Sound Assumptions...

The ability to smell whether or not a hard-drive has fried. To hear the death clink of a skipping CD. To connect ethernet cables into the back ports of computers simply by feel.

These are just some of the skills you need in order to be a "handy PC/Mac fix-it guy". But you know what those IT fellas never stress? Listening with your gut.

FLASHBACK: 5 months ago

My mother bought some new Dells for her company, and naturally, she wanted me to help her set them up so they'd be ready to go upon the first few clicks on a keyboard. An easy can-do job, and most everything seemed to work fine.

Except for one computer.

At the time, I didn't think much of it, but in the crystal-clear view of hindsight, perhaps I should have done a bit more Sherlock Holmes instead of John Holmes when it came to the task at hand. You see, it was making this "whirring" sound, not unlike a computer that's overclocked and running 3 fans at the same time. The noise wasn't that bad, and the person using the machine seemed to be fine with it. I too, had been used to loud computer fans on my older Macs, so I assumed it was an acceptable machine fluke.

Flashforward: Present Day

Checking up on the Dell systems, I listened to that one troubling computer again, only this time it sounded like a nuclear-powered weed whacker going 400 miles an hour. This was getting a bit ridiculous. I turned off the computer and popped open the hood.

Sweet Christ.

Apparently, someone though it'd be a smart idea to tape the installation CDs for the Dell inside a clear-pouch window. Unfortunately, the glue for the pouch was weak, so all this time the pouch slipped off, slowly getting shredded by the CPU fan causing that awful ruckus.

Needless to say, I removed the culprit most swift-ricky-tick. A couple spritzes of compressed air to clear away the shredded plastic and voila! The computer was as quiet as a zen garden.

If you get anything out of this story, I hope it's this: No sound rings louder than the one made by a single hand THWACKING a forehead over carelessness... ;)