Help: Noisy hard drive getting more obnoxious and starting to lag

[ataylor]

I have a 27" iMac that I got in August or September as a replacement for a 24" model that developed some serious display/pixel issues (which I believe were as a result of overheating issues).

Anyway, one of the first things I noticed when I got the new model was that the hard drive was noisy, something I've never had on my previous Macs. It makes kind of a clicking or rumbling sound at times, it's annoying but I decided it was better than screen burn and a faulty display, so I decided to live with it.

It seems like it's gotten slightly louder and happens more often, and now it will freeze and go to the pinwheel sometimes when I'm doing basic internet (I've tried Safari, Firefox, and Chrome), iTunes, Illustrator, etc.

At first I thought it might be an internet/browser problem but now I'm wondering if it's an issue with the hard drive. I'll be using the internet and listening to music and both will freeze up for 10-15 seconds sometimes. Sometimes the internet freezes up for longer.

I've tried resetting browsers, emptying cache, updating browsers and flash plug-ins, etc.

Any advice? Should I take this in and see if the hard drive needs to be replaced? What course of action is recommended?

 

[alust2013]

There's a good chance the HD will need replaced, so I'd back up your stuff and take it to apple, as those are all signs of a failing hard drive.