So i'm doing work on my pb on my lap and i notice when i tilt the computer a little bit i hear a strange noise, it sounds like its coming from my CD drive, it sounds like a lightsabor noise almost, anyone have any idea of what it could be
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lightsaber sound coming from CD drive
- Thread starter puckhead193
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He he... Light-saber noise...
Uh... That would be the sound of the disk scraping the 'Book's drive... Don't do it. Apple won't cover that under warranty if they find out.
Uh... That would be the sound of the disk scraping the 'Book's drive... Don't do it. Apple won't cover that under warranty if they find out.
yea its like a buzzing noise or a motor sound when i tilt it. i never notice this before.... whats wrong with my baby?Lau said:
should i go the apple store and have a check up? if they say turn your hard drive an cough i'm going to run out
hitting another lightsaber i think... i don't watch starwar/trak.....Aarow said:
edit i got an appointment at the apple store in 25 mins, so i'm gonna take it down their and see what they say, it can't hurt right.... watch it won't happen when i get their...
L
Lau
Guest
puckhead193 said:if they say turn your hard drive an cough i'm going to run out
Heh heh.
Yeah, I don't know what it is. It's when I tilt it from the horizontal, but when I stop moving it it stops (even if I stop it while it's tilted). It started on Saturday morning, and as it was coming from under the left palmrest where the hard drive is (on my 12" PB), I assumed that was it. I went out and bought an external HD, which I'd meant to do for ages, and backed everything up, thinking it was all doomed, but it still seems fine. The noise is still there, and it doesn't sound good, but apart from that the HD seems fine, and disk utility says it's fine too.
I don't know. Could it be a fan, perhaps?
DUDE! You have a jedi trapped in your computer. He is trying to cut his way out with his lightsaber. Open that baby up and let him out.
L
Lau
Guest
My Powerbook started to make that noise a while back and then one day it started making it when stationary. It got worse and the computer started to crash whenever it made the noise. I really want to know what is happening to my HD so post back what they say the problem is as i need to know wheather to spend $150 on a new HD.
well i came back from the apple store. He said he heard the noise and thought it was a wire catching on the fans in the back (near the screen) the wire is held by a piece of static free tape or something... or it could be anything, it would have to be shipped out.. i can't ship my pb right cause i got a million papers to do, so he advized me to back up and bring it back over thanksgiving. I might bring it in next weekend cause i'm going home and i might be able to barrow my bother's ibook and then return it when i come home for thanksgiving...
he also liked my desktop (see the nov. thread)
he also liked my desktop (see the nov. thread)
puckhead193 said:i don't watch starwar/trak.....
We figured that out when you called it a "lightsabor"
It may be nothing, but I HIGHLY suggest downloading a SMART (hd early warning system) reader app and checking the different catagories, especially 05 (which is the bad block allocation section, the first to go if your drive is being scraped/damaged). I suggest Smartmontools (instructions, background info, and links to downloads here: http://smartmontools.sourceforge.net/ ). Always a good thing to have, I run it around once a month on all my machines...
I got the same thing on my 15" TiPB that's about 3 1/2 hard years old. It happened when I woke it from sleep in the morning to do my usual web surfing/newspaper reading.
I put it to sleep to protect the HD - not turn it off, since a reboot would cause much thrashing and reading of the HD, went and got my external drive , and backed everything up ASAP.
Ordered a new HD (at Fry's), and installed it myself, using the instructions from Apple's support website. Very easy, just follow the instructions. I am NOT a mechanically minded person, I just followed the directions...
I couldn't tell you if the HD was going bad - but I'm not going to give it a chance. I went from a 30 Gig/4600 rpm drive to an 80 Gig/5400 rpm - and yep, it's a little snappier. And I don't start freaking out when I get around 1500 pics in iPhoto... And, battery life seems to be improved a bit.
Also, my CDRW/DVD drive decided to not give discs back about a month later, due to something sticking up in the drive mechanism and catching the discs. I replaced that myself, too - although it was a lot more involved, and finding directions to do it required no less than 5 different sets of instructions from different vendors - it seems PB's are remarkably different inside... No sweat on the re-install of the CDRW/DVD drive either.
I'm enjoying telling these stories to people who tell me that "Macs aren't upgradeable."
I put it to sleep to protect the HD - not turn it off, since a reboot would cause much thrashing and reading of the HD, went and got my external drive , and backed everything up ASAP.
Ordered a new HD (at Fry's), and installed it myself, using the instructions from Apple's support website. Very easy, just follow the instructions. I am NOT a mechanically minded person, I just followed the directions...
I couldn't tell you if the HD was going bad - but I'm not going to give it a chance. I went from a 30 Gig/4600 rpm drive to an 80 Gig/5400 rpm - and yep, it's a little snappier. And I don't start freaking out when I get around 1500 pics in iPhoto... And, battery life seems to be improved a bit.
