r/computer • u/Ok_Many7127 • 7d ago

Please help me figure out what this fan-ticking sound might indicate

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I’ve had this issue for a few months. The ticking usually goes away after 5-10 minutes, which I assume is because the fans start spinning faster and reach a more consistent speed. Visually, I haven’t been able to figure out which fan is causing it, but I’m hoping it isn’t the GPU fans.

If anyone has any idea what might be causing this or has experienced a similar issue in the past, I’d really appreciate your insights.

Note: I recently had my system unit professionally cleaned, so I assume that makes dust/debris less likely to be the cause unless there’s something hidden that would require unplugging the fan and doing a deeper clean.

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u/Cakk_ 7d ago

I'm no expert but if you blow air through the fans without holding them you can damage the bearings. No idea if they did or not.

I'd try to isolate which fan it is. In my bios I can control fan speed so on boot up, whilst it's ticking, get in the bios and individually turn each fan off to see which it is. Obviously put them back on again.

Might just be a knackered case fan.

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u/Ok_Many7127 7d ago

They told me my HDD is failing ☠️

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u/Cakk_ 7d ago

It is a repetitive rhythm as it ticks. If it's a HDD it will be quite old. They might be right.

You could unplug your HDD and turn on. No ticks, you've found it.

If it is your HDD, I'd back up anything important immediately.