Yes and I have met a few of them too.In the military we called them gremlins.
We may be sidetracking a bit, but these are valid concerns about fans. Using compressed air to make them spin while cleaning is not good because they can be forced to spin much faster than design limits and damage the bearings. So holding them stationary when blasting is essential. But of course, you would not, or should not be blasting with power applied so stopping a spinning fan here is not an issue.
But when trying to isolate fan noise with "live" electronics, altering the rotation speeds to change the pitch of the sound can be helpful. Using some device to isolate and channel the sound to our ears can help too - hence the straw/paper towel tube trick.
But I advise against sticking a screwdriver in to the heart of "live" electronics. Screwdrivers are hardened steel, highly conductive, and sharp. One slip can result in gouging out a Grand Canyon sized gorge (microscopically speaking) across several circuit traces or other components on the motherboard - or coming into contact with live circuits, creating shorts. Hence my recommendation to use a wooden Popsicle/glue stick.
The old mechanics trick using a long screwdriver does work, but you have to turn your head to put your ear to the butt of the screwdriver handle, losing sight of where you are putting the hard, sharp, conductive, tip. And again, one slip and irreparable damage may result. If you want to use the screwdriver trick, I would encourage you use a long wooden dowel instead. Not metal objects.
My Computer
System One
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- OS
- W10 Pro
- Computer type
- PC/Desktop