Hard Drive Makes a Clicking Noise

My Macbook Pro 2.53 Hardrive makes a clicking noise when I pick up my computer while its on. I know the disk is spinning but none of my other macs do this.

Hi mattzarr, welcome to Apple Discussions!
The clicking is just the sudden motion sensor in the computer parking the heads on the HD to protect your data from damage. When moving a spinning HD, there is always the possibility that the reading head (like the needle on a record player) may contact the spinning surface, causing damage. That clicking is the head parking away from the spinning disk, preventing it from damage.
It is only found on Apple's notebooks, and was introduced sometime around the 3rd last Powerbook G4 generation, if I remember correctly.
--Travis

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Dual G5 2.0 hard drive makes loud clicking noises after installing Leopard

I installed Leopard on my Dual G5 2.0, did a clean install. Worked fine for a couple of days but now it is unusable, the hard drive makes loud clicking noises and the computer slows down, can't even properly shut it down. All worked perfectly with Tiger installed.
Does anyone have any suggestions?
Thanks and happy new year!

Ha... "Cheers" is not convincing coming from an angry man like you.
In English PC stands for Personal Computer:
http://dictionary.reference.com/search?q=personal%20computer
and
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Personal_computer
So a Mac and a Windows Machine can both be a PC. In fact I believe Apple coined the phrase PC, but I could be wrong.
I've been using Mac for 20 years, never had any issues. However my windows machines are very inefficient, it's difficult to get them to work with a printer, much less any of the multi media apps and equipment I use. My windows Machines are useful to me as test boxes and running some apps I don't have on my Macs. Sure Office works great on them, but I don't do spread sheets and such for a living.
I'm sorry that you are having bad luck, or are you making this up? You are a apple rep? Do they know that you are posting on the Apple site and advising users to buy a PC, hmm George Lelapinou the French Apple hater?
So, sorry old comrade but PC stands for personal computer, not Microsoft, and my PC is working 100% now, as my Macs always do, it appears it just needed to be cleaned. Now if only my crappy Peugeot would work after getting cleaned... I joke, I kid, iJoke.

Hard drive makes a clicking noise on Mac. (But still works fine on PC)

When I plug my external hard drive into my PowerBook G4, it makes a odd clicking noise, the light flashes, and it never appears as a drive in my computer.
This is a clear sign of a broken platter, but when I plug the same drive into my Windows laptop it works perfectly. All the files are there, no noticeable problems. (The hard drive is formatted to FAT32, so it should be working with both computers.)
The USB ports are working fine on the Mac laptop, as I have tried the hard drive in each port and have the same problem, while I have tried other things in the ports and they work fine.
Thanks!

I have a very similar problem with an external hard drive that I recently purchased. It makes a clicking noise but doesn't show up on as a drive on the desktop. I have looked in Disk Utility to configure the drive but it doesn't show up as an option as well. I went to the manufacturer website for support and it tells me that this is expected and that the recommended solution is to "initialize (partition and format) the drive with the Mac OS using the OS disk utility. Following the initialization, the drive will be identified almost immediately upon being connected to the system." (I don't need to use the hard drive on a PC for any reason.)
My question - is this safe to do? If so, how many times do I need to partition?

Western Digital Scorpio 2.5" IDE hard drive upgrade soft clicking noise

Just replaced the original hard drive in my 17" Powerbook G4 with a Western Digital Scorpio 250GB 2.5" IDE drive, model WD2500BEVE. I notice a strange noise coming from the drive every minute or two, almost like the drive is going to sleep and waking up. I contacted WD tech support and this was their response:
Thank you for contacting Western Digital Customer Service and Support. I apologize for the inconvenience. This issue is caused by a system initiated power management command being interpreted incorrectly by the hard drive. The sound is normal and as of yet, we do not have a fix for it.
Not sure if it is a larger issue with all WD 2.5" drives but if you have the noise, you are going to have to live with it or settle for a smaller capacity Seagate or Toshiba drive or hope that WD has a firmware update for MacOSX which is slim to none imo.
Anyone else have this problem or more importantly, are using a WD 2.5" drive and do NOT have this problem?

