Electronic Computer Startup Noise recorded form an LED

This is of the sound that my computer's LED makes when its light is recorded as sound by connecting a CDS Cell to a handheld recorder's microphone input. Needless to say, it sounded awesome.

You can hear the disks spinning up, the PC Speaker (at 0:08), and all of the other devices that are drawing power. Even the background hiss is from the computer itself, as I had the recorder set to a relatively insensitive setting. Not to mention that the cell was literally pressed up against the light, effectively blocking out all other potential noise or hum sources.

Category:

Science & Technology

Tags:

• LED
• noise
• computer
• startup
• boot
• sound
• power
• button
• supply
• electricity
• CDS
• cell

[0quaereverum]

Could one potentially determine what, very roughly and very widely, the computer was doing with hardware simply by recording the LED?

[r2blend]

@0quaereverum

Yes, I suppose so. I haven't tried this on any other computers yet, but even from this I can tell that some of the sounds at the beginning are related to my hard drive spinning up - mainly because it physically sounds exactly like that. By swapping out hardware and rebooting the computer and comparing the differences, I assume one could get an idea as to the sound of various hardware's "power footprint".

[durisnonfrangor]

I recognise that pulsing from 0:09 to 0:22 ... is that one of those 2.5" portables being polled?

[r2blend]

@durisnonfrangor

I don't think so. It may be one of my hard drives, but I don't have a 2.5" portable.

[labobo]

Interesting stuff, keep em coming

[testchimp23]

Dubstep?

[FlashIeme]

Is this what it sounds like inside Tron ^^;?

[fluctibus]

great! the middlepart reminds me on some of the very old tracks from sahkorecordings . yes there are people who produced sound

like that on purpose (-; with selfmade synthisizers.

[Beathovenxxx]

your Pc is a whole band! awsome! make more of these "EXE in Audio"-Sounds :D