Loud noises from notebook and intermittent problems

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SC - 26 May 2008 18:37 GMT

Sometimes there are loud clicking noises and the computer is generally loud
when it starts up or whilst it's on. The computer will crash on occasions and
won't start back up. I am thinking it is a problem with the hard disk as when
it doesn't switch on, it is as if the computer cannot locate it. It is
persistently crashing and not starting up and the noises are constant. What
should I do?

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Rick Rogers - 26 May 2008 18:46 GMT

Hi,

It certainly sounds like a damaged hard drive. Download a diagnostic from
the manufacturer and check it. The utilities are generally free and run from
a bootable floppy or CD, and will tell you the state of the drive and
whether or not it is a candidate for replacement.

As a precaution, you should backup any critical data *now* before doing
anything else to guard against loss.

Signature

Best of Luck,

Rick Rogers, aka "Nutcase" - Microsoft MVP
http://mvp.support.microsoft.com/
Windows help - www.rickrogers.org
My thoughts http://rick-mvp.blogspot.com

> Sometimes there are loud clicking noises and the computer is generally
> loud
[quoted text clipped - 6 lines]
> What
> should I do?

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SC - 26 May 2008 23:12 GMT

thats fantastic,
thank you :)
My laptop is new - bought at christmas in 2007 and it's an Advent Intel
Pentium Dual Core T2310 1.46 GHz
with 2GB of memory and 120 GB on the Hard Disk.
I thought it was a problem with the hard drive as the noises seem to be
coming from there.
It seems to be getting worse and today it crashed for no apparent reason,
twice and came up with a clue screen with lots of information on it which
quickly cleared and the computer crashed, the only message I saw was
"preparing for crash dump"
I have run my windows defender software to check if theres anything on there
that is causing problems and it is fine. I also ran the disk defragmenter
which was aborted soon after it began when the computer froze and crashed.
I have saved images to a DVD and I shall back up documents and music too...I
have also made a recovery dvd or "windows reboot disk" which is recommended
in the manual.
Will the diagnostics be on the Advent website then please?

Your help is greatly appreciated, thanks.

> Hi,
>
[quoted text clipped - 16 lines]
> > What
> > should I do?

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propman - 26 May 2008 18:57 GMT

> Sometimes there are loud clicking noises and the computer is generally loud
> when it starts up or whilst it's on. The computer will crash on occasions and
> won't start back up. I am thinking it is a problem with the hard disk as when
> it doesn't switch on, it is as if the computer cannot locate it. It is
> persistently crashing and not starting up and the noises are constant. What
> should I do?

Go to your hard drive's manufactuer's site and see if they have a
analysis test disk.

Western Digital:

http://support.wdc.com/

Data Lifeguard Diagnostic - Windows
Data Lifeguard Diagnostic - DOS (Floppy)
Data Lifeguard Diagnostic - DOS (CD)

Seagate:

http://www.seagate.com/www/en-us/support/downloads/seatools/

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SC - 26 May 2008 23:14 GMT

thanks alot.

> > Sometimes there are loud clicking noises and the computer is generally loud
> > when it starts up or whilst it's on. The computer will crash on occasions and
[quoted text clipped - 17 lines]
>
> http://www.seagate.com/www/en-us/support/downloads/seatools/

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Bruce Chambers - 26 May 2008 19:32 GMT

Back up you important data immediately, and then replace the hard
drive. If the laptop is relatively new, check with its manufacturer to
see if it's still under warranty.

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Bruce Chambers

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