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MacBook HDD Clicking - Faulty? - Video - UPDATE (WENT TO APPLE!)

acfusion29

acfusion29

macrumors 68040
Original poster
Nov 8, 2007
3,128
1
Toronto
Hey MR. I posted in another thread about my MacBook's HDD clicking and having problems. The problem happened again a few weeks ago and I took a video of it.

I had school exams and such so I didn't have a chance to upload it until today, plus I forgot.

What reminded me was that my MacBook started clicking again, randomly but not completely freezing. I'm hearing clicks from my HDD every couple of minutes, so as we speak I'm doing a full backup just in case anything happens.

Since the last time it froze, I have done the following:

Removed my XP partition
Started using Firefox

Why did I mention XP?
- 2 weeks without any clicking whatsoever after purchasing the MacBook
- 2 weeks and 1 day I install XP :p (obv. I'm doing a rough estimate in time)
- 1 day after I installed the partition, I was at school and the computer started clicking while I was doing my assignment! It froze, then I got the folder with the question mark. So I pull the battery and it's fine (assignment gets recovered by Microsoft Word Auto Recovery!)

Why did I mention Firefox?
Well, every time the computer would freeze and start to click, I would be using Safari. After using Firefox since the beta came out, I have noticed that it doesn't freeze as much as Safari does. Plus the 3 finger swipes finally coming to Firefox made me switch.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ua1X1zhOU1A
*I just uploaded it, so if it doesn't load be patient.
 
Dude, that's wicked... It sounds like the HDD is going bad or maybe a motherboard issue?!? Do you have an Apple store close by? Definitely take it in...
 
The hard drive is about to die in my opinion. Take it in to the Genius Bar now and they should replace it. If it is a hard drive you bought aftermarket, get a new one. That's a bad sound, and I've heard it before.
 
VSMacOne said:
Dude, that's wicked... It sounds like the HDD is going bad or maybe a motherboard issue?!? Do you have an Apple store close by? Definitely take it in...
Click to expand...

I have 3 around me, well within like 1/2 hour drive. Closest one is 10min

Right now I'm doing a backup, I think I'm going to going in with it.

ebika said:
The hard drive is about to die in my opinion. Take it in to the Genius Bar now and they should replace it. If it is a hard drive you bought aftermarket, get a new one. That's a bad sound, and I've heard it before.
Click to expand...

HDD is stock.
 
acfusion29 said:
I have 3 around me, well within like 1/2 hour drive. Closest one is 10min
Click to expand...

HECK YEAH!! You're a lucky dawg!! :mad: Mine is 1.5h away... not cool.
Call in and make a Genius appointment and post back here afterwards with updates.. It'll be interesting to see if it's JUST the HDD.. Good luck.
 
VSMacOne said:
HECK YEAH!! You're a lucky dawg!! :mad: Mine is 1.5h away... not cool.
Call in and make a Genius appointment and post back here afterwards with updates.. It'll be interesting to see if it's JUST the HDD.. Good luck.
Click to expand...

I've made an appointment for 8:15PM today. Looks like there's 4 around me, they just opened up a new one a while back somewhere.:cool:
 
4? They can't be that close man.

Sherway is far if you're close to the downtown one. yorkdale's only close to me cause I work in North York. Where is the fourth store?

But ya ... I guess they'd be within 30 mins driving.
 
cellocello said:
4? They can't be that close man.

Sherway is far if you're close to the downtown one. yorkdale's only close to me cause I work in North York. Where is the fourth store?

But ya ... I guess they'd be within 30 mins driving.
Click to expand...

I live in Mississauga.

1. Sherway is 10min
2. Yorkdale is about 30 minutes drive on the 403 to the 401
3. Eatons center is about 25-30 minutes on the QEW/Gardener
4. Fairview - Never been, but google maps says 32 minutes.
 
