Macbook fan clicking sound

Hi,
Lately, the fan in my black Macbook C2D has been making some very strange clicking sounds when it spins up fast. Here's a recording of the sound:
http://benjisa.com/macbook.aif
I'm contemplating opening up the macbook and taking a look at the fans. However, I couldn't come across this problem anywhere else. Some advice?

It definitely sounds like the fan needs replacing. Get it service if it's in warranty. If not, get a fan at ifixit.com and replace it yourself. It's not that hard and they have instructional guides there to walk you through the process.
Dave M.
MacOSG Founder/Ambassador  An Apple User Group  iTunes: MacOSG Podcast
Creator of 'Mac611 - Mobile Mac Support' (designed exclusively for an iPhone/iPod touch)

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Macbook makes clicking sound

When I move my macbook, as I lift it up it often makes a clicking sound, seems to me like it's coming from the upper left corner. It sounds kind of like a plastic piece thats come loose only it's the excact same sound every time, making the plastic piece theory inlikely. This sound has been there even since i bought the computer a few months ago.
Anyone heard of this before, what's the matter with my macbook?

This sound is by design. This is the sound of your Hard Disk protection parking the heads of your disk in order to protect it from any sudden movement. Sudden movement of a Hard Drive can cause the reading heads to come into contact with the disk surface, which can potentially cause the drive to fail. This is a safety feature of the computer.
If you want, you can disable this feature. See this Apple Knowledge Base article for details:
http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1934
Message was edited by: BucksCountyBob

MacBook making clicking sound when moved?! not the sms HELPP

Today, i was using my MacBook and it started to make a clicking like sound when moved from side to side. I have had my MacBook for less then a week so I have no idea what could have happened. The computer has not beed dropped or anything! It is not the sms because I turned it off to see if the noise would still happen, and it did. Also this happenes when the computer is off. I cannot take it to a store because the closest one to me is an hour away.

Normally, a clicking sound would be an indication of a bad HD or if the Superdrive is trying to read a damage disc. Personally, since its a week-old computer, I'd take a one hour drive than taking the chance of the HD failing after the warranty expired. You can try calling Apple as well (1800APPL). You should still have FREE phone support.

Macbook making clicking sound

Hello Everyone, my computer has been making some odd sounds from the bottom right corner, on the corner of where your right palm would rest. I have the MacBook Pro Early 2011 15-Inch model (8,2).
I've opened the computer once to upgrade the RAM, but the computer had been doing this before. I had figured that me putting the bottom back on would fix my problem, but it didn't.
Also, the cover that is removed to open the Mac is slightly more into the computer that it should be - it isn't flush with the body of the computer. This is also in the same area the clicking is coming from. I, again, figured putting the cover back on would fix it from when I had gotten it - it didn't. I assume this is the reason the computer is clicking, but I'm not positive. I'm certain that it isn't the hard drive clicking either, I've heard that before and is quieter than this is.
Any help you could give would be very much appreciated. By the way, the computer IS under Applecare, so that is an option. Thanks!

Trekstar54 wrote:
. By the way, the computer IS under Applecare, so that is an option. Thanks!
So then use the coverage and call Apple.

Macbook Croaking/ Clicking sound

I've noticed that every couple of seconds my Macbook makes a croaking sound. It seems to be coming from behind the number keys at the top of the keyboard. The sound is only noticable when in a quiet room and either when opening the Macbook from sleep or closing the lid and putting the Macbook to sleep or while doing a light task such as word processing. I wanted to know if this sound is normal and if not where it could possibly be coming from.

No, that's a misunderstanding. I don't mean the cd-drive. I mean the internal speakers that are located at the back of the machine right between the keyboard and the LCD hinges. What I'm saying is that you might experience a system sound like the one i described in my previous post ("frog"). The system gives audible feedback e.g. if you have clicked something that you are not supposed to click. Check System Preferences > Sound whether "frog" is the sound you hear.
floba

Intermittent Fan Clicking Sound on iMac 8,1

I have an iMac 8,1 Intel Core 2 Duo 3.06 GHz that has developed a very small clicking in the fan. When I use iStat to speed up the fan, the noise is louder. Has anyone else had this problem, and if so do you think AppleCare would cover this? I do most of my work at night when it is quiet, and it is driving me nuts! Thanks.

I am wondering if this is the clicking I am hearing on my new 27" iMac, coming from the lower left... almost like ticking...

Macbook Pro makes a faint/light clicking sound.

I just recently purchased my macbook pro and over the last week, I noticed a light/fint clicking sound on the right side of the keyboard. I do not think it is the hard drive because it has not been slow or lagging or anything else and I verified the disk in disk utility and it said the HD is "okay", so I figured it is not a hard drive problem. It only starts when I've had it on for a few minutes It is only noticable when in a very quite room or when you really concentrate on the noise. Anyone have any idea what it might be if it is not the hard drive?

Thanks! I am getting it looked at just in case because when I first started up the computer right out of the box it was a little slow at first but once everything was installed and working it has been fine ever since, I was also reassured when I verified the Mac HD and it said it was okay and did not need to be repaired. So I am hoping it is just the fan or the optical drive, which are two things I wouldn't be concered too much about.

