Possible Hard Drive Issue?? How to test?

I recently upgraded to Leopard this weekend, seems to be running "snappy" in some parts, but I might have an issue with HD possibly reading slow. Sometimes when I do certain functions (open certain files or programs) I get beachballing. This is the same issue I had in Tiger on the final 2 months I had this PB. For the years I have owned this PB I only started to have this beachballing within the last two months. It starting after a bad crash in Labor day (it was stuck on beachball for 3 days while I was out of town) at first the PB could not see the internal HD until I did a matter of things with installing Tiger on a external HD, resetting everything. Once I was able to get teh HD to show up as a device installed in the computer I recovered the files and zeroed out and formatted. From that point I had the beachballing and audible click of the HD (which I never had before). I know the clicking is indicative of a dying hard drive, yet upon zeroing out and reformatting i get the beachballs and the drive has passes the disk verify and all the SMART tests I have tossed at it. I also have checked out the Console and have not seen a single IODATA error string of anytype. I did notice when I installed Leopard it took over an hour and a half and the same with WoW (possibly longer, I was AFK per disc), however on transfering data to the external HD and over the network seems like access speed is fine. With activity monitor up, it's telling me that I have about 247megs of free ram available to the system at most times. Can anyone recommend anything I can test performance and some numbers I can look at to compare? I would hate to spend money on a replacement HD and find out the actuallty controller was defective and that all HD's would act in this sluggish manner.(HD install is the original Hitachi 60gb, 4200rpm). Possible replacement HD would be a Seagate 120 5200rpm.

jammer:
You have the original HDD, which is the slower HDD. You also have what might be a failing HDD. (The only surefire result on S.M.A.R.T Status is a Failing grade. Verified means that it is OK at the moment, but can't promise you anthing.)
Here's what I suggest:
1. Make sure your RAM is maxxed out.
2. Install a new HDD. Whether 5400 rpms or 7200 rpms, you will notice improved performance.
3. Be sure you have an up-to-date, reliable backup (clone to an external firewire HDD), especially if you keep the old drive, but you should anyway.
4. Put your old (removed) Hdd in a firewire enclosure and use it as an external HDD.
Please do post back with further questions/comments.
Cheers
cornelius

Similar Messages

Hard drive issues; how to run hardware test

A couple of weeks ago my hard drive experienced what I would call "minor crashes". The computer booted up to the grey box with the question mark, and would do nothing more. The hard drive also made unpleasant noises. I think I got it back by resetting PRAM, but it happened a second time, and then a PRAM reset again got it back. Needless to say, I'm nervous about this drive.
I have Apple Care until January '09 (this is an '06 Intel machine) and figure I should try to move on figuring out what's up ASAP (both because I don't want a drive failure, and because I only have a few more months of Care).
I'm guessing that I should run the extended hardware test, but I can't seem to get it going using the Leopard disk I used to upgrade the OS. Do I need the original install disks (which I can't find, of course!)? What else can I do to determine if I have an issue that calls for hard drive replacement? If I need a new hard drive (it now seems small at 250gb anyhow), will I be able to do it myself (assuming Apple Care won't take care of it)?
Any insights welcome. Thanks!

Give it a try, if not you'll need to dig up your Disk 1!
+Some Intel-based Macs ship with Apple Hardware Test and Mac OS X 10.4.x preinstalled on the hard drive. If an Erase and Install installation of Mac OS X 10.5 Leopard is performed using a retail Leopard installation disc, Apple Hardware Test will be erased and not reinstalled on these Macs.+
+If you're in this situation and need to use Apple Hardware Test, simply start from the DVD that came with your computer (not the Leopard installation disc) while holding the "D" key. Apple Hardware Test will run from the DVD.+
http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=306568

