Macbook clicking HD?

[RouteZeroDesign]

The harddrive on my macbook is clicking!

It only seem to happen when im doing something or when there is activity on the computer.

eg:when im watching a video, every 4 seconds it will make a single click like the click on a clock.

 

Is my hardrive on the way out?

Is there anyway to save it?

If not, how do i transfer everything over to a new drive?

 

Should i start backing up stuff before its too late?

 

BTW, my macbook is a 2.0ghz Core 2 duo with the 120gb HD. It is only a year old, but i use it very regularly.

 

Cheers in Advance

 

Paul

[glassJAw]

http://askbobrankin.com/hard_drive_makes_a...king_sound.html

 

If it sounds like the first wav on that site I would be concerned.

[Pontoneer]

Some hard discs can make a noise somewhat like this in normal use - just the sound of the heads stepping back and forth over the surface of the disc as it reads/writes .

 

However , if you have been using your MacBook for a year and this has just started happening , then indeed you may have a fault developing .

 

It is never a bad idea to back up your data ; the easiest way would be to just buy an external drive and copy your data over to it . You can get drives of various sizes connecting via USB or Firewire ( Firewire 800 is the fastest but costs a bit more than USB or Firewire 400 ) .

 

As soon as you connect an external drive up to your MacBook , an icon will appear on your desktop . Just drag any files or folders you want to copy and drop them onto this icon - a window will open on the desktop indicating that copying is taking place and a bar graph will show the progress with the time required showing underneath .

That's the simplest way if you just want to back up files or folders .

 

You can also 'clone' your entire hard drive as a second bootable volume - there are commercial applications that will enable you to do this .

 

Is your machine still under warranty ? If so , I would backup my precious data onto an external drive then take the machine back to the dealer to be checked out before the warranty expires : if the hard drive is faulty you should be able to get it replaced free of charge under the warranty , when you get the machine back you can then restore your data from the external drive .

 

Good luck .

[~pcwiz]

Its ALWAYS good to make a backup, whether theres something wrong with the drive or not. And I agree with Pontoneer, if you still have the AppleCare warranty on the MacBook, backup the data and take it to a store and get it checked. Hard drive clicking (at least in PCs) is one of the first and last signs of hard drive failure, but it is true that some drives make noises.

 

Did the noises start right from the box or after using it for a year? If it started later, then thats a pretty good sign that the HD is indeed failing.

[GTR-33]

Sounds like the drive might be failing. My iPod started clicking and it failed a couple months later. You might want to take it in to an Apple store and have it checked out. Backup too.

[skyhighmac]

I agree with everyone. You need to backup your data first, then take it to the apple store. If you ask why, check this out.

[RouteZeroDesign]

Thanks for the help guys, im going to back up my hard-drive tomorrow as i have a western digital external drive that will work nicely.

 

The weird thing is, the noise seems to have gone away! i think it might of been due it sitting at an angle on my bed! but it was also making the noise when it was on my desk.

 

Maybe im just being paranoid, maybe im so used to the macbook being quite that when ever it accesses the hard drive i think its doing something wrong, i really dont know.

 

Regardless, im going to backup all my stuff tomorrow and bring it to the store for them to have a look over.

 

Thanks again for the advice!