Also, my CDRW/DVD drive decided to not give discs back about a month later, due to something sticking up in the drive mechanism and catching the discs. I replaced that myself, too - although it was a lot more involved, and finding directions to do it required no less than 5 different sets of instructions from different vendors - it seems PB's are remarkably different inside... No sweat on the re-install of the CDRW/DVD drive either.
I'm enjoying telling these stories to people who tell me that "Macs aren't upgradeable."
puckhead193 said:I don't see SMART status in disk utility... maybe i'm just retarded
In Disk Utility, click on the drive icon on the left (not the volume icon, i.e. it's usually the topmost icon). Down at the bottom of the window, you should see the "SMART status" down the bottom-right of the window.
Here's the deal - The sound you are hearing is your internal HDD. Weather or not the sound is a sign of imminent drive failure is debatable. There are plenty of posts on Apple's Discussions forums on this issue:
http://discussions.info.apple.com/webx?50@312.p7fYatLZTc0.3@.68baf51e
As you can read, many who have heard this sound report drive failure within a few months. This may be a case of the vocal minority, as support forums are usually used by people who are having problems. However, I have to believe that if the drive was silent before, that a buzzing noise is *not* a normal thing.
My 12" PB's internal drive started making this noise on Sunday. When tilted, it makes the whirring sound of a lightsabre. Sometimes the sound is more pronounced and other times it's quieter. I can't really pinpoint why. All I know is that it didn't make this sound before.
One nice feature of these drives is the S.M.A.R.T. capabilities. You can monitor weather or not your drive is verified using Disk Utility or other (more detailed) 3rd party apps. Monitoring your drive using these utilities could give you fair warning when your drive starts to show signs of failure.
It would be a shame to spend $100-200 on a new HDD when your current drive could end up lasting quite a long time even though it buzzes. As long as you're not experiencing crashing, freezing or grinding/loud clicking, your HDD is still doing it's job.
Here's my plan of action:
1. Backup regularly
2. Monitor S.M.A.R.T.
3. Purchase a new HDD when either S.M.A.R.T. utility or excessive drive noise dictates.
http://discussions.info.apple.com/webx?50@312.p7fYatLZTc0.3@.68baf51e
As you can read, many who have heard this sound report drive failure within a few months. This may be a case of the vocal minority, as support forums are usually used by people who are having problems. However, I have to believe that if the drive was silent before, that a buzzing noise is *not* a normal thing.
My 12" PB's internal drive started making this noise on Sunday. When tilted, it makes the whirring sound of a lightsabre. Sometimes the sound is more pronounced and other times it's quieter. I can't really pinpoint why. All I know is that it didn't make this sound before.
One nice feature of these drives is the S.M.A.R.T. capabilities. You can monitor weather or not your drive is verified using Disk Utility or other (more detailed) 3rd party apps. Monitoring your drive using these utilities could give you fair warning when your drive starts to show signs of failure.
It would be a shame to spend $100-200 on a new HDD when your current drive could end up lasting quite a long time even though it buzzes. As long as you're not experiencing crashing, freezing or grinding/loud clicking, your HDD is still doing it's job.
Here's my plan of action:
1. Backup regularly
2. Monitor S.M.A.R.T.
3. Purchase a new HDD when either S.M.A.R.T. utility or excessive drive noise dictates.
I don't think 10.2 has a SMART checker built into the disk utility, but I could be wrong.
Oh, an easier SMART tool (GUI, no coding involved):
http://homepage.mac.com/julianmayer/
I use SMARTdrive, but I can't find a link to that anywhere. This one is pretty good as well.
Oh, an easier SMART tool (GUI, no coding involved):
http://homepage.mac.com/julianmayer/
I use SMARTdrive, but I can't find a link to that anywhere. This one is pretty good as well.
it says verified for now,
i was reading on the forums at apple.com and everyone who had this problem had a toshiba drive like mine and they all seem to have purchased it around me, Aug 2004. i think that its a problem with the drive, apple will have to do another recall i think...
i was reading on the forums at apple.com and everyone who had this problem had a toshiba drive like mine and they all seem to have purchased it around me, Aug 2004. i think that its a problem with the drive, apple will have to do another recall i think...
I"m going to bring my PB in to be sent out so they can look at it. Is their anything i should know...?
I have a few questions if is is the HD and they give me a new one will they put Tiger or Panther on it. Panther came with it but i upgrade to tiger. WHich one will they put on?
Also if it is the HD that is failing, and they do replace it, is their a away i can pay to have it upgraded (pay the difference). I want the 120 gig one that apple now offers. Will this effect anything? battery, heat..etc
I have a few questions if is is the HD and they give me a new one will they put Tiger or Panther on it. Panther came with it but i upgrade to tiger. WHich one will they put on?
Also if it is the HD that is failing, and they do replace it, is their a away i can pay to have it upgraded (pay the difference). I want the 120 gig one that apple now offers. Will this effect anything? battery, heat..etc