Possible Hard Drive Issues

Well, for over a year now I've been having various problems with my powerbook. It started when I bought some songs from itunes and certain songs would freeze up itunes and sometimes require me to restart the whole system. When trying to back up my data after the first incident, I was unable to save some files, music, pics and some various other files. I can't remember if I had recently downloaded an update or anything along those lines. But after about 3 or so complete OS reinstalls, I keep having the same problems. After the last OS reinstall, I wasn't able to even update any software but that problem has fixed itself somehow. I've started to try to reinstall all the files I had backed up and I'm stil having problems with them. itunes will not let some of them load. It'll freeze up my whole system.
I've got about a 2 months left in my applecare so I need to send it off soon or drive to Houston, which is the nearest Apple store but I figured I'd try to get some opinions from you folks on here and any help is much much much much appreciated.

adamsrc:
The issues you describe don't sound like hardware (Hard Disk Drive) problems.
Here are some links to excellent advice on OS Maintenance:
Macintosh OS X Routine Maintenance
Mac OS X 10.3/10.4: System maintenance
Maintaining OS X
Tuning Mac OS X Performance
Resolving Disk, Permission, and Cache Corruption
If you have not done so recently, I suggest:
Repair Disk
Insert Installer disk and Restart, holding down the "C" key until grey Apple appears.
Go to Installer menu (Panther and earlier) or Utilities menu (Tiger) and launch Disk Utility.
Select your HDD (manufacturer ID) in the left panel.
Select First Aid in the Main panel.
(Check S.M.A.R.T Status of HDD at the bottom of right panel, and report if it says anything but Verified)
Click Repair Disk on the bottom right.
If DU reports disk does not need repairs quit DU and restart.
If DU reports errors Repair again and again until DU reports disk is repaired.
If DU reports errors it cannot repair you will need to use a utility like Tech Tool Pro or Disk Warrior
Please do post back with your questions, comments, or an update on the results from any of the procedures suggested above.
Good luck.
cornelius

How do I find my tab history? I had hard drive issues and when I launched my browser after getting it back their was no "restore session" option. I know a tab history is kept, just don't remember where or how to exercise it. Thanks

Question
How do I find my tab history? I had hard drive issues and when I launched my browser after getting it back their was no "restore session" option. I know a tab history is kept, just don't remember where or how to exercise it. Thanks

Firefox 4 saves the previous session automatically, so there is no longer need for the dialog asking if you want to save the current session. 
Use "File > Exit" or "Firefox > Exit" if you want to restore multiple windows. 
You can use "Firefox > History > Restore Previous Session" to get the previous session at any time. 
There is also a "Restore Previous Session" button on the default about:home Home page.
Another possibility is to use:
* [http://kb.mozillazine.org/Menu_differences Firefox (Tools) > Options] > General > Startup: "When Firefox Starts": "Show my windows and tabs from last time"

Switching iTunes (older version) from an old latptop with mechanical issues to iTunes on a new computer. The hard drive, issue free, was placed in external drive enclosure. How do I recover iTunes?

I'm trying to moves iTunes (older version) from an old latptop with mechanical issues (non working screen, keyboard, and battery) to iTunes on a new computer. The hard drive, issue free, was placed in external drive enclosure. This was a cost effective way instead of dumping lots of money in an outdated old laptop while I can invest it into a new laptop. How do I recover iTunes?
I'm switching from a 3G phone to a blank 4GS in the process. I would like to have everything that was on my 3G phone and iTunes on my new phone and computer.
Thanks

iTunes: How to move [or copy] your music [library] to a new computer [or another drive] - http://support.apple.com/kb/HT4527
Quick answer if you use iTunes' default preferences settings: Copy the entire iTunes folder (and in doing so all its subfolders and files) intact to the other drive. Open iTunes and immediately hold down the Option (alt) key (shift on Windows), then guide it to the new location of the library.
Windows users see tip at: https://discussions.apple.com/message/18879381

Incredibly slow MacBook, Internal Hard Drive issues...