Clicking sound in MacBook Pro?

Ive 2.0dual core MacBook Pro since March and just last week there started to be a loud clicking sound of something spinning in the top right corner, close to the speaker. I am assuming it is a fan because it is constantly clicking at a fast frequency. Has there been any talk of this problem before? ANd if so is there a fix or do i have to bring it to a Store?

I have had a new C2D macbook for a couple of months and over the last few days have noticed the "kurik" clicking sound. As always you can be assured that a quick search of discussions will turn up threads relating to your concern. I know that this is an old thread but thought it appropriate to post here.
Initially, I was concerned as this clicking was reminiscent of the sound made by dying HD's in several iPods I have owned. However, it is not persistent and if I watch activity monitor each click is usually associated with a short burst of writing activity. If I sit and let the macbook idle, the clicking becomes less frequent. Disk utility showed that the SMART status was 'verifed' and not 'failing.' I would go along with the notion that this is disk management going on in the background - perhaps spotlight or some other kernel task.
As to why I have just noticed it after several weeks, it may be that I have been in quieter environments and the clicking have always been there. As I am writing, the clicking has disappeared. Nonetheless, I will ensure that my home folder and my added applications are backed-up frequently, just in case.
Has anyone actually reported a HDD failure in new macbooks?
(Clicking has now returned)
MacBook 2GHz Intel Core 2 Duo Mac OS X (10.4.8) G4 MDD 1.25GHz

Clicking Sound in my MacBook Aluminium

Hi there,
Over the past week I've noticed that my macbook is making these really annoying constant clicking sounds (like a clock) - it's coming from the bottom so I'm guessing it's the HD or fan??
Has anyone experienced the same problem? If so, what do you recommend I do.
I'm hoping to avoid sending it for repairs but this is pretty new so if that's the only solution, will have to do that.

Yes, me and most other unibody MacBook owners have experienced this. The TrackPad also clicks, the other sound is the HD. All is fine. Please search the forums in the future. Here is a link to one other discussions about trackpad: http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?messageID=9093184&#9093184

MacBook making a clicking sound

Yesterday I was using my macbook and suddenly it started to make clicking sound. This is the first time I have heard this sound. I called apple and they said it was one of the fans and that it was normal. Has anyone else had this problem. I really think there is something wrong with it because it sort of sounded like a dead hard drive sound. The sound lasted for about 2 minutes and then it went away.
Please Help

...
By the way, did you look at the threads I mention
above? ...
Anyway, thanks for going to the trouble of onsite
investigative work on this question! Much appreciated.
I looked at the threads, and other than the references to the Apple tech guys claiming these were bad drives, I didn't see anythng beyond my opinions, speculations. Much is opinion based on logic, historical experience based on hard drives of ages past.
In my case, a couple of things. A few years back, I had a Quantum drive die on me and it make a thop sound, but it was loud. There was no denying the sound. But, that drive had a physical presence about itself. And, it was almost impossible to get to the data to be able to grab what I could and back it up. Eventually, I gave up and tossed the drive. The sound was definitely undeniable.
You asked if mine makes the noise. OK, I decided to shut everything in my room OFF. No fans, no TV. Nothing. Not even birds outside chirping. I then realized just how noisy this little computer is. I heard very faint mooooing. Indeed, I had a whole herd of cows in this computer. They stopped mooooing when I booted up Parallels.
I then listened really hard for about five minutes. And I heard it. A thounk/thop sound. There it was. About once a minute. Unpredictable. Not equally spaced at all. Sometimes it would thop a few seconds apart, sometimes a minute apart.
It is exceedingly difficult for me to hear it, but I have 58 year old ears. I called my 14 year old nephew in the room, and after bribing him to remove his ipod ear-buds, had him listen. He listened, stayed still (a miracle by its own right), and listened, and listened. He couldn't hear anything. Maybe he wasn't focused, I dunno.
I'm wondering if it might be page-swapping activity for the virtual memory file? Could it be a thermal cooldown command? At any rate, mine thops. And it moooos.
So, preferring ignorance, I turned the room fan back on, let the birds start chirping, and resumed using my computer.
I'm still leaning to the idea that this is all very normal. My only historical evidence with a failing drive that make thoping noises is data corruption or inaccessible files that have viewable file names, but they are inaccessible. And finally, all those Dells at the lab making thoping noises.
I dunno.... I really would love to see an official paper from Apple, or anyone else on this. I am convinced there is a "good" thop, and a oh, no-so-good "thop".

Seagate FreeAgent Go is making a clicking sound and the light is rapidly blinking. My Macbook is no longer recognizing it. Is there any way to fix it or recover my files? The SeaAgent is less than a month old!

Seagate FreeAgent Go is making a clicking sound and the light is rapidly blinking. My Macbook is no longer recognizing it. Is there any way to pull all the songs I have saved on it? The SeaAgent is less than a month old!
Does anyone know how to fix this issue?
Or at least recover the lost data?
Thanks!

