What is the clicking sound coming from my pc if i have an ssd?

[nick1302]

I hear a clicking noise coming from my pc once like every hour or two even when the pc is shut off. From my understanding an ssd doesn't have any moving parts so it can't be that. If I had an hdd, than I'd assume that's what it was. What do you think the sound is? Sorry, I'm not very pc savvy.

 

[Pvt.Vegemite]

I hear a clicking noise coming from my pc once like every hour or two even when the pc is shut off. ....

That's a first for me. A noise when it is off?
Is it in Sleep or Hibernation mode. IE. Does it start immediately when turned on?
Other than that, check inside for Cricket like insects ;-))

 

[nick1302]

That's a first for me. A noise when it is off?
Is it in Sleep or Hibernation mode. IE. Does it start immediately when turned on?
Other than that, check inside for Cricket like insects ;-))

Yeah I'm pretty sure it happened when the pc was shut off. Now that you mentioned it, it seemed to take a while longer to boot up today.

 

[Brian Boru]

My money's on the crickets!

Minor possibility of some metal part heating and cooling, but unlikely. Have you changed anything about the PC's environment lately, eg room or desk or…?

 

[Kaamos_Llama]

Could be the power supply, theres a part in there that can make a click when powered on and off. If so not a good sign that its clicking at random, might be a new PSU needed.

Does it stop when you power off at the wall?

Whats the make and model of the PSU, and all your other parts ?

 

[nick1302]

My money's on the crickets!

Minor possibility of some metal part heating and cooling, but unlikely. Have you changed anything about the PC's environment lately, eg room or desk or…?

I did change the desk a couple of days ago, and moved around the pc a bit, but I was very careful

 

[nick1302]

Could be the power supply, theres a part in there that can make a click when powered on and off. If so not a good sign that its clicking at random, might be a new PSU needed.

Does it stop when you power off at the wall?

Whats the make and model of the PSU, and all your other parts ?

I think it stops when I power off at the wall. It's been unplugged all night, and I haven't heard anything. Here is a list of all my parts. https://pcpartpicker.com/list/8KH2ZJ

 

[Kaamos_Llama]

Its a good model of PSU and pretty new. From my basic understanding of the electrics with the clicking happening it could do some damage to other parts that are plugged into it over time. Its also possible its one of your other components causing the PSU to make the noise, worth double checking all power leads are plugged in fully, GPU, CPU, motherboard and anything else. If that doesnt help I would probably speak to MSI about a replacement if it were me though.

In the meantime I would turn it off fully on the power supply or at the wall when its not in use.

 

[nick1302]

Its a good model of PSU and pretty new. From my basic understanding of the electrics with the clicking happening it could do some damage to other parts that are plugged into it over time. Its also possible its one of your other components causing the PSU to make the noise, worth double checking all power leads are plugged in fully, GPU, CPU, motherboard and anything else. If that doesnt help I would probably speak to MSI about a replacement if it were me though.

In the meantime I would turn it off fully on the power supply or at the wall when its not in use.

Ugh, I just realized the clicking sound is coming from the ups my pc is plugged into. I feel like an idiot. It's directly underneath my pc, so I thought it was coming from my pc. That's a relief. Thank you for all your advice though

 

[Brian Boru]

clicking sound is coming from the ups

That was going to be my next Q, if UPS or surge protector were in play.

change the desk

Reason I brought that up was you can get weird noises while new or different stuff 'settles'. You probably know of the noises a new house can make for years while it gets comfy on its patch of ground. Always a long shot tho, crickets were the definite favorite!

 

[Pvt.Vegemite]

Interesting. What brand UPS?
I've had my CyberPower for years and never a peep.

Glad it is sorted though.

 

[sarahj075]

If you're hearing a clicking noise coming from your PC even when it's shut off, and you don't have any traditional hard disk drives (HDDs) with moving parts, it's unlikely to be related to storage activity.

Here are a few possibilities to consider:

1. **Cooling System**: The clicking noise could be coming from a cooling fan inside your PC. Fans are common components in computers, and they can sometimes make clicking noises if they're starting to wear out or if there's debris caught in them.

2. **Power Supply Unit (PSU)**: The clicking sound might be originating from the power supply unit. It's rare, but faulty capacitors or other internal components can sometimes cause clicking noises.

3. **Other Components**: Occasionally, other components like the graphics card or even the motherboard itself might make clicking noises due to electrical issues or component failure.

Since you're not very PC savvy, I'd recommend having a knowledgeable friend or a technician take a look at your PC. They can open it up and listen for the clicking noise to help identify its source. If it's a minor issue like a fan starting to fail, it's usually relatively straightforward to replace. However, it's essential to address any potential hardware issues early to prevent further damage to your PC.

 

[Brian Boru]

I'd recommend

Which AI are you?

 

[sarahj075]

Which AI are you?

I'm not AI, I just wanted to help him that's all lol

Which AI are you?

Lol AI is so scary, even helping someone about something, would consider as AI LOL )))

 

[Brian Boru]

I'm not AI

Nice try, but you got busted in another post. Don't abuse your luck, or we'll delete your posts.

 

[Colif]

You already asked why your UPS makes a clicking noise - https://forums.pcgamer.com/threads/...-noises-a-few-times-a-day.143654/#post-379836 and it was only last month, so you could maybe move UPS away from PC or put a reminder somewhere for April that the clicking noise is the UPS

What model is it? I don't have one so not sure if hourly is right, it might be a bad unit. Worth looking at that at least.

I get being concerned about any unknown noises anywhere near a PC but if its actually off, its unlikely to be the PC itself as it won't be. Even in sleep/hibernate modes the PC is off. It might have standby power to allow the modes to come back on with a key press but its not powered on.

Everytime I hear an unknown sound, I have to do two things... get up and check its not outside as my PC is between me and a window, or turn PC off. Most times noise continues after I turn PC off. Its summer here, the added unknown noises are also possibly a fan somewhere else in house that is on. My PC is pretty quiet now, can hear things I normally couldn't before.

offtopic: I used to have fish tanks in my room. It took longer to adjust to them NOT being in here after as the noise of their pumps have drowned out any other noises I had to get used to again once they were gone. Easier to get used to constant noise.