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MacBook replacement hard drive problems

J

jmh55

macrumors newbie
Original poster
I have a MacBook I bought in June 2007, and last week the 120 GB Hitachi hard drive started making a clicking noise, which caused the computer to freeze up. Upon restarting, the computer would not boot from the hard drive. I replaced the hard drive with a 250 GB Fujitsu, restored all my files through Time Machine, and the computer was running fine. Five days later the new hard drive began making a chirping noise (slightly different than the Hitachi's noise). The computer began to freeze up, so I turned it off, again fearing the same end as the original hard drive. I let it cool off, restarted it, and eventually Mac OS X loaded, but I tried to enter my password and then it began to freeze again. That's as far as I got.

I haven't seen any other posts regarding this same issue. Is there something wrong with the MacBook itself as opposed to the hard drives that apparently stop functioning properly inside it? My AppleCare ran out at the end of the first year. I'm very disappointed at this point with my first Apple computer, and while I can purchase a new MacBook, I would prefer not to, and may not buy another Apple because of this experience.

What should I do? Does anyone know of similar experiences?
 
jmh55 said:
I have a MacBook I bought in June 2007, and last week the 120 GB Hitachi hard drive started making a clicking noise, which caused the computer to freeze up. Upon restarting, the computer would not boot from the hard drive. I replaced the hard drive with a 250 GB Fujitsu, restored all my files through Time Machine, and the computer was running fine. Five days later the new hard drive began making a chirping noise (slightly different than the Hitachi's noise). The computer began to freeze up, so I turned it off, again fearing the same end as the original hard drive. I let it cool off, restarted it, and eventually Mac OS X loaded, but I tried to enter my password and then it began to freeze again. That's as far as I got.

I haven't seen any other posts regarding this same issue. Is there something wrong with the MacBook itself as opposed to the hard drives that apparently stop functioning properly inside it? My AppleCare ran out at the end of the first year. I'm very disappointed at this point with my first Apple computer, and while I can purchase a new MacBook, I would prefer not to, and may not buy another Apple because of this experience.
Click to expand...

Hard drives go wrong sometimes. Well, all hard drives will go wrong eventually (that is why you MUST use Time Machine), but some may go wrong after a very short time. Your new hard drive should still be under warranty. I would put this down under "bad luck". Unless your MacBook has been knocked badly at some point, it is unlikely that it causes the problem.
 
Return the bad drive and get a new one. Hard drives fail all the time. Just make sure you backup all your data.
 
Update

More information...

Once I turn on the machine, the screen is that light gray color for several minutes, then the Apple sign appears and it quickly starts up. After logging on, it takes a little bit longer than usual to load. I closed the lid on it while it was on to put it to sleep, and it was freezing up upon opening.

So I guess in summary the computer slows down tremendously when it makes the chirping noise (almost sounds like a whining cat after a while). It comes and goes.
 
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