What's happened to my computer?

[Peter_20]

This occured a few days ago: I was gonna play some FF3j on my computer, and when I tried activating it , it starts sounding really strange, like "drrrrrrrr...!" forever.
Then it stops, and suddenly it starts sounding like that again.
Then it stops, and RESTARTS from the very beginning, and keep's going on like that.
What the hell is going on? :confused:

[Rocket Edge]

I had a similiar problem. I'm not big up on computer's at all but the sound i had was coming from the p.c when the modem box was too near it.

[Martyr]

When I play roms, my comp starts buzzing and rumbling. Eventually it stops, and then starts again. In fact, it's probably the same exac thing you've got. Hmmm...

The game doesn't restart. Only the sound, right?

I think it has to do with the rough cut fashion that ROMs seem to be made. Like they don't run well. I've also heard of them having literally destroyed computers on some occasions.

That's why, really, I'm so happy that everything is remade now. I don't need (and I never wanted) to play roms anymore.

[Peter_20]

Martyr:
Actually, the computer never makes it to the desktop; it actually stops somewhere at the Memory Check, so I can't even reach the files or anything.
That sucks. :(

[Shaun]

'Activating it'? I'd like to help but it'd be great if you could explain more in-depth about this. Maybe tell me the emulator you're using. Does this happen with any other ROMs? Try using another emulator too - see if that fixes it.

[Peter_20]

'Activating it'? I'd like to help but it'd be great if you could explain more in-depth about this. Maybe tell me the emulator you're using. Does this happen with any other ROMs? Try using another emulator too - see if that fixes it.But I can't even reach the desktop anymore.
Alright, this is how it goes:
I start the computer, it starts loading, the noise starts, the noise stops, it all stops at Memory Check, it goes back to the beginning again ad infinitum.

I never make it to the desktop.
However, the computer is a Dell Dimension 98.

[Shaun]

What 'noise'? Hmm, the 'drrrr' noise. I do recall having such a problem with an old computer, but the screen went multicoloured and all trippy with loads of vertical bars across it; it crashed. So, here's what I think.

a) It's a hardware fault. A piece of your hardware, which could be the RAM or video card maybe, is causing problems.

b) It's something more than that... something on the hard disk. The way to get past this would be to reformat, but you'll erase all of your data in the process. I think it's worth finding out whether the first one's causing this first.

It'd be great if you could get some kind of photograph... it's just that 'drrr' doesn't cut it.

[Peter_20]

Yeah, it looks a lot like this:

http://www.ceta.ufm.edu.gt/Subastas/2005-jun/slides/PC04.jpg

[Shaun]

No no, I meant a photo of your screen when it's going 'drrr'! :p Do you have a camera?

[Peter_20]

No no, I meant a photo of your screen when it's going 'drrr'! :p Do you have a camera?Hm, there are no notable changes on the screen, it just loads as usual, but the sound is going on forever, and then the computer starts from the beginning again.

And no, I don't have a camera right now. :p

[Odaisé Gaelach]

a) It's a hardware fault. A piece of your hardware, which could be the RAM or video card maybe, is causing problems.

My advice is this: back up all the data on your computer. Now. Doesn't matter how you get it done - bring it to a shop, use a bootable CD - just get it done.

I agree with Shaun - a piece of hardware is failing inside your PC And if it is the hard disk, then you'd better get your data off there as quickly as possible.

[Mirage]

If it makes a drrrr sound, it has to be something mechanical that vibrates. This rules out your RAM atleast. It could be a device that has a fan, like your 3D card or your motherboard, or it could be your hard drive. If it is a fan that is faulty, the restart is likely to be due to overheating. I don't think a faulty hard drive would make your PC restart, but it could definitely make your PC get a bluescreen, and your windows installation could be set to automatically restart when you get one.

In that case, you can try turning off automatically restarting, and write down the error message you get. In order to do this, go to "System Properties" and then the "Advanced" tab. Here you press the "Settings" button under "Startup and Recovery". Now, uncheck the box for "Automatically restart".

-edit-
I missed the part where you said you didn't even get into windows. In that case, I think your best bet it to put your hard drive into another computer, and copy over the important data. After that, you could try checking whether or not it is the hard drive. If your hard drive works perfectly in a different computer, it is most likely not a hard drive problem. If it isn't your hard drive that is making the noise, the remaining options are the fans. There is likely to be 3 or 4 fans in your computer. One in the power supply, one on the motherboard itself, one on the CPU and there might be one at your video card, depending on its power. Try finding out which one is the source of the noise, and check if they all spin like they should. A nearby object could prevent a fan from rotating, and at the same time make a noise similiar to the one you described.

Be sure to discharge yourself of static electricity before poking your hands into your computer.

[Leeza]

*moves to Help Forum*

[Samuraid]

That Dell computer (as with most) does not use a dedicated CPU cooling fan, but instead uses a large heatsink along with the back chassis fan (and an air-guide/fan shroud) to keep the CPU cool.

The first thing to try would be to carefully open the case (theres a large screw in the back, then two tabs you press on the top and bottom of the side panel that allows the panel to slide away).
Once inside, there should be a large green or black plastic shroud attached to the fan on the back of the case.
http://www.nvnews.net/articles/dell/ghzcooling.jpg
The plastic shroud can be removed. Once removed, make sure the area underneath is clear of dust debris (use a compressed air can or blow the dust away, but don't touch anything physically). You should also try starting up the computer with it open and make sure the fan on the back of the computer is working.
After you are done, put the plastic shroud back in (make sure it is securely in place).

There may be a number of other problems (such as a hard drive failure), but checking and cleaning the cooling system (what I just described) is a good idea regardless.