Good morning everybody! I'm apologize if this post is extremely wordy...
I am extremely baffled by a particular issue with a MacBook 2.0GHz C2D which belongs to a friend of mine. The warranty is expired.
_Brief history:_
Several months ago, this MacBook could not find a bootable volume. The drive would not mount when booting from an external FireWire hard drive. It would not mount when the MacBook was put in Target Disk Mode and connected to another Mac. When booting from an external USB hard drive or with my MacBook Pro connected to the MacBook via Target Disk Mode, the MacBook booted up quickly. I came to the conclusion that the internal hard drive must have failed and needed to be replaced. Ultimately, the data was not recoverable from this drive.
I then proceeded to swap out the defective Apple OEM Seagate hard drive with a known working Apple OEM Fujitsu hard drive. When booting from the Leopard Install DVD, the MacBook would boot incredibly slow, but would finally reach the Installer Language screen. When proceeding to install Leopard, the drive would take a very long time to have data written to it, and ultimately the install failed. I removed the new hard drive from the MacBook and placed it in an external USB enclosure, attached it to the MacBook and booted from the Leopard Install DVD. Leopard would install successfully. I removed the hard drive from the enclosure and reinstalled it the MacBook. When booting from the freshly installed OS, the MacBook would take a very long time to boot. The MacBook is extremely slow!!!
I checked the Activity Monitor to ensure CPU & System Memory Usage was not going crazy. All Processes where normal with adequate CPU & Memory headroom.
I took the MacBook apart thinking that the SATA Controller Cable might be loose. No, it was firmly in place. I reassembled the MacBook and booted it up again. Still incredibly slow!
Finally, after several reboot attempts, the MacBook would book up quickly and operation was perfect. I applied all updates and continued testing the MacBook with great success. Gave my friend his MacBook back and he was grateful.
_Now for the kicker..._
My friend brought me his MacBook a week ago complaining that the MacBook was operating extremely slow (much like when I was initially testing it before). I verified the MacBook was slow when I tried using it. I tried several reboots and then it would get stuck on the gray Apple with spinning gear.
I tried booting into Single User Mode, but it gets stuck on "Waiting for root device"
I put the MacBook in Target Disk Mode and connected it to my G5 2.0GHz Dual Core. The hard drive would mount quickly on the G5 and I used Disk Utility to create a Restore Image. The disk operation would perform normally and the image would be created successfully.
I then partitioned the MacBook's hard drive when connected to the G5, ejected and proceeded to attempt OS reinstall. No dice! The hard drive is not even detected by the Disk Utility on the Leopard Install DVD.
Finally after several reattempts, the hard drive is recognized, but is extremely slow when trying to reinstall...and again, ultimately install fails. Using Disk Utility from Leopard Install DVD, the hard drive fails to unmount when I try formatting.
I don't have Apple Hardware Test disc for the MacBook or Apple Service Diagnostics disc for this model. Running TechTool Pro shows hardware to be okay, disk controller onboard the Fujitsu drive is okay, but running SMART & Surface Scan takes a long, long time (which I'm certain will ultimately error out). Running Drive Genius takes a long, long time as well.
Conclusion:
I think the SATA Controller Cable is defective. I can't think of anything else that would cause disk errors or performance issues like this. Your input is truly appreciated!

Even though no one responded to my post, I thought I'd share the resolution with the entire Apple community. I hope this information will be helpful to some of you with MacBooks or MacBook Pros that may be running painfully slow or may be exhibiting hard drive issues because your machine won't recognize the boot drive or fails to properly boot on a perfectly healthy S.M.A.R.T. verified hard drive. It just might be the hard drive connector/cable. Here it goes...
I visited my local Apple Retail Store and asked a "Genius" at the Genius Bar about this issue and told him my thoughts about a possible failed hard drive connector/cable. First, he didn't even know what a hard drive connector was! Then, he arrogantly stated that he never heard of such a thing and that these cables never fail. Finally, he blatantly dispelled this as a possibility.
On the contrary with my experience, I have had many failed PATA controller cables that required replacement when supporting the desktop PC's at work. I have personally owned and supported many Apple manufactured laptops and desktops and have never encountered this issue on a Mac...until this MacBook!
So, after looking at the Service Manual for the MacBook, I went over to my local Apple Authorized Service Provider and purchased the Hard Drive Connector Apple Part #922-7579. I replaced the original cable, reassembled and proceeded to boot the MacBook with the Leopard DVD installer. The Fujitsu drive was immediately recognized and was able to be formatted and Leopard installed without incident. The MacBook boots off the internal hard drive as normal again and works nice and fast again.
Thank you all for your time!
:D

