Sudden, loud whirring noise...Fan or Hardrive?

I've had this intel iMac since around february and I've had no problems with it whatsoever. However, just today as I was using it, there was a sudden, loud whirring noise from what I believe to be the fan. It's never done that before and its never been quite that loud to the point where I could hear it through music-ridden headphones.
The whirring was a bit loud and then gradually got lower and lower to the point where it couldn't be heard...
I know it's probably nothing, but I've been really paranoid lately after my previous pc had a serious hardrive failure. I hope that isn't the potential case here...
This normal?

Welcome to the Apple Discussions!
Yes, most likely a fan, there are three. Others have reported the same random incident. No known explanation.
If it worries you, reset the System Management Controller, which among other things, controls the fans.

Similar Messages

  • What does it mean when a loud, whirring noise (fan-like) emits from the iMac?

    My iMac (intel...mid 2010) has been working just fine.  Today, suddenly, this loud, whirring noise began.  It sounded like a loud fan but perhaps it's something else? 
    I did shut down the computer and waited about five minutes.  When I rebooted it, the sound was gone.
    Any thoughts?

    You have this information courtesy of the link I gave you.   I cannot account for the noise but iStat Pro seems to indicate what I hoped.   So this is just information.   
    CPU fan:  1200 rpm
    Hard Drive: 1100 rpm
    Optical Drive: 999 rpm
    That is exactly the same as my reading now,   I have 10.6.8 on a 2007 iMac 20".

  • DVD player in HP Pavilion dv6000 won't play, just makes loud whirring noises

    My dvd player is making loud, whirring, roaring noises when I insert disks. I've tried a variety of disks, cleaned them, cleaned the DVD player, but no help.
    I'm guessing this is more a hardware problem than something to do with drivers, etc. Has anyone else had this problem? The notebook is about 3 years old--is it likely that the dvd drive is just dead? Or is there anyway that I could possibly repair it? Thanks...

    I have a dv9000 with the same issue - sometimes I can delete it in device mgr and then have it reinstall itself.  It works, but only for a vey short time.  sometimes it will read the disc and sometimes not - just whirring and clunking.

  • Imac moaning/whirring noise (fan?)

    we have a continuous whirring / humming noise, even when nothing on the mac is running
    the fans only go crazy when we run big programmes, but even then that is very rare.
    is it advisable to clean it out, and if so, how would i go about this?

    Welcome to Discussions - If it's coming from your hard drive, you might want to make sure that you have a bootable backup, using SuperDuper! will make it easy and reliable. Then I would suggest running Hardware Test from your install disc and seeing what it says.

  • Super drive makes loud whirring noise while the whole MacBook shakes...

    Hi there folks. I've had my MacBook for about six months, and every time I put a (homemade) media CD or DVD into the super drive, it makes a horrendous loud noise continuously that's enough to drive me to drink! Not only that, the whole MacBook 'shakes' because of it, and the only way to stop that is to eject the CD/DVD.
    But if I put an audio CD into the super drive, even if one burned by myself (as I'm a musician by trade), or if I put a commercial movie DVD into it, then it makes a [softer] noise (as if an airline about to take off) which then goes away.
    Could someone perhaps explain this discrepancy, and tell me if there's a remedy? (I'd really like to watch my god-daughter play the piano in a QT movie - and hear her playing at the same time without shaking in my chair, you know!)

    Hi,
    How often do you use your Drive? Do you use it every day all day? And how much have you used it. You might just need to replace it.
    Regards,
    Marc

  • IMac loudly whirs and freezes. please help!

    I have a 27" iMac purchased November 2009. Have tried searching discussions for help but am unsure what to call the problem as it is so peculiar!
    Several times an hour it makes a strange loud whirring noise (which does not appear to be a fan to me as it is not a smooth sound, sounds more like a hard drive 'thinking' possibly?? but I have no idea) and freezes until the noise stops (which generally takes anywhere between 10-30 seconds). Very frustrating as it interupts my workflow and all I can do is wait it out. It does not seem to matter how many/which applications are running. it happens when i have creative suite open but then it also happens if all i have open is chrome!
    It is within warranty, however I have no time to take it to be fixed until November as I can't be without it until then, so am hoping someone will have a suggestion to help me out!
    I don't know what other information would be helpful, but just in case, it has 4GB of RAM and has a 3.06 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo processor and still has about 775GB of hard drive space free.
    would doing a fresh install of my OS help?
    any advice you can give me would be appreciated! or point me towards an existing discussion (all i could find were people describing their whirring noise as a buzzing, and mine is definitely not buzzing)

    My first thought would be the hard drive, you may not have time to get it check out until November
    but think about what you might loose if you don't. Just have a great backup plan for a just
    incase scenario
    If its not a harddrive, what ever you have going on is not good, as your aware of, you need to
    reevaluate and think about if you lost what you have verses not having access to your files.
    I assume you have contacted Apple support on the phone, to see what they might have to say
    Its nothing to fool with in my opinion
    Mike