dausone:
This is a known issue with these drives, although not all drives have the problem; indeed, I have seen only a few reports from the many people who have installed them. WD is aware of the issue and there is a fix for PC users of this drive, but not for Macs. I suggest that you call WD Tech Support, or Customer Relations and tell them you would like to have the drive replaced.
cornelius

My internal hard drive is making "clicking" noises

Hi there,
I have not been around for a while and I see that everything has changed... anyway... for a while now my harddrive is making noises as if it was being accessed all the time. There is plenty of RAM available, but still...
Latterly I have been having problems with Firefox as it is sucking all my memory, but I believe my issue with the harddrive making noises is quite separate.
Not quite sure what other info might be usefuk... except from FF, I don't have any process taking up too much memory. The only thing is kernel_task that now is at 335MB (I don't remember it too be so high).
TIA

Again, make sure you have everything fully backed up. The AHT isn't considered all that reliable. If you get an error, it can be trusted. But no errors, not necessarily. Did you run it in Extended?
Smart Utility, linked above, may prove to be a more thorough check, and you won't be wasting time testing the memory. I would run that.
Also, open Activity Monitor in Utilities. Switch to System Memory. Down at the bottom what does it say for Page outs and Swap used?
It's also possible the noise is coming from a fan. Get iStat Pro to check the fan speeds and that they are running normally.
http://www.islayer.com/apps/istatpro/
Can you locate what part of the computer the noise is coming from?
Message was edited by: WZZZ

My hard drive makes a grinding noise when I turn my mac on. Also my Mac is running very slowly even though it has an i7 with 8GB of RAM.

Please Help!!

olliedog11
Is there a way to fix this?
Yes and no......99.9% NO however.
When a HD dies its like asking about "cleaning a used paper towell"..........no.
$70 for a nice 1TB HD replacement, very easy to do , see videos posted above for you on replacing your HD.
In the future ALWAYS have a HD clone!
HD clones
Advantages:
1. HD clones are the best, quickest way to get back to 100% full operation in mere seconds.
2. Once a HD clone is created, the creation software (Carbon Copy Cloner or SuperDuper) is no longer needed whatsoever, and unlike TM, which requires complex software for its operational transference of data, a HD clone is its own bootable entity.
3. HD clones are unconnected and isolated from recent corruption.
4. HD clones allow a “portable copy” of your computer that you can likewise connect to another same Mac and have all your APPS and data at hand, which is extremely useful.
5. Rather than, as many users do, thinking of a HD clone as a “complimentary backup” to the use of TM, a HD clone is superior to TM both in ease of returning to 100% quickly, and its autonomous nature; while each has its place, TM can and does fill the gap in, say, a 2 week old clone. As an analogy, the HD clone itself is the brick wall of protection, whereas TM can be thought of as the mortar, which will fill any cracks in data on a week, 2-week, or 1-month old HD clone.
6. Best-idealized 2nd platform redundancy for data protection, and 1st level for system restore of your computers internal HD. (Time machine being 2nd level for system restore of the computer’s internal HD).

Machine will not boot; hard drive makes clicking noise

My G4 will not boot up.
Here are the symptoms:
It passed the hardware test;
Will not perform a safe start - so cannot run disk utility;
Hard drive makes a clicking noise.
I'd appreciate any advice about how to proceed.
pdh

Yes, as mentioned backup now. best not to use your Mac till you do. The drive may fail for good. Here's some tips on replacing your drive (they are pretty inexpensive now);
This is by SDMacuser,
Even if you have never installed nor pulled a HD from a Powermac...... trust me....it is not all that difficult.
I can actually switch internal HD's among 3 separate G4 Towers I own in a matter of minutes (often less than 10 minutes).
Simply power the system down and ground yourself (a grounding strap is recommended or at the very least touching the metal frame to discharge any potential static electricity prior to actually touching the HD or any internal components on your system).
Disconnect the power cable to the back of the HD, then the long ide connector on the back of the HD / cable (pull straight back while grasping the black connector with 2 fingers ... do not yank the actual ribbon cable).
All of my HD's are mounted or bolted to their own metal sleds (either single sled or a dual sled) with 4 screws.
Unscrew the small screw (philips) holding the sled in place on position one below the ide connector or cable. And gently remove the sled & HD from the Powermac without bumping / damaging other internal components.
Remove the 4 screws from the sled itself holding the HD in place. Be careful not to allow the drive to fall once all screws have been removed.
Install the new HD (and make sure to address proper jumpers on the back of the HD itself.)
Now reverse this process with new HD for proper installation into the G4 Powermac.
Any questions just post back.
btw ... there are a few QT demos on apples web sites showing how to do this.
 Cheers! DALE

Clicking sound that the iMac hard drive makes every 10 minutes or so when in Sleep Mode.

