fan sound?

[JK316]

After my computer boots up, I hear a low noise un-related to volume on or off.  I have keen hearing and it is annoying.  I thought it might be a fan then was wondering if SSD's have a fan.  My HP chromebook is also a SSD and it is silent.  Anyway, I just purchased it from QVC.  One of the HP representatives wants me to un-install the audio device then install a SoftPaq ( SP111953 file download).  Has anyone tried this before?  I am not an expert on computers and am tentative in trying this.  Do  HP customer service rep's remotely fix this?  When I was a nurse educator at a hospital system, the IT department did this for me several times.  Thank you,

[itsmyname]

@JK316 -- I was wondering if SSD's have a fan. 

No, they do not. All an SSD does is store your files, and store the files that make Windows work.

Anyway, I just purchased it from QVC. 

Did you get a "lemon" ? What is that store's return/exchange policy? 7 days? 30 days?  

Note that HP offers a one-year warranty on all new computers. So, if the store won't help you, you can (again!) contact HP Support, to open a claim against the warranty.

One of the HP representatives wants me to un-install the audio device, then install a SoftPaq ( SP111953 file download).  Has anyone tried this before?  I am not an expert on computers and am tentative in trying this.  Do  HP customer service rep's remotely fix this? 

A few steps: 

1. use the "System Restore" app on your computer to create a "check-point". By doing this, if something goes wrong, you can use System Restore to "roll-back" your computer to the way it was, at the date/time when the check-point was created,
2. Yes, you could try what the HP person suggested. Since you say that muting your sound has no affect, I really doubt that the suggestion will help.  But, you can try it. I think that HP will insist that you try it, as soon as you open the claim against the Warranty.

When I was a nurse educator at a hospital system, the IT department did this for me several times. 

Can you ask them to look at your computer, as a "personal favour" to you?

Finally, the noise could be a wire rubbing against a spinning fan-blade, i.e., something that is "simple" to fix.

[JK316]

Thank you for the fast reply.  My computer has a Solid State Drive so if I am understanding correctly, SSD's do NOT have a fan.  So,  you said that there could be a wire rubbing against a spinning fan blade ?  I am a little confused. Question:  Does "system restore" delete the anti virus program that I paid for ?  I will call HP tomorrow.  I am confident that HP will fix the issue.  Thanks again, Take care, j.

[itsmyname]

@JK316 -- My computer has a Solid State Drive, so if I am understanding correctly, SSD's do NOT have a fan. 

Correct. I know of NO HDD ("hard disk drive") nor SSD ("solid state device") that has a fan as a component.

There usually is a fan on top of the heatsink that is on top of the CPU (Central Processing Unit).

There might be a fan on the graphics adapter card.

There might be a "case fan" mounted on the inside back wall of the computer case.

So,  you said that there could be a wire rubbing against a spinning fan blade ? 

Without hearing the actual noise, that is a possibility.

Question:  Does "system restore" delete the anti virus program that I paid for ? 

No. You may be thinking of the "Reset My PC" app within Windows 10.

That certainly will restore your copy of Windows to the date that you first started it.

System Restore is used to take "check-points".

Compare to taking a picture of your online banking information, every day.

It would be nice to do a "system restore" to "undo" any debits against your bank-account,

by looking at a picture that you snapped, a day or two ago.

Windows Update creates a check-point, before applying the updates.

If the updates "fail", then use System Restore to "time-warp" your computer back to its state when that check-point was created.

[JK316]

Hi,  HP did a remote total diagnostic and said the fan noise was normal.  He was very thorough as I watched him navigate in my computer.  He said that desk tops as opposed to laptops sometimes have low fan noise.  Thanks again for your help.  jane

[itsmyname · Accepted solution]

@JK316 -- you are very welcome. 

Inside any All-In-One, everything is quite "packed" into a small cube.  So, getting good air-flow is much more difficult than in a full-size "desktop" computer case.  That implies that the fan must work harder -- more speed and more noise -- to do its job.  Also, a "desktop" computer has an internal power-supply, and inside that power-supply is another fan, to help with air-flow. Contrast to your All-In-One, with an external power-supply that does not have/need a fan -- one less fan "inside" your All-In-One.