Yeah when I listen closely to my copmputer it sounds like something is clicking it is pretty quiet and it clicks pretty fast (maybe 5 times in 1 second) then will stop for one second and then do it again there is no actual pattern but dos this mean my hard drive is screwed? If so, how do I back up absolutely everything because I'm a noob at that. Again theres a random clicking, pretty quiet and kinda scary. Thanks as always. Just to let you know, I just noticed it tonight, and actually if I stand across the room (6 feet away) if the room is pretty quiet I can hear it fine. I hope I don't need a replacement...
Got a tip for us?
Let us know
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.
Computer Clicking?
- Thread starter Zwhaler
- Start date
- Sort by reaction score
I believe this sound is normal (although it's hard to tell when I can't hear it first hand).
...But that isn't to say you shouldn't always have a complete backup. If you already have an external HDD, a program like Carbon Copy Cloner is all you need.
...But that isn't to say you shouldn't always have a complete backup. If you already have an external HDD, a program like Carbon Copy Cloner is all you need.
Cool. Yeah it sounds normal to me, and the computer hasn't been acting up at all. Is there any other software out there because I don't want to have to erase everything on my drive in order to back stuff up. I have a PC and lots of it's stuff is on it.
My Mini's hard drive has been making an annoying clicking noise like that since I got it (a few months now)...no problems yet.
Just to be on the safe side, I would run disk utility located in Macintosh HD/Applications/Utilities. Highlight your hard drive on the left and run the verify disk process.
If it comes back with anything other than "Volume passed verification" in big green letters then backup using the backup utility of your choice: Carbon Copy Cloner, SuperDuper, Retrospect, Apple Backup etc.. Run Disk Utility off of your install disk and repair your disk. If this fails, look up how to repair your disk using FSCK or look into Disk Warrior (if you have a PPC Mac). Finally, if all else fails try to reformat but probably you will have to just go to the Genius if you get to this point...
If you have been doing lots of video work or work with large files you might want to make sure your drive isn't fragmented. I have been doing some video work and noticed that my drive was clicking so I ran disk utility and it failed because the drive headers were corrupted. I think that writing and deleteing huge files can contribute to this as it certainly fragments the drive more than is usual for a mac. If you back up using a cloning program, you can copy it back to the original drive and it supposedly defragments the drive to some extent. Also, you could try a program like iDefrag, although, I haven't ever used it so I can't endorse it...I'm pretty sure this is what Disk Warrior does but there is no Universal copy yet so it isn't useful for us Intel people...Goodluck...
If it comes back with anything other than "Volume passed verification" in big green letters then backup using the backup utility of your choice: Carbon Copy Cloner, SuperDuper, Retrospect, Apple Backup etc.. Run Disk Utility off of your install disk and repair your disk. If this fails, look up how to repair your disk using FSCK or look into Disk Warrior (if you have a PPC Mac). Finally, if all else fails try to reformat but probably you will have to just go to the Genius if you get to this point...
If you have been doing lots of video work or work with large files you might want to make sure your drive isn't fragmented. I have been doing some video work and noticed that my drive was clicking so I ran disk utility and it failed because the drive headers were corrupted. I think that writing and deleteing huge files can contribute to this as it certainly fragments the drive more than is usual for a mac. If you back up using a cloning program, you can copy it back to the original drive and it supposedly defragments the drive to some extent. Also, you could try a program like iDefrag, although, I haven't ever used it so I can't endorse it...I'm pretty sure this is what Disk Warrior does but there is no Universal copy yet so it isn't useful for us Intel people...Goodluck...
Sounds like the fan blades scraping against something? Like a kitchen clock-sound?
I hate to rain on your parade, but i think it will only get worse. I have exchanched one of my core 2 duo iMacs because of this. It seems to be a common issue on that model.