Permissions Issue, Colour Wheel, Hard Drive Issue??

Hi!
I have had issues with my mid 2009 MBP recently and I'm wondering what the best way to fix them would be.
First off, I have some major permissions issues with my accounts. I am using 3 different users regualrly on the same machine and needed to access files from the home folder so I changed them a long time ago, and am not sure how to fix that. I have repaired the permissions countless times in the disk utility and it seems like there's always loads more to do each time. When I varify the disk, it says its all okay.
Secondly, I have had the machine freeze on me several times while doing very little on it. This happened awhile ago, and thought that it was just the permisions thing and so I did that again, and it started working better, for awhile. It would go a few days or weeks before doing the same thing, sometimes not even getting past the apple logo on startup before freezing. This makes me think it may be a hard drive issue???????
This morning, I tried dozens of times to boot, with no success at all..... until about the 25th time when it miraculasly booted. I have run permissions repair a few more times and it seems to be working okay at the moment, but the problem seems to be happening more often over time.
To complicate matters, I am traveling at the moment and will not be home for several months. I purchased an external harddrive last night and was able to successfully back up my data.
Question 1: Is it the permissions that are causing these problems, or is it related to something else. The computer seems to work fine when its working, and then once in awhile, decides its not going to do anything.
Question 2: Would upgrading to Lion (currently running 10.6.8) fix the permissions issues or just carry them forward? I would like to consolidate the 3 users into one, if that would solve it. Does the migration utility preserve permissions or does it give you a brand new start?
Question 3: If neither solving the permissions or the OS upgrade would fix the problem and it does need a new harddrive, is it possible to buy one and install it myself? I do not have apple care left on this machine and am on a very tight budget. I am used to taking things apart and all that as part of my job and it seems simple enough. Where can you buy a replacement??
Hopefully someone out there will be able to help me out on this one.
Cheers!!!!
Brian

