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Powerbook "ball dropping" sound...

SilentPanda

SilentPanda

Moderator emeritus
Original poster
Oct 8, 2002
9,997
33
The Bamboo Forest
So I have a Rev D. 12' Powerbook, maxed out. Previously I had (and still have) a 12" iBook G4 800.

I've noticed that with the Powerbook I can quite often hear what sounds like a small ball or hammer or something dropping inside my powerbook. This happens a decent amount of times. It happens when I'm not even using the powerbook and it's not moving. It sounds like it's coming from the left hand side next to the trackpad but sound location can be deceiving too...

It's not a huge bother but I was just curious if this is something normal. It just sounds like something is dropped then bounces real quick a few times... might be the HD head but it just sounds... odd....
 
it sounds like the HD... in some cases this can be whats allso known as the 'click of death' meaning your HD is starting to die..

I had it with my Ti-Pb when I got it 2nd hand, but then I formatted it for Jaguar (and the click was still there but less often) then I reformatted it for Panther and the click went away... maybe this formatting helped?? I'm not sure... don't have the Pb anymore since it was stolen... but at first I was also thinking I needed a new drive... but when it went away... I didn't bother...

just remember to back-up critical information once in a while (I had everything in back-up on an external drive, wich saved my data when it was stolen, but wich would have been helpfull if the drive was really dying...)
 
As you noted, finding the source of the sound in a closed box like a laptop is very difficult. It could be a failing fan. It could be (as noted, and I agree more likely) the hard drive. If it is the hard drive (again, as previously noted), this is a "bad thing™" and you should back up all your data ASAP. If the noise is a kind of 'ssshhh-click' noise, then the heads are having trouble reading some of the data on the platters. You might be able to get out of it with a complete reformat, but usually this is a sign of things to come and future HD failure. Keep on top of your back ups.
 
Its the hard drive about to fail!!!

It happened on my iMac.

Make sure you back things up- Mine went after about 4 years of constant use- Forunately I had most things backed up, so it wasn't too bad, but it is a sure sign that it is on its way out!
 
Well... drat... I just got the thing... I do have all my data backed up though so no biggie... I'll call Apple this evening and inquire with them. Thanks for the heads up.
 
You may want to investigate that.. it would be a shame to have to jump through a jillion hoops if it's not a hardware problem, but some application you've installed that's chiming at random times for whatever reason.
 
vasaz said:
Perhaps you are having the same issue as described here?

http://www.xlr8yourmac.com/archives/feb05/021705.html#S18822
Click to expand...

Sounds like exactly the same issue! I'll read more into it... thanks!

I'm also having the track pad problem described... I did a complete reformat to see if that would help but I only did that yesterday so no "real" time to test it.

Edit: Well that's unfortunate... sounds like that's what the 100 GB HD's do... I guess it's good that it's "within spec" though... I'll still ask Apple about it tonight... sounds like I might need to get my trackpad replaced though... bleah.
 
As suggested on XLR8, I wouldn't particularly worry about it.

I've just upgraded my Rev A to that same drive, and noticed it. It sounds like a bearing "parking" noise.

It's definitely not the click of death ... that was why I had to upgrade, and the click of death if a very distinctly different noise.
 
stcanard said:
As suggested on XLR8, I wouldn't particularly worry about it.

I've just upgraded my Rev A to that same drive, and noticed it. It sounds like a bearing "parking" noise.

It's definitely not the click of death ... that was why I had to upgrade, and the click of death if a very distinctly different noise.
Click to expand...

Well I'm going to call them this evening regarding the track pad so I'll ask them about the HD while I have them on the phone.
 
Me too

Just got my 15" Powerbook today (I'm typing on it) and I notice this sound too. The first time I heard it, it was enough to make me go "what the hell was that?" Definitely not the click of death, I've heard that a few times in my life and this is different.

Yes, I have the 100mb drive. Hey, it just did it again! The sound of a pencil tap on a desk is a good description of the noise.

Other than the odd noise, no problems. I'm loving this machine! :D
 
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