Finding and silencing (or reducing) computer hum

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LANGALIST PLUS

Finding and silencing (or reducing) computer hum[

By Fred Langa

Noisy computers are annoying, but most hums and vibrations can be tracked down and stopped — no special skills or tools required. Plus: Answers to problems with WordPad fonts, replacements for Live Mesh, and using Windows 8 when you have limited mobility.

The full text of this column is posted at windowssecrets.com/langalist-plus/finding-and-silencing-or-reducing-computer-hum/ (paid content, opens in a new window/tab).

Columnists typically cannot reply to comments here, but do incorporate the best tips into future columns.

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The question was about Seeking a viable replacement for Live Mesh. The answer was all about peer to peer sync, but I want a solution to work just as Live Mesh worked, so when I am on holiday all my work is being synced back via the web. I found the answer, and one with more features and better security than Live Mesh – Wuala https://www.wuala.com/.

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Hi Fred

Great column. One thing to be cautious about when cleaning system fans – if you use compressed air to blow dust out of electronics it’s vital to physically block the fan blades, especially the ones inside notebooks, from spinning; otherwise they can spin up to high speed and destroy the driver chip on the motherboard.

thanks for many many years of great reading!

Clay Christian

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Fred, I’m surprised at your comment re Win 8, “If you want a truly mouse-friendly desktop environment, Win7 is still your best bet.” I assume you’re talking about the new desktop arrangement. You’re correct, it’s really made for a touch screen (and doctors bills if so used on anything other than a pad). But if the user sets up Win 8 with the Win 7-style desktop and adds a Start button – I like the free Classic Start Menu – then they have a faster, more efficient OS, and literally at most only see the Metro desktop for a fleeting moment during computer start up, or if their mouse happens to wander too close to a corner. I was reluctant to add Win 8 given what I had read, but two months in I have no regrets.

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Hi Fred,
I installed a notebook last week with Windows 8, non-touchscreen.
The elderly lady was quite surprised AND satisfied by these tiles, very handy indeed
One click on any remarkable tile and she was on her way!
Blazing away the youngsters with android and mac os

greetings
Sjors

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Hi Fred

On Windows 8 mouseability – I think another option for the non touch systems is to replace the “metro” screen with one of the start menus – I love the freeware one from soundforge – “Classic Shell”. It makes windows 8 exactly like windows 7 or windows XP! No need to learn new shortcuts etc. if you are comfortable with the past, and want to use Win8, don’t discount the starters – freeware or very inexpensive. The ones I’ve seen are Classic Shell; 8StartButton; IOBit StartMenu8; Stardock Start8; Start Is Back; and, Start on Desktop.

Looks like in Windows 8 MS created a whole new cottage industry – too bad they didn’t include one in the install package for non touch screen systems or updaters!

Hank

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It was nice to see the reference to Karen Kenworthy. Her death was a loss to the software community. She wrote useful, easy to use utilities. They just work. (apparently someone is continuing to manage her web site? )

I have been using Replicator and Directory Printer for several years. Replicator is my primary backup from my laptop to the office network. It’s truly a “set it and forget it” solution that has pulled me out of the fire more than once.

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The article made no mention of fan lubrication. I advise customers that most desktop power supply fans should be lubricated once per year, and if they neglect it for 3 years, it will probably start to make noise, then freeze up and the power supply will burn up. Then you’ve got more than just a fan problem, as you may have baked other components, too.

Removing the fan to lubricate it isn’t much different from replacing one. Once the fan is loose, remove the label on the hub that covers the bearing. There’s often a rubber cover/gasket inside the you can remove with a small screwdriver. Put a few drops of oil on the bearing and shaft, then replace the covers and remount the fan & power supply.

2 drops of oil are cheaper than a new fan, and you’re good for another year!

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I still do not see an answer to Nigel Brown’s request for a viable replacement for Live Mesh. He specified that he was looking for something to sync data between multiple computers over the Internet. Both the solutions you suggested appear to just handle a peer-to-peer situation. I am trying to sync files between my office desktop and home laptop (which I do not drag back and forth every day). With Mesh, I always have ready access to my critical files at either location.