bgroot422 wrote:
First off, I have some major permissions issues with my accounts. I am using 3 different users regularly on the same machine and needed to access files from the home folder so I changed them a long time ago, and am not sure how to fix that. I have repaired the permissions countless times in the disk utility and it seems like there's always loads more to do each time. When I verify the disk, it says its all okay.
Disk Utility permissions are separate from User account permissions.
This link is how to fix them
https://discussions.apple.com/thread/2181549?start=0&tstart=0
Disk Utility will always show something to be needing repair, but that's ok
Apple supoort doc.
https://support.apple.com/kb/TS1448?locale=da_DK
Verify Disk is good, that's a good thing.
To complicate matters, I am traveling at the moment and will not be home for several months. I purchased an external hard drive last night and was able to successfully back up my data.
Your data is backed up, hopefully not with TimeMachine alone, but if you did, then get another drive and backup data manually to that as well. If the TM drive gets messed up, it's a pain to get your data off of it.
Question 1: Is it the permissions that are causing these problems, or is it related to something else. The computer seems to work fine when its working, and then once in awhile, decides its not going to do anything.
Well you could call Apple for replacement 10.6.x disks, and just reinstall 10.6 and bundled programs, but this can kick out kext files out of the /System/Library/Extensions folder installed by some third party software.
This method fixes OS X, but doesn't touch your files or most programs.
Nor will this method fix your Users accounts if the issue is in there.
A creation of a new user, then deletion of the others, return files from backup (set permissions) will fix User folder issues if the above user permissions fix doesn't work.
(Of course you could wipe the drive from the 10.6 disk, but you have to install all software again)
Would upgrading to Lion (currently running 10.6.8) fix the permissions issues or just carry them forward?
No, you don't want to install Lion, it won't fix those issues in User folders, not only that Lion has it's own issues and doesn't work with a lot of older software etc. No use clusterfscking a already bad situtation when it's seems it's only localized to the User accounts.
I would like to consolidate the 3 users into one, if that would solve it.
Yes that could very nicely and tidy up things in the process.
What you do is transfer all files to one regular powered storage hard drive.
(Don't use/disconnect the TimeMachine drive for this as it preserves the users seperated and you don't want all those users back restoring with Migration Assistant)
Create the New User on the machine as Admin, log into it and delete all the other Users, transfer all your files back from the regular storage drive, changing all the permissions to yourself before placing them into their respective folders as they will have three different permissions.
Notes:
If you have a extensive iTunes playlists on one User (say #1), then create the new user with that same name (will require some work, create User 4, delete Users 1-3, reboot, create User 1, delete User 4) then transfer your iTunes folder to Music of that User 1 (same name as before). This will preserve the pathnames of your song locations and your playlists will be preserved.
(before you ask, no you can't combine playlists)
Also if you have photo's in iPhoto Library, you have to right click on it and "show package contents" inside is a folder called Originals, copy them out and import into the iPhoto of the User #1.
Does the migration utility preserve permissions or does it give you a brand new start?
Yes it preserves user permissions, no it doesn't give you a brand new start. Only a fresh install, creation of new users and then just transferring of files does that.
Nothing about TimeMachine or Migration Assistant gives one a "fresh start", it's if hosed, so is your restore.
If you want that sort of pristine protection, you need to clone your ideal boot partition/drive using Carbon Copy Cloner (free/donationware) occasionally as a hold the option key bootable drive, then you can erase and reverse clone the pristine saved clone.
One can also update the clone on occasion, this way keeping the clone pristine.
I maintain 3 clones time dated, even have my boot drive partitioned 50/50 and auto-cloned, this way I have two boot partitions on the road and two externals at home.
I never use TimeMachine, it's not bootable (well it is on 10.7.2 only to restore though)

I have all my music on my external hard drive when I try to add it to iTunes it is automatically added to my MacBook Pro's hard drive. How do I stop this from happening? I just want the music to stay on the external hard drive. Thanks!

I have all my music on my external hard drive when I try to add it to iTunes it is automatically added to my MacBook Pro's hard drive. How do I stop this from happening? I just want the music to stay on the external hard drive. Thanks!

This is true of course, but doesn't cover the situation where some files are in the iTunes Media folder and others are on an external drive. In my case I keep my music in the Media folder and all my films on an external drive (there are too many to have on the internal drive). In iTunes 11, and before, it was easy to add those external files by holding down the alt/opt key while dragging to the sidebar. In iTunes 12 this is no longer possible. There are several workarounds: use TuneSpan to move the file after it's been added; delete the file from the Media folder and empty the trash then use iTunes Get Info which will report the file is missing and allow you to locate it; constantly switch the Add to iTunes toggle on and off as required. All of these require a lot more work than just holding down the alt/opt key while adding.
It constantly gets harder.

