Click of death again -- am I doing something to make my hard drives die?

My Macbook (white), purchased in December 2006, is now having the Click of Death for the second time, a mere three months after the last time it had the Click of Death. (Insultingly, this time it happened in the middle of its weekly backup. Lame.) What's even better is this machine was a custom job and the Genius Bars don't seem to stock the 160-GB hard drives, so I'm assuming I'm in for another week of no computer and then another couple of days of reinstalling everything. Even with backups this is a total pain.
Assuming there isn't some fault in whatever batch of 160-GB hard drives they're using, is there ANYTHING I might be doing that could be causing this?
Theories I've seen:
* moving the computer before it is fully in safe sleep mode
* logic board issues
* "hard drives just die"
I've never had a laptop die on me before, let alone twice in the same unit and less than three months after the last time this happened. It's sad that this makes my appalling work Dell look practically indestructible.

Welcome to Apple Discussions!
Being that it has been at the genius bar, take it back there and tell them it has had this happen twice in the past 6 months, and ask for a replacement computer. Rarely are there Mac lemons, but they do happen. It is possible also in installing the hard drive, something got lodged in th IDE interface that slowly decayed its capabilities. One thing I recommend is not to travel with the hard drive asleep. Yes, it takes longer to boot up, but it is possible that your computer case is not well enough protected against innertial movements for the drive to properly park itself. Even strong enough innertial move thinner than a hairline can cause notebook drives to crash. The head is floating less than a mm over the drive platter. Get a better carrying case too, and only turn on the machine when on stable ground. Using it in a bus, or other moving vehical over potholes can also cause problems. An airplane less so, unless you were unfortunate enough to hit a real bad air pocket in the middle of the flight.

Similar Messages

  • Whenever I do something which engages my Hard Drive, my Macbook crashes!

    I don't know if it is related, but I have recently backed up my Macbook using Time Machine, on an external hard drive which is Time Machine compatible. But a day or so after, whenever I open something which engages the Hard Drive, I get the pinwheel of death. The Internet is the only thing I can seem to open. I can't Spotlight anything, when I try and open iTunes it crashes.
    Time Machine has been working absolutely fine, and all back ups went smoothly and the Time Machine interface thing has been working fine.
    I had ordered a new internal hard drive prior to these problems, but until that arrives, my laptop is basically un-useable.
    Does anyone have any suggestions at all? Its driving me mad!

    dwb wrote:
    The first thing I'd suggest is that you boot your computer with the System Restore disk that came with the computer and run the Disk Utility repair. Check out the S.M.A.R.T. report and see if there was any disk damage not repaired. Your problem does sound like it could be a bad drive.
    OK cool thankyou. I was going to try that, but I was just wondering if there was anything I could do before trying that. Just so annoying that I can't check the Disk Utility now because I can't seem to access anything.

  • "F11 System Recovery" during boot does not work after Cloning hard drive.

    Problem: “F11 System Recovery” during boot does not work after Cloning hard drive.
    HP Envy m6-1125dx UEFI Notebook Computer with GPT hard drive.
    Original Seagate Hard Disk GPT 700GB with Window 8.0_64 upgraded to Windows 8.1_64
    Startup Menu (F11 System Menu works properly) only on original hard drive.
    Following obtained from Disk Management & diskpart in Command Prompt.
                                     GPT Disk <700GB>
    Partition 1 WINRE NTFS Primary 235MB/400MB [Recovery]
    Partition 2 EFI System FAT32 (LBA) Primary 108MB/260MB [System]
    Partition 3 (NONE) Unformatted Primary 128MB/128MB [Reserve]
    Partition 4 Main NTFS Primary 90GB/195GB [Primary “C”]
    Partition 5 (NONE) NTFS Primary 372MB/450MB [Recovery]
    Partition 6 Data NTFS Primary 7GB/475GB [Primary “E”]
    Partition 7 NTFS Primary 26MB/350MB [Recovery]
    Partition 8 Recovery NTFS Primary 24GB/26GB [Recovery “D”]
    I have Cloned the original hard drive to a new HGST 1TB Hard Drive using four different methods (sector by sector):
    Acronis True Image 2015
    Acronis Backup for PC
    AOMEI Backupper Professional
    Macrium Reflect
    Each time the cloning process completes successfully and has the same original partition arrangement. The computer works properly except when trying to use the “F11 System Menu” key during boot. It gives the following error message:
    “Recovery
    Your PC needs to be repaired
    A required device isn’t connected or can’t be accessed.
    Error code: 0xc0000225
    You need to use the recovery tools on your installation media. If you don’t have any installation media (like a disc or USB device), contact your system administrator or PC manufacturer. “
    Any suggestions why the F11 System Recovery does not work during boot and how to fix the problem would be appreciated. I have does various disk checking and file checking on both the original and new hard drive with no errors.
    Thank you in advanced.

