Loud CPU fan in my dad's old Dell Optiplex GX260 machine.

If it sounds like a jet airplane taking off it could be motherboard capacitor failure.

If it sounds like a ford model T transmission gear groaning then the fan is going bad and should be replaced.

Small Form Factor would be 5P573

http://www.impactcomputers.com/5p573.html

For a Tower

7Y292 - Fan & Shroud Assembly

http://www.impactcomputers.com/7y292.html

Yes, the fan sounds like an airplane. It reminds me of those modders who have fans cranking at high speed and so loud. Or being in server rooms that are loud! Definitely not fan noises. Just loud.

Motherboard capacitor failure: How long will the PC last without problems? So far so no problems. Just loud.  And how do we fix it? Replace the whole motherboard? It's old and I don't think Dell has replacements?

Bumped since latest questions were unanswered. :)

Capacitor failure is not something where you can say it will last exactly 43 days 23 hours 6 minutes and 3 seconds.

Badcaps can be repaired but its easier to just replace the motherboard.

Airplane Noize can also come due to the heatsink being loose or dust clogging the heatsink and fan.

0T606 - System Board (Motherboard) for OptiPlex GX260
2X378 - System Board (Motherboard) for OptiPlex GX260
2R433 - System Board (Motherboard) for OptiPlex GX260
4T274 - System Board (Motherboard) for OptiPlex GX260

http://www.impactcomputers.com/0t606.html

The board is on a tray with a Green Tab to remove it.  Its not hard to replace.

A status update since the CPU fan just stopped a few minutes ago, but the PC is still working (no reboots, no lockups, no crashes, etc. yet!).

Not sure if the CPU fan is dead though. PSU fan is still spinning, black CPU fan is not spinning at all, but we can see it shaking/vibrating (not sure if it is from it or the PSU fan -- can feel air flows from both vents). Not sure if it is trying to spin or just dead. Computer still work. I did warn him to save his work and copy it to his flash drive in case computer overheats or whatever. It's like 80F degrees in the room too due to the current heat wave.

If you arent going to replace the cpu fan take it out and oil the bearing.

http://www.dansdata.com/fanmaint.htm

SpeedStep:

If you arent going to replace the cpu fan take it out and oil the bearing.

http://www.dansdata.com/fanmaint.htm

I thought this was a motherboard issue, and not the fan. I am confused.

Theres no such thing as one size fits all solution for all cases all the time.

You said the fan is not spinning.

http://web.archive.org/web/20080120013527/http://www.dansdata.com/fanmaint.htm

SpeedStep:

Theres no such thing as one size fits all solution for all cases all the time.

You said the fan is not spinning.

http://web.archive.org/web/20080120013527/http://www.dansdata.com/fanmaint.htm

 

And, the fan spins at full speed again for who knows how long after powering on for today! I did tell my father to not to use the PC when the CPU fan stops again like last night to avoid heat damages to the old CPU.

I hope to get the fan and/or motherboard replacement this long weekend.

The issue has been resolved. A computer hardware guy/friend came to fix it since I am not a handy, due to my multiple disabilities. He said it was the CPU fan with its broken sensors (not physically) after replacing the CPU fan with a new $11 transparent Antec fan. It doesn't have a sensor (don't need it) and very quiet (can't hear it compared to mine).

Whew, I was glad it wasn't a motherboard issue. :)

Weird. Earlier, it said out of range for CPU fan in BIOS (stopped to warn us) and CMOS event logs. Eh, what the heck is that? Is that normal when changing the fan? It is not the Dell's fan we're using too. It is a generic fan hacked into the Dell CPU fan container (whatever you call it).

PC still seems to work so far. Weird is that my friend and I didn't see this last Saturday when we rebooted a few times. We even turned off and on the PC a couple times too.

I also noticed my computer clock was wrong because the battery was swapped earlier with the fan replacement.

Ugh, and now a Dell program pop-up in Windows 2000 SP4 mentions it too! Argh! Does anyone know what controls it? I don't see a Dell program listed in Add/Remove Programs and services list.

antdude:

Ugh, and now a Dell program pop-up in Windows 2000 SP4 mentions it too! Argh! Does anyone know what controls it? I don't see a Dell program listed in Add/Remove Programs and services list.

I think it is the BIOS that monitors the fan speed, so I'd recommend using a system fan with the correct speed-monitoring hardware.

Once, I was able to use a generic unit for such duties with a Dimension 4550 by swapping the connector from a broken fan to a new, generic one (using a pin to pry back the tangs holding in the leads). Dell's fan connector was different that that used by standard third-party units.