Loud whirring/grinding sound coming from 6 day old iMac

[macJC50640]

Hello all,

I just bought a new 24 inch 2.66 GHz iMac off of MacMall last week (6 days ago) and it has been working fine up until a day and a half ago. You see, I put the iMac to sleep for a while, and when I woke it up there was a moderately loud (but in no way ear bashing) grinding/whirring sound coming from the left area of the machine under the screen. I now noticed that the longer I have the machine on for, the louder and more annoying it gets. Does anyone know what is there (HDD, fan or what)? Also, is this something I have to worry about or is this an issue all iMac users face? I am new to OS 10.5 and modern Macs. I am really starting to get worried about this, as the machine is almost brand new. All replies and help is greatly appreciated!

Please help me out!!!
-Justin

 

[St Soichiro]

Given that this is new, you may want to call up Apple. It sounds like the fan, but this is not normal.

SS

 

[angelwatt]

Yes, that is not normal. The only thing that is generally noisy is the DVD drive when you're inserting or removing a DVD. Not being able to heat the sound, it could be the HD or fan. I know my HD made similar sounds when it was going bad. I would make a backup of things very soon to be on the safe side.

 

[macJC50640]

Well I figured out what was there in this machine.
http://web.mac.com/khuffman/pics/imac_hd/3.jpg
Its the fan.
Why could the fan be making this noise...

 

[Morod]

Could be fan bearings dying (infant mortality) or perhaps the blades hitting a wayward wire. Get it fixed.

 

[macJC50640]

Thank you everyone for your replies, I really do appreciate them
As far as the issue goes, I'm just glad its not a HDD problem. IMO the fan is not as severe, but I suppose I should call Apple anyway. Or maybe I'll lugg this 24 inch iMac to the genius bar...

 

[surflordca]

Thank you everyone for your replies, I really do appreciate them
As far as the issue goes, I'm just glad its not a HDD problem. IMO the fan is not as severe, but I suppose I should call Apple anyway. Or maybe I'll lugg this 24 inch iMac to the genius bar...

Make sure you make an appointment when you take it in or you will likely wait for a couple of hours...

 

[macJC50640]

So Apple said that the temperature and fan speed are normal because the 24 inch iMac is huge. He also said that the fan is rattling because the bolts are loose and I should visit an Apple Store.

So I'm not as worried anymore...
Thanks all for your replies.
-Justin