  • Inserting disc into drive leads to whirring noises

    Hello, this is my first time in the Apple Forums, and I have a problem concerning the SuperDrive. Yesterday, I wanted to re-install software to use my scanner. When I inserted it, the disc was spinning but there was a loud whirring noise. I quickly ejected it to check the disc. No scratches. Tried it again, the noise came back. Ejected the disc again, no scratches. However, upon closer inspection, I noticed scratches within the center of the disc. After that, I tried again, and the noise came back again, but this time I let the disc spin. After several seconds, it spun like normal. So then I figured that it was just a slight problem. I ejected the disc, and re-inserted it to check again. The noise came back, and this time, the disc was stuck. My girlfriend told me to leave it alone and take it to Apple Store. So, I put it away, and the next day at work, the disc ejected when booting up the OS. But, the problem of the whirring noise remains. In the meantime, I plan to take it to the Apple Store, but can anyone tell me what the problem could be and what can I do about it (that doesn't involve going to the Apple Store)? The warranty expires in August 2007.
    Apple PowerBook G4 17" 1.5 GHz 80GB 512MB RAM   Mac OS X (10.4.8)  

    If the whirring sound continues after ejecting the disc, I believe it is the sound of an extra cooling fan that turns on when a disc has been running for a while. Mine does this, but I have never found any problems with it beyond the very loud and disturbing noise.
    I brought this to the Genius Bar's attention, but they didn't address it (because they were addressing a much more important repair issue) and then my warranty ran out.
    I suggest you get them to address it before your warranty expires. Once the warranty is gone, there's no way to get any more free repair service. Until then, take advantage of their great support.

  • Whirring noise when I attempt start up

    Bought a MacBook Pro in September 2013 and have had no problems. However now when I try to start it up the screen remains black and it just makes a loud whirring noise. The battery is fine and the small white light on the front comes on to indicate it's turned on. Has anyone had this problem or know how to resolve it? Thanks

    You have a one year warranty. Take advantage of it and take the system to an Apple store to be properly diagbnosed and fixed under the terms of the warranty.

  • My MacBook Air shut down suddenly and is making a loud ticking noise.

    I was working on my laptop then suddenly the screen went black (no shutdown screen or noise appeared) and it has now begun to make a loud ticking noise similar to a clock. It won't come back on and none of the keys are illuminated as they were previously. Any suggestions?

    I would strongly suspect a failed hard drive. Take it in to an Apple Centre for a free diagnostic.

  • New Intel Mini makes a slight whirring noise

    Hi
    I have just replaced my old G4 Mac Mini with a entry level Intel Mini.
    I noticed the new one maked a slight whirring noise constantly.
    Its only minor but noticable in the background
    The old Mini just used to have a slight fan noise which was more tolerable.
    Do all new Mini's make this noise?
    Tc

    Is the fan suppost to run at all times when the
    machine is on?
    The fan on all minis runs constantly - in normal operating conditions it turns at relatively low speed and thus creates little noise. Initially because the mini ran so quietly, many owners concluded that the fan wasn't running until the system required it, but that isn't and wasn't the case. It was only after a MacOS update had altered the fan behaviour and made it spin up earlier as temperature rose or CPU increased that many users became aware that there even was a fan inside!
    Since the fan is controlled by the system in response to temperature and load, it's apparent behaviour isn't always consistent between systems since it'll depend a lot on which version of MacOS, what ambient air temperatures and what services are running. Thus a mini that appears to run louder than usual may actually be nothing more than the user's perception, or higher ambient air temperature, or heavier load caused by additional services run at startup, or a version of MacOS that was more prone to ramp the fan up earlier in the temperature cycle - or of course a fault!
    But indeed, where they are audible at all, the fans in the PPC models make a sound of different character completely from those in Intel models.

  • IMac 20" - whirring noise every few minutes

    hi
    since yesterday, every few minutes a whirring noise occurs. It builds up quite loudish like a crescendo and then resorts back to normal sound levels pretty much straight away once it has hit the highest noise level. Roughly happens every 4 mins and lasts approx 10 seconds. Also happens when im not using/running anything.
    i better mention the night before it started i had to move the iMac off my desk for the first time and therefore pulled the mains out. checked other internet discussions that were based on fan noise and which suggested removing the mains lead again and waiting for 15 secs. i have done this but the whirring noise still occurs.
    does anyone have suggestions what it might be?
    thanks in advance
    adam

    thanks guys for the quick reply.
    i shall have a go at resetting the SMC now and will let you know if it continues.
    more information required; come to think of it, the noise sounds like when you put something in a fan and when the blades passes it, it makes that flipping noise. or even when you put a ruler on the end of the desk and 'flick' it it makes that same flipping noise.
    hope you can try and work out from that what i mean. not the best at describing noises. just seems weird how its like a crescendo and then dies out straight away once its got to a high noise. it seems like its coming slightly to the NW of the middle of the screen. also seems to make a louder noise when ive got a few things open.
    hope that helps.
    will try the SMC and will report back.
    thanks again