Toshiba Satellite a505-6005 hard drive issue and questions regarding options I may have

Issue: start up computer and windows does not start. It eventually goes to a startup repair screen and eventually says "resolving disk errors...", and that's if it even gets to that screen. Unfortunately I never made a recovery disk or system image discs (I know that was not smart). I did however kept my files backed up so that was good.
Steps I took: Took it to Best Buy and the tech advised me that the Black Tie 2 year protection had expired on Jan 30th 2012, and so it could not be repaired for free. I asked the tech there how much it would cost to fix and they had advised me that it was most likely a hard drive issue and that it would cost nearly $400 to replace/fix it. So I decided to buy a new Asus K53E-BBR14 laptop since it was not much more. When I got home and loaded everything up and got the computer to how I want, I went ahead and made a recovery disc and system image disc's. I tried using the recovery disc that I had made with my Asus in the Toshiba laptop and boot it from the dvd drive and it did not get anywhere. So I ASSUME that it really is a hard drive error because the RAM worked just fine in my new laptop and "repairing disk errors.." means something is wrong with the hard drive:
Now that you know the background of what has happened my questions are as followed:
1. Can I buy a new hard drive for the Toshiba and use the recovery and system image disc's i created on the new hard drive that i install in the toshiba? and just removed the bloatware from Asus (or does that not even get added to the disc's I created)?
2. If so, will it prompt me to enter the Windows 7 product key? and therefore using the product key located on the bottom of the toshiba?
3. What other steps could I take to make this toshiba laptop salvageable? This way i can turn around and sell it.
Thanks,
Russell States

Also,
I noticed that i can purchase (well pay the shipping anyways) recovery media from Toshiba. Can I use that on a new hard drive installed in the toshiba?
BTW ran the Windows Memory Diagnostics Tool and no problems were found with the memory. and i do not care about the old hard drive as I have MY files backed up. I just want to try to get this toshiba laptop back to being "like new".
Thanks,
Russell

Windows 8.1 and IOMEGA External Hard Drive Issues

Since I upgraded from Windows 7 to 8.1 my computer will not now recognize my IOMEGA external hard drive. How could just updating Windows not allow my hard drive to be accessed? Please help? I do taxes on the side and all my clients's
tax returns are on this external drive and need to be accessed. I have a laptop with Windows 7 and it recognizes the hard drive with no problem. Only problem is I do not want to do taxes on my laptop. Is there a patch somewhere to help?
If not,how much trouble is it to go back to Windows 7 because this issue is a serious one with me? I know I am not the only one with this issue because if you search on IOMEGA the issue is going on with others. I just have not seen a real
solution to the problem yet. Thanks in advance to anyone who can help me.

Hello Dewayne H,
What is your current situation?
Have you tried the solution as britishdhez mentioned?
Best regards,
Fangzhou CHEN
Fangzhou CHEN
TechNet Community Support

My hard drive crashed. how can i reload dreamweaver on a new hard drive?

my hard drive crashed. how can i reload dreamweaver on a new hard drive?

You can per install Dreamweaver again the same way you installed previously. Do you get any error messages while installing? If yes please attach a screenshot(if possible) and provide more details abount the version/OS and the exact error message.
Thanks
Nikhil

I'm out of space on my hard drive. How do I move move entire photo albums from iphoto and save them to an external drive to free up space?

I'm out of space on my hard drive. How do I move move entire photo albums from iphoto and save them to an external drive to free up space?

You do not move the albums - you move the entire iphoto library intake as a single entity
Make sure your external drive is formatted Ma OS extended (journaled) - then
Moving the iPhoto library is safe and simple - quit iPhoto and drag the iPhoto library intact as a single entity to the external drive - depress the option key and launch iPhoto using the "select library" option to point to the new location on the external drive - fully test it and then trash the old library on the internal drive (test one more time prior to emptying the trash)
And be sure that the External drive is formatted Mac OS extended (journaled) (iPhoto does not work with drives with other formats) and that it is always available prior to launching iPhoto
And backup soon and often - having your iPhoto library on an external drive is not a backup and if you are using Time Machine you need to check and be sure that TM is backing up your external drive
LN

Mail is GONE!! But must be on hard drive! HOW CAN I GET IT BACK?

