Weird things a happening

[Honoop]

Right, I think (bearing in mind im not very techy) that my processor is giving up the ghost - here are the symptoms:

The main things I have noticed recently are that Ive started getting a funny noise, like the sound of something switching on and off, powering up and then down (not the fan) while the PC is running, but with no effect to performance.
If I have more than 1 application running (like Messenger and Media Player) my CPU will be running at really high, if not maximum usage.
The result being that whatever music Im playing will go all crackly if the PC has to 'think' for a minute, also when playing music from my hard drive its almost like Im playing a record, it will slow right down and almost stop for no reason and then speed up again.
Ive run a full virus scan, nothing found - and it is fully to date as its the AVG Free edition which downloads everyday.

Ive noticed the PC getting a bit slower over the past week, but last night I got a bit scared that it was going to go pop. Do you think I could be spot on with it being the processor or could there be other reasons?

Bit uneasy since the processor was brand new in April and isnt over-clocked as far as I can remember. Someone is going to let me borrow their processor to see what that does, but Im rubbish at this kinda stuff!!

Cheers....

[ArmagoN]

could be your HDD, possibly due to heating up. try a differnet hdd and install an OS on it.

see if that increases the performance.

I have had a similar problem like this before, it turned out the northbridge on my motherboard had burnt out. but the clicking up and down suggests HDD to me.

[irishjoe]

I don't think it will be the processor. I've never heard of a processor "Sort of working". I've only seen working or dead, no in-between.
What I would do is open your computer, find the make of the hard drive and download the manufacturers hard disk diagnostic software. You burn it to cd or copy to a floppy and reboot. It will give you a menu and will test the hard drive. Do the full test and it will tell you one way or another if the hard drive is faulty after a couple of hours.

Good luck.

[chrestomanci]

I don't think it will be the processor. I've never heard of a processor "Sort of working". I've only seen working or dead, no in-between.

I had an old Athlon Thunderbird finaly die on me about a year ago. For a couple of weeks before it died, it became much more sensitive to overheating, and I could only keep it working by disabling the temp controler on my system, and leaving the fans on high.

[peterb]

Could you have picked up a virus that is diverting system resources?

[BlackDwarf]

a 'clicking up and down' suggests that its going to be:
HDD
a fan
or the PSU.

Take off the side of the case and try to source the sound. If its the HDD, stop using it and get a new one... then you'll at least be able to salvage stuff off it before it dies.
If its the PSU, again with the stop using it... If the PSU goes in a horrible smokey accident, its likely to take something else with it.

[[GSV]Trig]

Sounds more like an HDD than a CPU issue, if it is the drive then get ur data backed up uber fast cos if it goes goes then ur screwed...

Just as a thought what PSU u got in there?

[tommylittleboy@]

Yes, def the HDD...as you said, the fans are working fine, and the only other thing that could potentially make a clicking noise like that is the HDD head. Backup now, before its too late!

[Hottentot]

What is your hardware list, how much memory , onboard sound or add-in card , how many hard drives ?. Could be a hard disk problem or a software driver problem.

[killie99]

I had a lite-on DVD ROM drive that started to make strange clicking noises when there wasn't a disc in it - shortly afterwards it had smoke coming out the tray.....

[Honoop]

All fixed now - cheers people!

It was the HDD, acquired me a new one and with a little help from my friends got the data across from the old onto the new. All sorted. Thankfully!

Thanks everyone.