My computer just started making a really fast and annoying clicking noise.

[jrgp]

I built my computer from newegg parts back in early '06. Since then, I haven't touched any parts except the hd's and optical drives. The computer is always on 24/7. Just this morning, a really fast, loud, clicking noise starting coming from the case. I turned the computer off and the clicking got slower and slower then stopped, this leads me to believe it's a wire coming in contact with a fan. I turned it back on, opened it and inspected everything, checking each fan I could get to to see if a wire was brushing up against the fan blades. Every fan seems clear. The only fan of the case I can't get to is in the PSU, which is a 1 fan'd SeaSonic S12-600. I know next to  nothing about the innards of psu's. Should I risk opening it and making sure nothing is in the way of it's fan? Should I risk continuing to leave it on and hope the clicking just goes away?

[SadistAtHeart]

It would probably be best to take the power supply apart to see if it's alright. They're not too hard to take apart- just a screw here and there.

[Chakra]

....and whatever you do, unplug the PC before you go poking your nose in a PSU ¬_¬

[The Bone Collector]

It may be a faulty hard drive. Hard drives do tend to click alot when they're about to die.

[Psycho]

Run for your life.

When my PC made weird loud noises, I slammed it at the top and it stopped. I wouldn't reccomend that in this situation though ;O

[FliesLikeABrick]

It is almost surely a wire sticking into a fan.

Take the cover off of the machine, turn it back on, and look for the wire

[Amblin]

You can't do much wrong when taking apart an ATX power supply.
Unplug everything, remove the 4 or so screws and take off the cover. There won't be anything that falls into your hands that you have to figure out where it belongs. It's really simple.

Maybe wait a few minutes after you've unplugged it, to let any full capacitors drain.

[FliesLikeABrick]

You can't do much wrong when taking apart an ATX power supply.
Unplug everything, remove the 4 or so screws and take off the cover. There won't be anything that falls into your hands that you have to figure out where it belongs. It's really simple.

Maybe wait a few minutes after you've unplugged it, to let any full capacitors drain.

They won't drain that fast.  Capacitors the size of ones in high-power AC<>DC power supplies can takes days or weeks to lose their charge, depending on how dry the air is and other factors.

If you open the power supply, be very, very careful.  Don't touch any metal contacts. 

You should be able to tell if the sound is coming from the PSU before opening it anyway.  If the sound is coming from the PSU, it is likely a dying fan rather than a cable touching the fan (there's not much cabling in power supplies, it is mostly on one large circuit board)

[Smegma]

Erm, not completely sure, but can't you just turn each fan off individually? Wouldn't that, at least, rule out if any fans were the culprit?

[jrgp]

Erm, not completely sure, but can't you just turn each fan off individually? Wouldn't that, at least, rule out if any fans were the culprit?

I guess that's an option for the two 120mm case fans but that would definitely not work for the others (such as the cpu, gpu, and mobo's fans) as they would most likely overheat.

Anyway, the noise randomly went away on its own. When it comes back, I'll dissect the PSU, since I've already made sure the fans I can get to seem ok.

[a-4-year-old]

it sounds like it might not be the fans. Tighten all the screws.

[Yes]

Lol I have the same problem and i've had it for a year. So what I noticed was when I tilt it to the left it stops making the clicking noise, so since i was to lazy to fix it i but something under the right side of my computer so that it tilts to the left. lol.