Note: This is not specifically for backing up, as I have other tools in place to deal with that. It is primarily for accessibility and ensuring that I do not start working with an out-of-date version of a file or document.

In an earlier comment, Real Woodworm suggested a solution that has the same failing that Dropbox has: you need to put everything into a special location on the hard drive, rather than using a more useful (and pre-established) organization.

Still hoping to find a good solution! I do not mind paying something for this service if I need to, but it needs to be as invisible and reliable.

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I still do not see an answer to Nigel Brown’s request for a viable replacement for Live Mesh. He specified that he was looking for something to sync data between multiple computers over the Internet. Both the solutions you suggested appear to just handle a peer-to-peer situation. I am trying to sync files between my office desktop and home laptop (which I do not drag back and forth every day). With Mesh, I always have ready access to my critical files at either location.

Note: This is not specifically for backing up, as I have other tools in place to deal with that. It is primarily for accessibility and ensuring that I do not start working with an out-of-date version of a file or document.

In an earlier comment, Real Woodworm suggested a solution that has the same failing that Dropbox has: you need to put everything into a special location on the hard drive, rather than using a more useful (and pre-established) organization.

Still hoping to find a good solution! I do not mind paying something for this service if I need to, but it needs to be as invisible and reliable.

Try posting a question in the “General Windows” forum. The newsletter authors seldom post replies here. That is not the purpose of this forum.

Joe

--Joe

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I still do not see an answer to Nigel Brown’s request for a viable replacement for Live Mesh. He specified that he was looking for something to sync data between multiple computers over the Internet. Both the solutions you suggested appear to just handle a peer-to-peer situation. I am trying to sync files between my office desktop and home laptop (which I do not drag back and forth every day). With Mesh, I always have ready access to my critical files at either location.

Note: This is not specifically for backing up, as I have other tools in place to deal with that. It is primarily for accessibility and ensuring that I do not start working with an out-of-date version of a file or document.

In an earlier comment, Real Woodworm suggested a solution that has the same failing that Dropbox has: you need to put everything into a special location on the hard drive, rather than using a more useful (and pre-established) organization.

Still hoping to find a good solution! I do not mind paying something for this service if I need to, but it needs to be as invisible and reliable.

The issue was discussed here: http://windowssecrets.com/forums/showthread//151099-Windos-Live-Mesh

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Unless I missed something, the two suggested replacements for “Live Mesh” (SyncToy and Karen’s Replicator) to sync files between two computers without cloud storage are both for local networks only.

What I used Live Mesh for was to have a folder in which I placed files so I could access them both at work and at home. If I want to access a file on my local network, I just place a shortcut on the desktop, or map a drive. The beauty of “Live Mesh” is the ability to synchronize a folder between two distant computers.

Is there anything out there that does what Live Mesh does/did? I’d be willing to pay a nominal amount for a service.

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Fred,
In your answer to the question you said, “Yes, Windows 8 is 100 percent mouseable — though I find it clumsy to use that way.”

Fred, I was a little disappointed in your response. You didn’t mention the benefits of Win8 such as better use of memory, faster boots, and supposedly better security. I use Win8 on all my systems (couldn’t pass up the $40 upgrade), all non-touch, and use Classic Shell to have the computer boot right to the desktop with a start button. My boot takes 21 seconds and was 16 seconds before I added Google Drive. I run all my software from Win7 with no problems.

Note: I still run Win7 and XP on Virtual Box so I can help people with those systems, as far as menu locations, etc.

Gordon Golden

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Unless I missed something, the two suggested replacements for “Live Mesh” (SyncToy and Karen’s Replicator) to sync files between two computers without cloud storage are both for local networks only.

What I used Live Mesh for was to have a folder in which I placed files so I could access them both at work and at home. If I want to access a file on my local network, I just place a shortcut on the desktop, or map a drive. The beauty of “Live Mesh” is the ability to synchronize a folder between two distant computers.

Is there anything out there that does what Live Mesh does/did? I’d be willing to pay a nominal amount for a service.

As written before, the issue was discussed here: http://windowssecrets.com/forums/showthread//151099-Windos-Live-Mesh

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