My iMac is 2 years old. I have noticed that when I put it to sleep, the hard drive makes a
clicking noise every 5-10 minutes. I had my Lacie hard drive set up for Time Machine, but
the iMac also seemed to be making the Lacie whir every so many minutes, too. I have since
temporariily shut off my Lacie, but the clicking sound persists. It also seems to me that at
times the hard drive also is trying to "run" or activate momentarily.
I never hear the clicking noise when I am using my iMac.
I read many posts about other iMac owners having a similar problem. One "suggestion" was that
the iMac is not really in sleep mode. I don't understand that since I use the Sleep prompt under
the Apple O.S. Icon. I read somewhere else that the clicking is the cooling of metal, or something
like that. That seems a "reach" to me.
Any suggestions (or directing me to a thread that specifically addresses this issue) would be
much appreciated.
In any case, if I need to call Apple Tech (I have 1 year left on my warranty coverage), I would like
to know if they have probably encountered this problem. Also, what would be a good way to explain
the issue, if you can advise me on that.
Thanks!

I have since called Apple Support about the problem. They did not solve it, but did offer to call back. I was unable to be home for the call back. I will call them again, but they did not seem to be aware of any "clicking" problems the iMacs were having.
I timed the clicking noises while the iMac was in Sleep mode; it is every 2 minutes almost consistently. (Not the 5-10 I mentioned in my first post.) Also, it then has a slight "whirring" sound after the "click" or "ping" as if it is trying to process something.
My iMac does not make the clicking/pinging noise while not in Sleep mode.
I have searched the Net and these forums repeatedly trying to find someone who has had a similar "clicking" sound. One fellow suggested his hard drive clicked in Sleep mode because it was looking for a printer. That is not the problem I am having, since all printer jobs have been completed.
If any of you could help me on this or direct me to a thread that addresses the issue, I would appreciate it immensely.
Thanks.

How much noise should the hard drive make on a MBP early 2011?

Had since May/June last year i5 13" and only since I applied all updates few weeks ago it seems to be louder than it was before?
It sounds like a fan but isn't... obviously. Right hand side of track pad, and covering it, in fact just touching it dampens it to barely audible. Is that normal or has something gone a bit weird? A constant fan noise, which isn't the fan is now there permanently.

How much noise should the hard drive make on a MBP early 2011?
None.
The machine should only make noise if the Superdrive is being used or the CPU's heavily used, going by my Early 2011 17".
It sounds like a fan but isn't... obviously. Right hand side of track pad, and covering it, in fact just touching it dampens it to barely audible. Is that normal or has something gone a bit weird? A constant fan noise, which isn't the fan is now there permanently.
It's possible it wasn't installed correctly and/or the case is slightly off so it's resonating the hard drive vibrations.
Make sure you have a internet connection (don't move) and reboot the machine holding the d key down like forever and Hardware Test will run.
Backup your data off the machine, if the hard drive dies under 1 year or three years with Applecare, then go get a new one. else you can replace it yourself with a better one and not void your warranty if you don't break anything doing so. Add more RAM while your at it.
http://eshop.macsales.com/installvideos/
As you know Mac's are made by hand by young Chinese women working 12 hour shifts performing the same function every 7 seconds for only $1.20 a hour. They live 7 to a box room and have to pay 70¢ a meal.
All in all I would say they are very tired, and it's possilbe a few defects made it to your machine.

Macbook makes weird clicking noises

i can't remember when this started, but randomly, my macbook will start to make weird clicking noises. it's not just when it's idle either, i'll be using it and it'll still make weird low "dddddddd" noises ><;; i don't think it's the fan b/c it's not the high pitched whirring...does anybody else have this problem???