    Hi,
    How did you clone the HDD ? One-for-one or different method ?
    Regards.
    BH
    **Click the KUDOS thumb up on the left to say 'Thanks'**
    Make it easier for other people to find solutions by marking a Reply 'Accept as Solution' if it solves your problem.

  • My hard drive died last week, and I needed to install a new one.  Previously, I was able to save a .doc with text and inserted photo to .pdf and then to .jpg.  Now I can get the .pdf but can't determine what to do to convert to .jpg.  Does anyone know ?

    My hard drive died last week, and I needed to install a new one.  Previously, I was able to save a .doc with text and inserted photo to .pdf and then to .jpg.  Now I can get the .pdf but can't determine what to do to convert to .jpg.  Does anyone know ?

    Rather than do that, which means starting over from scratch, losing all your edits, organisation and so on, why not simply use iPhoto Library Manager to revert the Library to the older version? Easier, less destructive.
    The instructions on that are here
    If you really want to start over: you can access the Originals folder simply by going to your Pictures Folder and finding the iPhoto Library there. Right (or Control-) Click on the icon and select 'Show Package Contents'. A finder window will open with the Library exposed.

  • What does it mean when the hard drive icon with arrow appears on screen on start up?

    what does it mean when the hard drive icon with arrow below, appears on screen on start up?

    it needs to clicked to select it as the startup disk......for the boot to continue...

  • We have a 4 year old iMac 24 inch.  My hard drive died and we have a new hard drive now, but all that the fixit shop put on it was the Snow Leopard OS;  can I ask Apple for a download of our other many software programs to reload them?  Does it cost to do

    We have a 4 year old iMac 24 inch.  The hard drive died and we had a new hard drive installed.  They only installed the Snow Leopard OS on it, and there were many software programs that came with the iMac originally.. now missing.  Does anyone know whether Apple will resupply these?  I do have an Apple installation disc but have upgraded from the original Leopard to Snow Leopard... so the OS is not quite the same.  Ideas?  Thanks!

    No bootable bakup/clone or Time Machine backup? No initial install discs? If no to both of those, call 1-800-MY-APPLE and request replacement discs for that machine. They're available for a nominal S&H charge.

  • If i download my photos into iPhoto does that use up more hard drive space?

    If I download my photos into iPhoto does that use up more hard drive space on my mac?

    iPhoto and Lightroom are similar apps - although LR is a far more capable app - and that the price it should be, of course. But the two apps are similar in that they both offer
    Photo Management
    Non-Destructive Processing
    So, essentially, they both play the same part in the workflow.
    The procedure would be to
    Download the images from the camera into the Photo Manager (regardless of which one you choose)
    Review and select in the Manager
    Trash the unwanted with the Manager
    Process the images - that is, in most cases edit them.
    It is at this point - and only this point - that Photoshop might come into play. Both of these apps can act as a 'front-end' for Photoshop - after all, they're the Managers. But in truth, if you're using Lightroom then you very likely do not need Photoshop at all, and for anything that does require layers you can use one of the many - much less expensive - alternatives. But I think the common experience is that with Lightroom (like Aperture) the requirement for the sledgehammer that is Photoshop really fades away.
    So pick one horse and ride it. Choose between LR and iPhoto. Use it like it's intended. Don't get involved in other necessary apps. Don't review before bringing the photo into the manager - that's what the manager is for.

  • I'm just curious, what does Apple name the second hard drive

    I got a G5 with one hard drive which was by default named "Macintosh HD". When someone orders two hard drives what does Apple name the second hard drive by default? I'm just curious.

    "...what does Apple name the second hard drive..."
    Raul.

  • Time Machine does not start after external hard drive is connected

    Time Machine does not start after external hard drive is connected

    These are the iCloud storage options: http://www.apple.com/icloud/includes/lightbox-storage.html
    Also bear in mind that:
    1. restoring data over icloud takes time
    2. iCloud is not designed as a replacement to Time Machine.

  • Why does my Mac say my hard drive is full, but that's not true?

    Why does my Mac say my hard drive is full, but there should be plenty of space on it?

    You need to get a program like OmniDiskSweeper,  it will check your drive and see what is taking up the space.  From there you can decide what to do.

  • LR 5 does not recognize my external hard drive. It has  recognized this drive in the past. No help at any Adobe site.

    LR 5 does not recognize my external hard drive. It has  recognized this drive in the past. No help at any Adobe site.

    My external HD  contains photos I have worked on in the past.
    Additionally, I have added photos to LR5 directly onto my Mac HD. (38
    photos added when working in the absence of my external HD)
    Presently, in the Library mode, the Le Cie external HD is not seen in the
    upper left hand corner  "Source" location.
    The only way to "see" the La Cie HD and its photos is in the "Import" mode.
    These photos have previously been imported.
    I wish to use the La Cie HD as my source in the Library mode and proceed to
    the Develop mode.
    In other words, work on my previously imported, previously worked on
    photos, now on the La Cie.

