squeak noise from st61g4

hi,
my shuttle ST61G4 system runs very smoothly, and i have no stability
problems. it's a p4 3.0ghz, with 2x512 ddr, and SATA hd. over the
last few months i've noticed a squeak noise under very specific
circumstances. in photoshop, when i am making a selection, the CPU
runs quite high ~75%, and this is when the squeak happens. when i
cancel the selection, the squeak stops. i've tried running several
diagnostic / benchmark tools to try and reproduce the problem in other
applications, but i can't get it to happen elsewhere, except sometimes
when smooth-scrolling in a long MS word document.
i listened up close to the motherboard to see if i could identify where
the squeak is coming from, but it's very hard to tell.

i loaded up the bios and changed the main power fan speed from low to
full and everything in between and there was no squeak, so i'm sure it
isn't the power fan.

thanks for any tips or suggestions!
tim

Are you using the onboard video and could it be the chipset fan?

Are you running anything that will give the temps of the CPU when this
happens?

Clark

Tim_Mac wrote:
> hi,
> my shuttle ST61G4 system runs very smoothly, and i have no stability
> problems. it's a p4 3.0ghz, with 2x512 ddr, and SATA hd. over the
> last few months i've noticed a squeak noise under very specific
> circumstances. in photoshop, when i am making a selection, the CPU
> runs quite high ~75%, and this is when the squeak happens. when i
> cancel the selection, the squeak stops. i've tried running several
> diagnostic / benchmark tools to try and reproduce the problem in other
> applications, but i can't get it to happen elsewhere, except sometimes
> when smooth-scrolling in a long MS word document.
> i listened up close to the motherboard to see if i could identify where
> the squeak is coming from, but it's very hard to tell.
>
> i loaded up the bios and changed the main power fan speed from low to
> full and everything in between and there was no squeak, so i'm sure it
> isn't the power fan.
>
> thanks for any tips or suggestions!
> tim
>

hi clark, thanks for the reply. yes i am using the on-board video. i
gather the chipset fan is the small one in the middle... 'scuse my
ignorance
unfortuantely "motherboard monitor" doesn't support this motherboard
and none of the other utilities seem to either, so i can't get any temp
readings from windows. the bios will tell me alright, but i can't
reproduce the squeak noise from there.
is there something i could try to fix it? a drop of oil?? i don't
think there's any dust build-up in it. it's probably not the end of
the world because it only happens under very limited circumstances, and
under normal operation it seems fine.
thanks
tim

Try SpeedFan to monitor the temps and other things.

http://www.almico.com/speedfan.php

That might tell you if it is running hot. Otherwise, I don't really
know what the noise would be. I believe the processor will scream if it
gets too hot. The fans will become high pitched if they are going
really fast. Some electrical components will make a high pitched noise
if they are not quite right. And Windows will make a noise if you get
ahead in making inputs so as to cause a warning beep or series of beeps,
but this would be an abnormal situation where the computer is hanging
and not taking input.

Have you tried moving the box during the incident to see if anything
changes?

Clark

Tim_Mac wrote:
> hi clark, thanks for the reply. yes i am using the on-board video. i
> gather the chipset fan is the small one in the middle... 'scuse my
> ignorance
> unfortuantely "motherboard monitor" doesn't support this motherboard
> and none of the other utilities seem to either, so i can't get any temp
> readings from windows. the bios will tell me alright, but i can't
> reproduce the squeak noise from there.
> is there something i could try to fix it? a drop of oil?? i don't
> think there's any dust build-up in it. it's probably not the end of
> the world because it only happens under very limited circumstances, and
> under normal operation it seems fine.
> thanks
> tim
>

hi Clark. thanks for the tip about SpeedFan, i tried it out and it
works fine with my motherboard. everything is normal, CPU temp is
about 40c most of the time, and doesn't go up more than one or two when
the squeak noise happens. so i'm sure it isn't a heat problem. also
the fans seem to be running normally. the computer has been fine for a
good long time so i think i'll just leave it and make sure to clean out
the dust every few months. i tried moving the computer at different
angles during the noise but it didn't change. my impression is that
it's not a mechanical squeak, the best way i can describe it is if you
can imagine a nest of very young hungry birds all squeaking to get
attention, if you took that sound and muffled it and increased the
frequency, it would be quite like what i have. it's an irregular
oscilalting pitch. ah well i can't say i didn't try now, i'm happy to
just leave it.

thanks again for your help and suggestions.
tim

Well, the only other thing would be the bearings on one of your fans.
It would not seem to meet the criteria of when it happens, but if the
fans are speeding up, it might cause the noise only when you experience it.

My ST61G4 is sitting about 3 feet from my head and I near no such
noises--, but it is fairly new.

Clark

Tim_Mac wrote:
> hi Clark. thanks for the tip about SpeedFan, i tried it out and it
> works fine with my motherboard. everything is normal, CPU temp is
> about 40c most of the time, and doesn't go up more than one or two when
> the squeak noise happens. so i'm sure it isn't a heat problem. also
> the fans seem to be running normally. the computer has been fine for a
> good long time so i think i'll just leave it and make sure to clean out
> the dust every few months. i tried moving the computer at different
> angles during the noise but it didn't change. my impression is that
> it's not a mechanical squeak, the best way i can describe it is if you
> can imagine a nest of very young hungry birds all squeaking to get
> attention, if you took that sound and muffled it and increased the
> frequency, it would be quite like what i have. it's an irregular
> oscilalting pitch. ah well i can't say i didn't try now, i'm happy to
> just leave it.
>
> thanks again for your help and suggestions.
> tim
>