  • Whirring noise coming from HP Touchsmart 520

    Hi there,
    There is a whirring noise coming from the back of my PC. It gets slightly louder if performing a task, ie web browsing! Could you possibly let me know what the problem may be?
    Many thanks
    Soozii

    Hello soozii,
    Welcome to the HP Forums, I hope you enjoy your experience! To help you get the most out of the HP Forums I would like to direct your attention to the HP Forums Guide First Time Here? Learn How to Post and More.
    I have read your post on how there is an unusual noise coming from your computer, and I would be happy to assist you in this matter!
    Since the noise is coming from the back of the computer, I recommend following this document on Reducing Heat Inside the PC to Prevent Overheating. This should help prevent the fan in the back from overworking.
    Please re-post with the results of your troubleshooting, and I look forward to your reply!
    Regards  
    MechPilot
    I work on behalf of HP
    Please click “Accept as Solution ” if you feel my post solved your issue, it will help others find the solution.
    Click the “Kudos, Thumbs Up" on the right to say “Thanks” for helping!

  • 15" MBP emitting sudden, constant whirring sound along with other troubling issues. Advice?

    Monday morning. Start up my computer. Fancy greeting in the form of a sudden, constant whirring sound coming from the rear of the computer, neither side is favored. It sounds like the fan(s) are running super fast. Attending this sound are these smaller dysfunctions: the screen will go near-black when idle, instead of grayed down; when in sleep mode, the intermittant sleep light does not come on; the power cord (there is no battery in this laptop since it split apart long ago), which typically glows bright green, is now just a whisper, barely glowing at all; and the whirring begins IMMEDIATELY when I touch the on button and doesn't subside for several seconds after I close the laptop for sleep.
    What. On. Earth?
    The computer has never behaved this way except during brief periods of extreme high temperatures, but even then, the smaller issues were never present. I've looked on forums and see various possible explanations, but nothing that covers this combination of sudden problems. I have bought an additional external harddrive, which will arrive by Friday (my other one is full), so I'll back up everything in a flash. In the meantime, is it safe for me to be using the whirring beast? Do any of you mac-heads have experience with this?
    Thanks in advance for any information you can share!

    Thanks for the answer. I've been backing up my data all along. The Apple Care phone support people have been insisting that it must be a software problem because of the extended hardware test showing no errors. When I took my machine to the Apple Care store, they only wiped the hard drive, reinstalled the OS, and replaced the chassis that had been damaged in an earlier Apple Store service visit.
    I forgot to mention that I've also replaced one of the RAM cards (which failed the EHT in October, when the logic board also failed), so I'm now on my third problem. I've done a bit more examination of the machine, and I'm fairly sure I've got a Rev A iMac. The serial number falls within the range of the ones that had problems, though mine aren't the ones described on the info page.
    I've been trying the Apple Care suggested solution of creating a new user (the last Apple Care person I spoke to insisted that the problem was created by some bad preferences). I haven't yet had another experience of the "tongky" noise followed by the response slowing to a crawl, but I do hear an ominous single click several times a day. Response times continue to be sluggish (again, I have a GB of memory), and the machine continues to go to sleep after about 5-10 minutes of being idle (I'm currently set for one hour), with the screen saver never coming on.
    I guess my bottom line question is what exactly do I say to Apple Care to convince them that I've got a hardware problem and get them to replace the hard drive?

  • Why does the MacBook Pro make a loud heat noise?

    So, when I was playing a game called "Modern Combat Domination" my MacBook Pro make a very loud heat noise? Does that mean I should stop playing the game? I worried. Thank You.

    That means your fan(s) sped up to dispose of the excess heat generated by playing the game. It's a sign that your machine is taking care of itself properly.

  • Macbook Pro loud vibration/noise

    Hi!
    Two days ago my macbook has started to do a loud vibration/noise like if te fan was stuck or something. The sound it's very hight and scary. I took my mac to a service center and after a couple of hours they check it and told me there was nothing wrong with my macbook. But today after using it for an hour the noise and vibration came back. I wasn't playing any games or watching videos just normal web surfing as I always do. I know that the noise and vibration aren't normal cause I've had my mac for two years and It's the first time this happens to me. Any ideas of what can be?

    Try a SMC reset:
    http://support.apple.com/kb/HT3964
    Follow directions for a battery you shold not remove yourself

Maybe you are looking for