Because I've been getting a lot of deadlocks with my computer and right before it happens I hear a high pitched noise coming from the PC. (Corsair CX600)
are you sure it is coming from the PSU? because I know graphics cards can cause coil whine when the memory is clocked a certain way. They cause the coils in the power supply to vibrate at high frequencies aka coil whine. My computer used to have it bad with my old 650 ti boost. What exactly are you doing when your computer "whines" and locks up?
I have had a few CX series PSU's die on me in the same manner, Starting with a high pitched coil whine and then lock ups when placed under load. If your using a backup battery tho like an APC Back-ups I would check it first before you replace your PSU.
At first I thought it was my GPU but yesterday I put Far Cry on high settings and placed my ear next to the PSU and that's where the noise was coming from. My computer locked up about twice, once was when I turned up the settings on Far Cry and the other was when I opened speedfan (i switched to another program). Also, on a daily basis it will just restart all together. No blue screen. I tested the ram and it's fine. Could my random reboots and lock ups be caused by metal shards in my case shorting something out? Because I drilled a hole in the bottom of my case for a mod and there was some leftovers in the bottom of the case (Which I have cleaned out).
Metal shavings in your case usually are a big no no, but judging loosely by your symptoms and the fact that your PSU is crying tears if sadness I would go out on a limb and say its time for a new PSU. If you have a spare sitting around it might be worth swapping it out and testing to see if this fixes your issues.
If you don't have a spare PSU I would recommend keeping a spare around, they are VERY handy to have, especially when your tracking strange and unusual hardware issues.
A PSU that starts to whine or squeal is usually on it's last legs. Power supply makers set the fan speed's to low and the caps slowly cook them self's.
What is a computer dead-lock ? -> frozen screen ? -> need to press the reset-button ?
Why is coil-whine a sign of a dying power-supply ? I'm no electrician but I'm going to say that every coil would whine at the right frequency (you know resonance) if it isn't encapsulated & glued to the pcb. Also electrical parts other then coils can whine/vibrate.
You can probably fix the problem: find the whining part and put some hot-glue on it & a bit around it, i hear clear nail-polish should also works. Don't go overboard, more=/=better.
- to find the whining coil/part you can make a paper-tube as a pin point listening device.
If you fear that your Power-supply is dying, you can measure whether the voltages are still within tolerances, you can either measure it with a Volt-meter
- http://www.wikihow.com/Check-a-Power-Supply
- http://pcsupport.about.com/od/insidethepc/a/power-supply-voltage-tolerance.htm
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Power_supply_unit_%28computer%29#Wiring_diagrams
- http://pcsupport.about.com/od/insidethepc/a/atx-pinout-24-pin-12v-psu.htm
- http://pcsupport.about.com/od/insidethepc/a/atx-pinout-4-pin-12v-psu.htm
or you can get a 24-pin ATX12V 2.x power supply tester
Dead lock is when the computer freezes completely. Even the CAPS lock light doesn't turn on.
I cleaned out the metal shavings from my computer and it hasn't shut down on me yet. It's been going for 1.5 days and I was playing a lot of far cry for that time so I think it's back to normal.
I'm still going to get a new power supply because coil whine is annoying.
I'm thinking about this Seasonic: http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817151137
That's a very good PSU.
Too bad it's not modular
SeaSonic makes great reliable PSUs. If you don't mind spending a little more you can get one that is modular
http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817151118
This is some very good advice and the tutorials are fairly simple to follow if you aren't extremely technical.
Coil whine is very common, and really does not effect anything.
If your problem is ONLY coil whine, then it truly is harmless.