site banner
PaperclipPerfector  1d ago (text post)   1190 thread views

Friday Fun Thread for September 19, 2025

Be advised: this thread is not for serious in-depth discussion of weighty topics (we have a link for that), this thread is not for anything Culture War related. This thread is for Fun. You got jokes? Share 'em. You got silly questions? Ask 'em.

2
Top Bottom Old Controversial Comments
Jump in the discussion.

No email address required.

Ludicrous little laptop malfunction question. It’s my daughter’s, for schoolwork, Minecraft and Discord, not much else.

  • Dell Inspiron 16 5635
  • Windows 11 Home (x64)
  • 2.00 gigahertz AMD Ryzen 5 Processor
  • 850GB storage, 4GB integrated RAM
  • Less than two year old, malware clean, no other issues.

Few months ago started making swarm-of-bees buzzing sound, making it effectively unusable. Brought to repair shop for some expertise. They said fan was dusty, cleaned it, nothing else required. Got it home - buzzing started within few minutes again. Back to repair shop, they’re mystified. THE BUZZING NEVER HAPPENS IN THE SHOP. I recorded a video of the sound, so they believe me, but they can’t find anything wrong. Took the back off in the shop, powered it up, left for 20 minutes - fan running no issues, no abnormal sounds.

Took it home, and a few minutes after booting, swarm-of-bees buzzing starts again.

Software is fine, hardware seems fine, everything seems fine, and technicians have no clue.

Any motherboard nerds have any ideas?

Weird possibility is EMI on the speakers turning the cables into wire antenna. Can eliminate it as an option by playing something normal at a very low volume; if the problem persists even when other things are driving the speakers, it's either not EMI or you're in the path of an active radar system.

Software-wise, I'd also spin up a Linux Mint LiveUSB, make sure the same issue happens from a completely different environment. There are non-malware Weird Driver Problems that can happen, including sporadically.

But the most likely problem's just the mainboard fan bearing. They're supposed to be good for five years MTBF, but especially in dirty environments they can get pretty bad pretty quick, and you'll hear a very characteristic buzzing sound. You can replace the bearing itself for about five bucks, but it's really annoying to do, so I'd just grab a spare fan module off amazon. Should have options under 20 USD. It's a pretty straightforward replacement once you pop the bottom shell off, though would recommend picking up a couple guitar picks to more cleanly pry the shell. Do be careful when unplugging or plugging anything in -- these tiny cable connectors will break off hilariously easy.

If you want to completely be sure that it's the fan module that's the problem, pry the bottom shell off, power up the laptop (on a clean, non-conductive surface), and then gently press down on the top of the fan's middle. A small amount of pressure will usually cause the noise to go away temporarily, and pressing down hard enough to make the fan stop entirely should definitely cause the noise to stop. Obviously not a fix, but great way to be sure before putting in an amazon order.

But the most likely problem's just the mainboard fan bearing.

Yeah -- did the, um, repair shop try replacing the fan at all? I could see just blowing it out on the first visit, but they cost like ten bucks -- just throw one in and see is what I'd do, but @striker gattsuru's test plan sounds good if you can make it buzz with the case off.

Yes that’s the next step with them - their expert opinion is that the fan is fine, but they’re also out of ideas and they want to replace fan next. I just wanted to try to make my own diagnosis, as I’m not sure I’m fully faithful in their advice right now.

What is this place?

This website is a place for people who want to move past shady thinking and test their ideas in a court of people who don't all share the same biases. Our goal is to optimize for light, not heat; this is a group effort, and all commentators are asked to do their part.

The weekly Culture War threads host the most controversial topics and are the most visible aspect of The Motte. However, many other topics are appropriate here. We encourage people to post anything related to science, politics, or philosophy; if in doubt, post!

Check out The Vault for an archive of old quality posts. You are encouraged to crosspost these elsewhere.


Why are you called The Motte?

A motte is a stone keep on a raised earthwork common in early medieval fortifications. More pertinently, it's an element in a rhetorical move called a "Motte-and-Bailey", originally identified by philosopher Nicholas Shackel. It describes the tendency in discourse for people to move from a controversial but high value claim to a defensible but less exciting one upon any resistance to the former. He likens this to the medieval fortification, where a desirable land (the bailey) is abandoned when in danger for the more easily defended motte. In Shackel's words, "The Motte represents the defensible but undesired propositions to which one retreats when hard pressed."

On The Motte, always attempt to remain inside your defensible territory, even if you are not being pressed.


New post guidelines

If you're posting something that isn't related to the culture war, we encourage you to post a thread for it. A submission statement is highly appreciated, but isn't necessary for text posts or links to largely-text posts such as blogs or news articles; if we're unsure of the value of your post, we might remove it until you add a submission statement. A submission statement is required for non-text sources (videos, podcasts, images).

Culture war posts go in the culture war thread; all links must either include a submission statement or significant commentary. Bare links without those will be removed.

If in doubt, please post it!


Rules


Recommended Posts And Communities

Recommended Realtime Chats