Q: Occasionally my computer makes a louder noise for a few seconds, and the stops. I found it to be the cpu fan. When the noise starts, that fan is spinning faster. Is this normal? My last computer never did this.
A: It's getting older and running hotter. If you're doing a heavy load of work that puts more burden on the CPU. The motherboard knows this, and will speed up the fan to keep the CPU from overheating. Try buying a can of compressed air duster, open the case, take it outside, and "dust" out as much as you can, especially in the fins of the heatsink underneath the CPU fan. When you're done, make sure your computer is well ventilated and not stuffed somewhere in an air-tight box. It needs to be able to breathe and stay cool.