My brother asked me to look at his computer and explain why it was making a high pitched whining similar to the sustained no video card MB sound but much higher. It would only do this from a cold start, either from ATX standby or freshly plugged in after some time unplugged. The sound disappears after the computer is running for a few minutes and it does start and load Windows with no problem. After taking apart the case and listing to it during start up I was able to determine that the sound was coming from the power supply. Next I stopped the PSU fan to see if that would alter the sound. It did not. While it is obvious to me that the PSU needs to be replaced I am hoping for more knowledge on what is making the sound and why?
One of the electrical components in the power supply, such as a capacitor, is whistling or humming.
In my experience this sometimes means it is going bad but just as often as not it's just an annoyance and the part functions fine.
New power supplies are relatively cheap...
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