Your fan may be dying. That warning may have been based on the fan RPM. If the bearings are going, the fan RPM will drop occassionally (or more). That's probably the sound you heard also (the bearing locking). Fans are cheap, it's worth the insurance ;)
So I started up my computer early today and when it entered the BIOS it displayed this message like "Warning* your computer chip may fail/running slow" I went to check the temperature on the fan and it doesn't seem to be out of the norm...so then rebooted...got into the desktop without slowing down or recreating the…
Yeah, definitely disconnect your box, open up the case and blow/vac all the dust out of there. Make sure to hit all the fans real good, too. This should be a regular occurring event. Depending on how dusty your room is/how dry the weather is, you'd need to do it more often. Living in Arizona I had to do this/check at least…
Yeah had them all on warranty...I think they have expired by now though... Next time I'll be sure to smash them before warranty and get a renewal like my laptop...
Since I just cleaned out a 5 year old computer that wouldn't boot due to something (probably dust), I would suggest a few air cans, opening the case up, and wearing a painter's mask and goggles and just blowing the thing out, with an active vacuum cleaner in the other hand to suck up the blown dust so it doesn't go…
Yeah my comp also happens to be in a pretty compact room nestled between tables and shelves...and its next to an open window...I just blew out all the dust in vincinity and so far its not making that sound or the warning display...guess time will tell. Thanks for the reminder...I only do it once a month as well.