How to fix: the drive is in warranty, so contact Seagate for a replacement.
How to recover your data: Do you have backups? (If not, you really, really, should.)
You can try downloading Data Rescue, which will run in trial mode and let you know if the data is recoverable. (You can then choose to purchase the full version if it works for you.) A clicking drive, though, is usually (though not always) a sign that the drive cannot be recovered.
Matt
Edit: fixed link.

I purchased a Macbook Air 11" in January 2011. It has one key on the keyboard which sticks making an irritating clicking sound that I would like to get fixed. I took it into my local iStore and they were not at all encouraging, saying they doubt that the

I purchased a Macbook Air 11" in January 2011. It has one key on the keyboard which sticks making an irritating clicking sound that I would like to get fixed. I took it into my local iStore but they were not at all encouraging, saying they doubt that Apple warranty will cover something like this, and also that the whole keyboard would have to be replaced as they don't do individual key repairs.
This is very unreasonable to me. Firstly, the keyboard does work (is not actually broken) although the intermittent clicking sound of a single key is very irritating to me and I expect more from an Apple product than a flawed keyboard.
Any thoughts, tips and insight on this greatly appreciated.

Just wanted to conclude by saying that I did go to an Apple store and after supplying proof of purchase and verifying the warranty etc, I had my MacBook checked out by one of the technicians who (after finding that my machine was immaculate bar the sticky keyboard of course) they replaced the entire keyboard within a week.
I was so happy with the helpful and prompt service and am now so happy with my new silent keyboard!
Also wanted to add that the young guy who told me at the iStore that he doubted Apple would support this and guessed Apple likely say it was due to user damage was being a tool, and he was obviously assuming that I had done something wrong to break my keyboard.
This was my first Mac purchase and I was delighted to find that the support is genuine and not just a rumor... I have since gone on to purchase an iPad2 will probably buy the iMac too once my trusty PC needs replacing. I was never a PC hater and got on well with windows, and was actually reluctant to make the change - but so far so good :)
Thanks for all the help!

Macbook Pro won't boot up makes clicking sound

Hi.
After upgrading to Firefox 4 on my 15inch 2006 Macbook Pro, it froze for over 5 minutes and began to make an odd repeated clicking sound. I tried force-quitting, but that wouldn't work, so I restarted it. Now it won't even boot up fully, it just makes a similar odd clicking sound (but not as frequently).
However, the grey Apple screen does appear, along with the revolving wheel. It seems very odd though, as the light at the front of the machine goes out as soon as the machine attempts to restart, which suggests that something physical may have occured to some internal hardware.
I even tried booting up in Safe Mode, but it is no different. Also, Caps lock and Number lock keys both appear to be working, so hopefully the keyboard is still functional.
Does anyone have any ideas what may have happened. My Applecare expired about two years ago, so really need some assistance if possible.
Thanks
George

First try booting from your OS X installer DVD. If the computer boots into the installer then do this:
Repair the Hard Drive and Permissions
After the installer loads select your language and click on the Continue button. When the menu bar appears select Disk Utility from the Utilities menu. After DU loads select your hard drive entry (mfgr.'s ID and drive size) from the the left side list. In the DU status area you will see an entry for the S.M.A.R.T. status of the hard drive. If it does not say "Verified" then the hard drive is failing or failed. (SMART status is not reported on external Firewire or USB drives.) If the drive is "Verified" then select your OS X volume from the list on the left (sub-entry below the drive entry,) click on the First Aid tab, then click on the Repair Disk button. If DU reports any errors that have been fixed, then re-run Repair Disk until no errors are reported. If no errors are reported click on the Repair Permissions button. Wait until the operation completes, then quit DU and return to the installer.
If DU reports errors it cannot fix, then you will need Disk Warrior and/or Tech Tool Pro to repair the drive. If you don't have either of them or if neither of them can fix the drive, then you will need to reformat the drive and reinstall OS X.
After returning to the installer reinstall Snow Leopard. This will not erase the drive. Reinstalling takes from 45 minutes to an hour or so.

Why is my macbook pro making a click sound?

I've only brought it about 4 or 5 weeks ago and today I've just heard a like a really faint rattle like click sound?
if i put my ear to it it sounds like its coming from the fan?
i havent dropped it or damaged it so what could it be?
hope theres nothing wrong with it i didn't pay £2,000 for nothing.
(btw I'm no where near an apple store)

It would be helpful if you indicated what model MBP you have.
Run Apple Diagnostics
:http://support.apple.com/kb/HT5781
Ciao.

Macbook pro wont start up and clicking sound

Hi everyone
My girlfriend spilled a coke on my computer couple days ago and my MBP shut down immediately. After all i took it to the apple store in Turkey and they said the problem is from the battery and they took it off and I started to use it on charge until i get a new battery. All day i used my macbook pro on charge without battery on it. Anyway I turned my computer off and next day press the power button to start it up and it didnt start up at all. Mag safe works OK. Charger light is green light and everytime i press the power button I hear a clicking sound and my built in cam light is lighting up. I couldnt figure it out what is wrong.. If you guys had any problem like this before or know the problem about it please share it with me.. I will be appreciated.. Thanks

Problems related to liquid damage can manifest in different ways.
It is hard to recover from liquid damage.
Best.

Macbook fan clicking sound

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