hope this helps.


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## Nashville77 (Aug 11, 2002)

I cleaned out the heatsink. I think that I cleaned dust from anywhere dust could possibly hide. I replaced the power supply, upgrading from a 250w ATX to a 300w. Yet the noise continues when I put a little strain on the system, like listening to a streaming radio station or playing an emulator. Would any of these things set off the BIOS anti-virus warning? It doesn't seem likely, but what do I know.

When the ambulance siren went off on your computer, what were you doing at the time? That may help determine what causes this.

I dunno. What do you think?


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## Nashville77 (Aug 11, 2002)

Okay, it just did it again. When I restarted the computer and entered setup (the siren going off all the time) the CPU temperature was 80 degrees, five degrees above what is supposed to be the shutdown temperature. So... it is a heat problem. The Power and Cpu fans are both working fine. What is causing my CPU to overheat? How can I prevent this from happening? Help!


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## Rollin' Rog (Dec 9, 2000)

This is the centigrade reading that you are seeing?

When you "cleaned" the heatsink -- did you apply thermal paste between the cpu and the sink? You want to have a very thin coat there, just enough to provide conductivity. And do not startup the computer with the heatsink removed under any circumstances.


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## Nashville77 (Aug 11, 2002)

No, no thermal paste...could that be it? Could that be what's causing this?


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## Rollin' Rog (Dec 9, 2000)

If there really is no thermal paste between the cpu and the heat sink, yes.


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## Nashville77 (Aug 11, 2002)

Well there you go. I'll pick some up tomorrow (assuming that I can do that) and we'll see if we can put this whole messy incident behind us.


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## Rollin' Rog (Dec 9, 2000)

Thought I'd send this your way if you need a little extra info...

http://www.heatsink-guide.com/compound.htm


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## Pippa666 (Jul 30, 2002)

Glad u figured out it was a temp problem at least now ur on ur way to sorting it out. Btw when mine happended it didnt matter what I was doing altho it did happen most when I was online gaming, I suppose I was putting a bit of a strain on the old gal <g>

Another little tip: Not sure but is ur base unit on the floor ? if it is try raising it, it will help the air flow properly. I know it may sound silly but it could make a difference.


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