Hard drive making constant noise

[fdepk]

Hi all,

I have a mid-2010 model MBP, and just recently the hard drive has started constantly making noise. The noise itself sounds like typical read/write drive noise, it isn't making loud clicks or anything like that. However, it is making this noise constantly from boot up to shut down. I'm a noob, but I tried checking my disk activity about 30 minutes after boot up and the amount being read/written seemed high to me.

Any idea what the problem is? This problem also doesn't occur when I'm on my windows partition. I'm still pretty new to OSX so I'm not quite where to start in solving this.

Thanks

 

[mrsir2009]

Have you got the stock hard drive or have you installed your a new one in your MacBook Pro since you purchased it?

 

[NickZac]

If you haven't already, back your files up. If you don't have an external hard drive, you may want to buy one that has a 2.5 inch (and under 12.5mm thick) HDD that is SATA2 in the event the current one fails. If you aren't really experienced with back-ups, you can use an app called 'Time Machine' to preserve all of your data, preferences, etc. automatically.

 

[fdepk]

Stock hard drive. I've already backed up all my files, although it doesn't sound like a noise that typically indicates the drive is about to fail.

 

[mrsir2009]

Well, there is probably something wrong with the HD. Just have to wait and see if the situation gets worse. If it is, you could be in for a new hard drive.

Are you still under warranty?

 

[hfletcher]

From the activity monitor, it looks as though your hard drive is doing a lot of reading off the disk.
What programmes are you running in the background? Could it be a virus scan or anything like that (On a mac I know it's unlikely!)? Spotlight indexing maybe?

A drive will make a noise when doing stuff, so it doesn't necessarily mean it's going to fail imminently. Though I would do a backup like the previous poster said just in case!

 

[jav6454]

If the hard drive is making clicking noises beyond the tine when it's supposed to be reading or writing it is a sign that the hard drive is close or already failing. I would contact Apple ASAP to check what they can do. Also, try making back-ups.

 

[GGJstudios]

Any idea what the problem is?

Another thing to check is whether Spotlight is indexing your hard drive, which could account for extended hard drive activity.

You can also determine if it's indexing by the Menu Bar icon:

(not indexing)

(indexing)