Alright, so I went to the Apple store... I told the guy what was wrong, and I told him that it was either coming out of the CD drive or the HDD because I really wasn't sure. So he said he would replace both of those. Then I remembered about my other problem... My audio jack was loose so if I put headphones in, it would be loose, so then he said he'll replace the logic board, HDD and CD drive, basically the entire computer.

I showed him the video as well.

Anyways, he went on his computer and after 10 minutes of doing stuff he asked where I bought it, and I said this Apple store. So at first I thought, damn is my serial number not in the system? He comes back and says, "Do you have the box? I'd like to exchange the computer for you. There's so many things wrong with it, I'm gonna mark it as a lemon and give you a replacement." It was 8:30 at this point, so I'm like "alright, I'm gonna go home quickly and I'll be back ASAP."

He took out his card and wrote down what was wrong with my laptop and that the manager authorized an exchange and told me to just go to the desk. I drove quickly home, grabbed the box and cables and drove back, got there at like 8:50PM and they gave me an exchange.

I'd like to say that this MacBook is way better than my other one. The other one had dust under the screen (I didn't care really), slanted keys (didn't care) and a scratch from manufacturing on the lid (didn't care either).

This one has no slanted keys, no scratches and no dead pixels/dust. The only thing I liked about my previous MacBook was the quiet superdrive, this one is fairly loud, but I'm REALLY not going to complain since I got a new machine!
 
California said:
I maintain that partitioning a hard drive does put excess strain on it.
Click to expand...

That's just silly. A partition is just data in the allocation table on the drive.

Anyway I can install XP on my external and boot to that?
Click to expand...

Sure, that will work. Installing bootcamp like you had before is also no problem (I've run dual boot setups for years and years without issue). Sometimes you just get a bum hard drive... it can happen with most things with moving parts.
 
ebika said:
That's just silly. A partition is just data in the allocation table on the drive.



Sure, that will work. Installing bootcamp like you had before is also no problem (I've run dual boot setups for years and years without issue). Sometimes you just get a bum hard drive... it can happen with most things with moving parts.
Click to expand...

Anyway you can point me in the right direction?
 
California said:
I maintain that partitioning a hard drive does put excess strain on it.
Click to expand...
Care explaining ?

I personally doubt it. I think most linux server use a separate partition for their swap (virtual memory). Just to give you an example of very reliable machines that use partitions.

HDD failures are most of the time mechanical. Either the disk doesn't spin properly. I don't see how putting a partition on the disk would affect that. The disks don't change weight. Next up are the reading heads. If properly partitioned, shouldn't make them move more than usual. The partition just acts as files he doesn't need to use.
 
Not that it is relevant to the OP, but most notebook HDDs die a premature death these days because of excessive "head parking" caused by an overzealous power management system. Now, just who is to blame for the power management system: 1. OS X/Apple, 2. the HDD manufacturer, or 3. Intel...that is the big question.
 
paolo- said:
Care explaining ?

I personally doubt it. I think most linux server use a separate partition for their swap (virtual memory). Just to give you an example of very reliable machines that use partitions.

HDD failures are most of the time mechanical. Either the disk doesn't spin properly. I don't see how putting a partition on the disk would affect that. The disks don't change weight. Next up are the reading heads. If properly partitioned, shouldn't make them move more than usual. The partition just acts as files he doesn't need to use.
Click to expand...

Every drive I've partitioned died soon thereafter. Maybe it was just bad luck but I did recall reading something about the OEM hard drives in the Cubes back in the day on xlr8yourmac and they had a discussion on partitioned drive failures. I think that influenced me to think about how a drive disc gets accessed...
 
wow... just got my macbook last week and now its making a clicking sound ever minute i have it on. my screen looks fine keys are some what ok. shell is fine. the clicking is the only thing that bugs me the most.

think they will replace the drive or the whole macbook?
 
they will replace your drive, and the new drive will, most likely, click also.

If you really want to get rid of that clicking drive you will need to install HDAPM.
 
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