I have OS X 10.3.9 running on an iBook, and I was trying to set up my Mail to go to Gmail. But I overwrote the information in Accounts for my old email server account, and now I seem to have lost ALL my messages! They must still be on my hard drive! How can I "see" them again??? Please help me, it's a LOT of messages!
Ojin

What does “I overwrote the information in Accounts” mean? What exactly did you do? More info, please.
Deleting a mail account (which i not the same as overwritting the account information) causes all your mail stored in that account’s mailboxes to be removed from the computer as well, and you you were warned that this would happen by an alert similar to this for Mail 2.x (I don’t know what the exact wording is in Mac OS X 10.3):
Remove Account
Are you sure you want to remove the <AccountType> account "<AccountName>"?
This will permanently delete the account setup information, mailboxes, and messages from your computer. Messages stored on the mail server will not be affected.For IMAP-type accounts, this is not a problem because mail is stored on the server. If you deleted a POP account, however, your mail has certainly been wiped out from the computer, not just moved somewhere.
To prevent that from happening, you should have moved your mail to custom “On My Mac” mailboxes instead of leaving it in the account’s mailboxes. Actually, using the account’s Inbox and Sent mailboxes for archiving purposes is a bad idea regardless — see Overstuffed mailbox is unexpectedly empty.
If the POP account was configured to leave the messages on the server for some time, setting up the account again would cause any messages still on the server to be downloaded again, just like for IMAP accounts, but this would only work for received mail that has not yet been removed from the server.
If the messages are not on the server and you don’t have a backup (which you should have made before doing something like that), you may try to salvage as many deleted mbox files as possible with a data recovery tool such as Data Rescue II or FileSalvage (the files to be recovered would be different in the case of Mail 2.x). Stop using your computer right now if you want to try that, as anything you do with the computer may cause the deleted files to be overwritten.

This morning my PB G4 would not get to the password screen after power on. I have rebooted many times and very loud noises (like a HD spinning/rubbing) emits. Tried the Install disk and it cannot find the hard drive. Ran HW test and got a "Mass storage E

this morning my PB G4 would not get to the password screen after power on. I have rebooted many times and very loud noises (like a HD spinning/rubbing) emits. Tried the Install disk and it cannot find the hard drive. Ran HW test and got a "Mass storage Error Code" message.
Did my HD just crash and unrecoverable? Time to replace my notebook?

I believe your hard drive has failed. Hope you have a backup.
Failing Hard Drive Sounds http://datacent.com/hard_drive_sounds.php
Listed by drive manufacturer. Click on the > next to the drive & you will hear the typical failure sound.
How to Tell When Your Hard Drive is Going to Fail
http://www.lifehack.org/articles/technology/how-to-tell-when-your-hard-drive-is- going-to-fail.html
Grinding And Clicking – Symptoms Of A Failing Hard Drive
http://pcperformancetools.com/getdata/grinding-and-clicking-symptoms-of-failing- hard-drive.html
Failing Hard Drives
http://losangelescomputerhelp.com/computer_networking_news/failing-hard-drives.h tml
 Cheers, Tom

Sometimes my computer takes too long to connect to new website. I am running a pretty powerful work program at same time, what is the best solution? Upgrading speed from cable network, is it a hard drive issue? do I need to "clean out" the computer?

Many times my computer takes too long to connect to new website. I have wireless internet (time capsule) and I am running a pretty powerful real time financial work program at same time, what is the best solution? Upgrading speed from cable network? is it a hard drive issue? do I only need to "clean out" the computer? Or all of the above...not to computer saavy. It is a Macbook Pro osx 10.6.8 (late 2010).

Almost certainly none of the above! Try each of the following in this order:
Select 'Reset Safari' from the Safari menu.
Close down Safari; move <home>/Library/Caches/com.apple.Safari/Cache.db to the trash; restart Safari.
Change the DNS servers in your network settings to use the OpenDNS servers: 208.67.222.222 and 208.67.220.220
Turn off DNS pre-fetching by entering the following command in Terminal and restarting Safari:
defaults write com.apple.safari WebKitDNSPrefetchingEnabled -boolean false

Possible Hard Drive Issue?? How to test?

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