"Picard to Engine Room... Geordie, what's that bloody racket?"

So for some reason, one of my PC's main cooling fans decides to start making this godawful clunking / grinding / really-loud-whirring noise. This is not something I'm not used to; every time my PC starts up, one of my video cards makes a similar noise until the fan settles down. But this was different, I could tell.

I checked the fans that could possibly be the cause - the power supply, my two graphics cards, the side fans... nothing. It had to be the main fan, so I took off the side of my Alienware's case for the very first time. After some tinkering about and a quick call to Alienware Technical Support (open 24 hours and great customer service, by the by), I managed to figure out the reason, but not the cause.

The main cooling fan (the one on the back of the PC that extracts the bulk of the hot air) has somehow lost its ability to stay away from the metal grille that stops it from flying off its magnetic centre-point into the workings of the PC. It now thwacks across some part of that grille every single rotation, which is something like 10 times a second.

{Adam from Mythbusters}Well there's yer problem!{/Adam from Mythbusters}

Unfortunately, despite several attempts, I could not fix the damned thing. I verified that it was the ONLY cause by softly pressing the fan back into its housing a little (i.e. more towards the outer case of the PC), which immediately stopped the sound and even made the fan turn faster. Which I sort of expected. Letting it go caused the noise to return. The thing has a spring in it which keeps it a set distance away from the outer casing, but nothing to keep it away from the grille. Removing said spring crossed my mind, but that wouldn't have any effect. So the whole thing has come out.

Luckily, my PC never tends to overheat. The hottest my graphics cards have ever gotten was about 75 degrees. I understand that cooling is no laughing matter, though, which is why my window is open and I have a desk fan blowing cold air into the front intakes of my Big Blue Box. It's just over one and a half years old, so it's about time something went wrong with it. Hopefully there won't be any further problems, and I'll look into ordering a replacement fan to see if that solves anything.

In other news, FlatOut: Ultimate Carnage is the best racing game, ever. I would be more detailed, but I honestly can't be bothered. Get the game yourself, or at least download the demo from the Xbox Live Marketplace. Also, the Ace Combat 6 demo from the very same place is worth a gander. Made me buy the previous two titles for the PS2. Osea, Yuktobania... ah, the memories of my first year at Uni and my wonderful little room.

Anyhoo, that's about it. Will no doubt update sometime in the next few weeks in a bit more detail.