How can I tell if my mini computer is dying or it is just the fan?

I have a small Zotac mini computers, one of those computers that is in a small box like a book. Everything is crammed in there in a tight space.

The computer is making some scary noises. How can tell if it is just the fan going bad or the hard drive is dying?

Tyler Durden

Posted 2019-01-06T03:45:17.677

Reputation: 4 710

Is your computer running slowly and/or freezing up? – juniorRubyist – 2019-01-06T03:49:21.787

@juniorRubyist No, just a lot of bearing noise, but I don't know if its the bearings of the fan, or the bearings of the hard drive. – Tyler Durden – 2019-01-06T03:54:01.823

4You might be in luck. The fans are probably jammed with dust or whatnot, otherwise just going bad. Do check the S.M.A.R.T. status on the drive, though, just to be sure. – juniorRubyist – 2019-01-06T04:15:49.627

1You have backups, right? :) – djsmiley2k TMW – 2019-01-06T15:18:08.780

1If you have an SSD in there, it's the case fans. If you don't have an SSD... consider one. – Ian Kemp – 2019-01-06T21:29:25.740

BTW, mini PC would be the correct term for these Zotacs. Minicomputers were the size of refrigerators when they came out. They were only "mini" when compared to the mainframes of the time. – Joe – 2019-01-08T04:41:34.777

Answers

If your hard drive is dying, you would hear repetitive clicking or buzzing noises and the computer may occasionally freeze up, getting worse as it dies. You can also tell that your hard drive is dying because of extremely slow transfer rates. You can try checking the S.M.A.R.T. status of your drive (almost like the "Check Engine" light on a car) by using the Command Prompt (or PowerShell) with the wmic utility in Windows. Corrupt files can also be a warning sign of drive failure. Linus Tech Tips does a good job explaining all sorts of hard drive issues. If you determine that your hard drive is dying, stop using it immediately and go buy yourself an external drive (1 TB+) to backup your data ASAP. Try not to rock the computer or drive around to prevent further breakage of your drive.

If your fan is broken, no big deal; just replace it. You could try opening up the case and watching the fans spin up to watch for any issues. If you have a solid state drive, then any noises would be from the fan (but you said you have a hard drive, so...).

juniorRubyist

Posted 2019-01-06T03:45:17.677

Reputation: 1 021

You can open it up and disconnect the fan (or otherwise stop it from spinning).
If the noise stops, the problem was the fan. Otherwise try disconnecting the power to the HDD to confirm that it's the hard drive.

davidgo

Posted 2019-01-06T03:45:17.677

Reputation: 49 152

3And obviously, if the fan is already running because of the heat and you stop it, you might damage the rest of the computer. – pipe – 2019-01-06T12:14:26.777

1@pipe running the computer without a fan for a short period of time will not harm anything. But stopping it from spinning is not that good of an idea. – Odyssee – 2019-01-06T18:25:23.163

@pipe Assuming it has an Intel CPU the CPU has overheat protection and running without a fan will not cause permanent damage to it -it will just slow down. Over very extended periods the additional heat would put stress on the components, but you are talking months or years. – davidgo – 2019-01-06T18:40:49.687

Run your computer for as little time as possible without the fan; it's there for a reason, and doesn't just cool the CPU in many computers. Running your computer for even a relatively short time without the fan can destroy the machine. – wizzwizz4 – 2019-01-06T19:27:46.990

1@wizzwizz4 - Care to evidence your assertion about it destroying the machine? What components (other then CPU - and presumably built-in gpu) do you assert are that heat sensitive, and why is there this built in time-bomb on the huge number of computers which do not detect the fan speed, and why do you get so many fanless mini PCs? – davidgo – 2019-01-06T19:50:10.623

@davidgo It can destroy the machine. Not definitely, but some machines can't deal with the loss of the fan and will keep running until wires melt. This is especially a problem if the computer has a built-in PSU. – wizzwizz4 – 2019-01-06T20:41:50.730

@wizzwizz4 yes, I hear your assertion. Can you evidence this happening in any non-ancidnt system (ie one where CPU and any discrete GPU do throttle on excess heat) in a non-extreme environment. Seperately Its worth n also note that these tiny systems are typically built from laptop parts with an external PSU. The "laptop parts" bit also implies much lower TDP, so less heat buildup then the dual 120watt tdp systems with 3.5" high speed disks of old and 400 watt GPU. – davidgo – 2019-01-06T22:40:28.860

Your problem can easily be addressed referring to the computer behavior.

If you do not face any undesired halt or freeze and the computing speed is, less or more, that you are accustomed to, the problem is the fan, to be substituted.

In order to be more confident simply launch a detailed HD check or some defragmenting program.

You will be able both to understand more precisely the jerky sound origin and to find vaste amount of errors in the disk in case of hd failure.

If many many errors are not found, change the fan.

Rick Park

Posted 2019-01-06T03:45:17.677

Reputation: 101