This clicking sound is specifically from the hard drive in MacBooks. The model of the hard drive in my MacBook is the FUJITSU MHV2080BHPL. I've had this click for well over a year and it only shows up when my hard drive is having to do a lot of thrashing for virtual memory purposes. I consider it entirely benign and merely a consequence of the hard drive head moving back and forth across the drive. It is very rare. Fujitsu drives historically are very reliable (as opposed to the Hitachi/Travelstar IBM drives which are historically a POS).
Nevertheless! What is the first rule of computing? Quote after me: *'MAKE A BACKUP'*. There is no excuse for not making regular backups of your hard drive. If you don't, you get what you deserve. It's that simple. *All hard drives fail.* It's just a matter of when. These days hard drives are being made cheaply, with lower quality standards than in the past, therefore they fail much more readily. Even Seagate, which I considered the hold out quality hard drive maker on the market, have recently been putting out faulty drives. NEVER depend on your hard drive.

I'm having to re-install PSE 11 on a new hard Drive. I clicked the installer and it ran, but says it's missing the .exe file. I then downloaded PSE 11 from your website and when I unzipped it and ran it, it wanted to uninstall PSE 11. Now I'm contactin

I'm having to re-install PSE 11 on a new hard Drive. I clicked the installer and it ran, but says it's missing the .exe file. I then downloaded PSE 11 from your website and when I unzipped it and ran it, it wanted to uninstall PSE 11. Now I'm contacting you

Okay, so, fast forward from July to now -
- I've visited my closest Apple store's genius bar twice now. (Over an hour and a half away.)
- My computer spent at least 8 hours behind their closed doors in the workshop
- Several complete erases of the harddrive have taken place
- Most of the Apple geniuses I dealt with were nice and very knowledgeable, but they were and still aren't 100% sure exactly what is wrong with my computer.
The good news is:
- They were able to at least get it running again, with a clean install from their servers of OS X Lion 10.7.5
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- Faulty Hard Drive (even though it is brand new)
- The wrong build of software being installed.
Now, while the wrong build does seem like it could be the problem, it doesn't make sense in the aspect that all of the initial problems began when the first hard drive failed. The same problems continued when I changed out the failed hard drive with the brand spanking new one, and only slightly improved when I was able to successfully install the OS that came with the original disks for my computer. I'm not convinced this thing is back to normal, but hopefully I can make it last through getting a shiny new retina Macbook Pro in the coming future. Thank you so much to everyone who read and replied to this post!
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ITunes makes metal clicks noises

Sometimes my iTunes makes metal clicks noises when playing music and sometimes it does not. It seems related to an OS update issue. I use the USB audio Editor UA1D interface to listen my music so the bug may only occurs using USB audio. It is really tiny noises but if I pay attention they are hard to miss. Any one as experienced this problem?
I have a Mac mini but I experienced the problem on my iBook too so it does not seem related to the hardware.

Heey, I think I've solved it! It's that damned QuickTime 7. check out this link.
http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=93610
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Hello, my 2012 MacBook pro makes a clicking noise

Hello, my 2012 MacBook pro makes a clicking noise in the bottom right of my computer. The empty space below the keyboard where you are supposed to rest your hands. I press it and it sounds like something is snapping almost.

You should also ask this in the MacBook Pro forum. This is the forum for the 13” white and black plastic MacBooks that were discontinued in 2010. You should also post this question there to increase your chances of getting an answer.
https://discussions.apple.com/community/notebooks/macbook_pro

My dvd drive makes an awful noise when inserting dvd, I have a macbook PRo

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Brand new computer is super slow and makes a clicking noise

My brand new computer is super slow and makes a clicking noise. Any suggestions? I have a lenovo X120e, purchased it around 2 months ago but due to moving across the country just started using it, not so happy so far but I would be happier if it would speed up a bit. Every click takes a while to register especially during browsing on the internet.

Can you run the ThinkVantage Toolbox's HDD diagnostics?
Alternatively, try HD Tune's error scan and check it's SMART page for warnings.
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Hard Drive Makes a Clicking Noise

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