  • My macbook 15 inch wont turn on, it makes the hard drive sound and then a few seconds later it sounds like its powering down with like a clicking noise

    my macbook 15 inch wont turn on, it makes the hard drive sound and then a few seconds later it sounds like its powering down with like a clicking noise

    Try Resetting your Mac's PRAM and NVRAM
    If that doesn't help, try Resetting the System Management Controller (SMC)
    If neither helped, boot from your install disc, run Disk Utillity. The startup disk may need repairing.
    Using Disk Utility to verify or repair disks
    Check the S.M.A.R.T. status at the bottom of the Disk Utility window.
    Make sure it says: Verified

  • Does it has "share a hard drive" capability?

    Does it has "share a hard drive" capability?

    The TC is a shared hard drive.. with no form of backup.. Fundamentally it is a backup device.. not a NAS.. but you can store stuff on it if you take the risk and can appreciate it is slow.. has absolutely no media ability and is difficult to use in any way other than intended.

  • Does anyone know about a hard drive being corrupted by travelling from a Mac to a PC then back again?

    Ok, so I wrote a bunch of data to a Seagate ST2000DL003 3.5 inch 2TB Hard Drive - mac formatted - then put it into a PC and it couldn't read the drive. But when I plugged the drive back into the mac pro the drive was unreadable/corrupt. Does anyone know what's happened and is this data recoverable?

    Use Disk Utility "Repair Disk" and see what it says. It may be trivial and easily fixable.

  • Something is polling the hard drive

    After the harddrive is put to sleep, something is trying to poll the hard drive, this started after upgrading to 10.5 I heard a few others talking about this but no one posted a solution, anyone know a way to figure out what is the offending poller.
    The harddrive is fine, no problems, what is happening is just an attempt to wake the hard drive from its sleep state, which should not be happening, I notice that it occurs on a regular basis, like every five minuets, when I manually close mail, and safari, then put the comp to sleep it stops.
    So I thought ok, well then it must be mail.app, but I changed the settings, so that it would not check mail but every hour, and still the same issue.
    So odd, to say the least, also check settings and found nothing unusual, I guess I could check logs, but not sure which ones would have the data I am looking for so any thoughts on this issue would be much appreciated, it get really nasty to hear the hd polling in the middle of the night, irritating...
    definition polling of the harddrive=a hardware command to the harddrive which equates to an attempt to wake the hd, usually produces a noise not unlike the sound the hd makes when you manually place the comp into sleep mode.

    Hi reelstuff1, and a warm welcome to the forums!
    Any 3rd party plugins?
    One way to test is to Safe Boot from the HD, (holding Shift key down at bootup), run Disk Utility in Applications>Utilities, then highlight your drive, click on Repair Permissions, Test for action in Safe Mode...
    PS. Safe boot may stay on the gray radian for a long time, let it go, it's trying to repair the Hard Drive
    Reboot, test again.
    If it only does it in Regular Boot, then it is some 3rd party add-on, Check System Preferences>Accounts>Login Items window to see if it or something relevant is listed.
    Check the System Preferences>Other Row, for 3rd party Pref Panes.
    Also look in these if they exist, some are invisible...
    /private/var/run/StartupItems
    /Library/StartupItems
    /System/Library/StartupItems
    /System/Library/LaunchDaemons
    /Library/LaunchDaemons

Maybe you are looking for

  • 8500e all in one WILL NOT ALLOW sprint anymore

    This used to work, but now nothing works.   Mac OSX 10.9.2 on the main computer.  The printer connects fine to the wireless network.  All machines on the network, wired, or wireless, can print to the machine.  None of the ios devices can see the prin

  • N77 and Font Sizes

    I recently upgraded from a 6270 to the N73. When I upgraded the 6270 SW, there was a new feature that allowed to increase the font size. A very useful feature for baby boomers Is there such a feature for the N73? I could not locate it. Thanks!

  • Should I export with ReportExportControl.processHttpRequest OR Java I/O libraries to write  result the browser ?

    Hi All, In our web deployment using JRC, we export to PDF on browser. There are two approach so far to achieve that  (codes attached below) : (1) Use ReportExportControl.processHttpRequest (2) Use the Java I/O libraries to write the exported result t

  • Purchase price history

    Hi, Client requirement is that he has to view or see all the price history of a particular PO prices provided by the vendor. For example actually a PO has been created with  a price of RS.180/- per piece. And later vendor has decreased the PO price t

  • Howto change the default error page in EP

    Hello all, I'm trying to find out where can I change the default error page when portal is loading  ("application stoped...") and replace it with my own friendly message . Thanks Amity