Macbook hard disk noise

[Vazza]

I've recently noticed that the hard disk on my C2D MB (which I bought in November) is making a regular clicking noise (each click is about 30s - 1min apart) when using programs as well as when it is idle. I don't remember hearing it as often as this in the past (it would make the noise for a little while and then disappear)...is it anything to worry about or is it just normal activity? I was told it could just be OS X defragmenting files in the background or is it something more sinister?

I have run the Disk Utility and the S.M.A.R.T. status is "verified". The hard disk is a FUJITSU MHV2080BHPL.

 

[extraextra]

I remember reading somewhere that a clicking HD is a sign that it's going to die - like, it's gone bad. I would back everything up right now, if you haven't already.

 

[chatoyer]

Lots of hard drives make funny noises that make you wonder just what the heck is going on. They are not always a sign of an impending problem, though.

My two-month old C2D MB starting doing this about 4 weeks ago. It is very intermittent, and usually goes away if I power down for about 15 minutes. I emailed the place I bought it (we don't have Apple stores here) and included an audio recording. They said two things: 1) could be a dying hard drive, or 2) could be a corrupt disk directory. They suggested to bring it in and they would check both. I declined, as it seems to very intermittent and, as I mentioned, solveable. As of now (17 Jan), it has done it once in the past 10 days.

Yes, backup. I do a full clone with SuperDuper everynight, so am not too worried. I also use SMARTreporter in the menu bar to (hopefully) warn of any impending problems.

 

[Vazza]

After powering down for a bit, it seems to have gone ...yeah, I do backup regularly but what I was more worried about was I'd have to send it for repair at a time I really do need it for work.