clicking G5

[Petermcd]

Hi guys

I wonder if anyone can help with the following. I have a Power PC G5 which has just started making loud, high pitched clicking noises. It doesn't happen constantly but say every half hour. I've checked disc utilities and it varifies the drives ( I have two internal drives and two external ones) as ok. I'm worried that this might be one of the drives on the way out, what can I do? Should I add another drive to the unit and migrate everything over to that? If so what drive can I get for this model?

 

[flatfoot]

You might get better help by posting in the PowerPC Mac section but I'm sure some of us around here can help you, too.

What exact model G5 do you have? Is it liquid-cooled?

If it is one of the HDDs, you can swap it for any recent SATA II HDD with up to 2TB size. Not so sure about larger drives and SATA 6Gbit/s ones.
Those drives aren't expensive and it might be a good idea to get one (or more) right away to save all your important data.
Then you can take your time finding the source of that clicking noise. It could be the power supply, too.

You could also try to record this noise and post the audio file here. Maybe someone can diagnose it that way.

 

[Petermcd]

Clicking G5

Thanks for your advice...

The model I have is a Dual 2 Ghz Power PC G5, it's certainly not liquid cooled.

I think getting a 2tb internal drive is a great idea.

When you say it could be the power supply, is this a componant I can replace? I guess the bottom line is I don't want to have to spend too much on the old girl if looks as though she's reached the end.

 

[flatfoot]

If you're able to diagnose a faulty power supply, you could open it – but don't do that if you don't know exactly what you're doing!

Otherwise, there are some used G5 PSUs on eBay every now and then, but they tend to be pricey when they're BuyItNow.
Replacing the whole PSU isn't overly complicated and can easily be done by a non-professional who at least knows how to handle electronic components.

However, I just said it might also be the PSU. You'd be better off with a dead HDD.

I couldn't think of anything in a G5 making a clicking noise except HDDs, PSU and maybe the optical drive. If it were that, you could replace it with any IDE (PATA, the old standard, not SATA) optical drive. That would even be cheaper than a new HDD.
To diagnose whether it's the optical drive: Unplug both data and power on the back of the optical drive (both plugs) and do your usual work. If the clicking doesn't occur within the amount of time it usually did, it's most probably the optical drive.

Otherwise, has your G5 experienced any beach-balling, inexplicable hangs or read/write errors lately?
Those are mostly caused by dying HDDs and you could unplug them one at a time to find the bad one.

 

[twoering]

How about a fan coming in contact with a wire or something? Might explain the periodic nature & high frequency.

 

[flatfoot]

How about a fan coming in contact with a wire or something? Might explain the periodic nature & high frequency.

Very improbable in a Mac Pro.