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BearOso · Oct 19, 2003, 02:46 PM

Ok, I received my new Al 15" on Friday, and for the most part it is good. I have no screen defects as of yet (no white spots or dead pixels).

However, I do have a constant hard drive "clicking" sound. It is different from normal activity in that it is less of a tick, but more of the sound of a mouse button being clicked. It happens both randomly at 1-3 second intervals and during hard drive activity. My drive is the 5400 rpm 80gb Hitachi model.

I have read up on the issue, and people have suggested using APM Tuner X for such an issue, which I tried, but it didn't work and only beeps when I try to click the set button.

So here's the question: How many of you out there have this problem and diagnose it as "normal." If it isn't normal, should I send the computer in to be repaired?

coolmacdude · Oct 19, 2003, 02:51 PM

Originally posted by BearOso:
I have read up on the issue, and people have suggested using APM Tuner X for such an issue, which I tried, but it didn't work and only beeps when I try to click the set button.

It is supposed to beep. However after you set it to the max value, the clicking should go away. If it does not then there could be a more serious issue present.

Buck_W · Oct 20, 2003, 07:34 AM

The Western Digital drive that came in my Cube "clicked" periodically. I just ignored it, not realizing that it wasn't normal for a hard drive to do that. That was a mistake. The clicking eventually became more noticeable and the HD crashed and had to be replaced. I now have a Maxtor in it and it has never clicked.

ulmer · Oct 20, 2003, 09:35 AM

Mine also makes beeping noises the whole time it's running. I have the 80 GB 5400 RPM. Is everyone getting this? It's just loud enough to be bothersome...

shef · Oct 21, 2003, 02:19 AM

I was getting the same noise...but on my other 15" Al book with the same drive, I am getting no noise, So as of now I am having my local authorized repair center replace the drive just to be on the safe side.

BearOso · Oct 21, 2003, 12:25 PM

I ended up calling AppleCare to get my drive replaced. I've only had problems with clicking drives in the past. This sound reminds me of the problem I had with several subsequent IBM 75gxp drives where a lever inside the drive got stuck on the casing and consistently scratched the inside of the top platter. Hopefully this one isn't a design flaw, too.

I also had/have the Safari problem with the high pitched squeal, but I'm not sure if they can do anything about that.

popstand · Oct 21, 2003, 04:47 PM

Try removing the MS Office trial. It has a bug where it writes continually to the drive when it is not running. You can tell if this is the problem by running Office. The sound stops while the app is actually running. If this is the case, remove it immediately. The regular non-trial version of Office doesn't do this fortunately.

BearOso · Oct 21, 2003, 05:12 PM

In my case, removing the office trial didn't help. In fact, it still made the noise when I booted to the system disc and ran the hardware test. So I don't think my issue was related to the software.

x · Oct 31, 2003, 09:04 PM

same here. I have the Fujitsu HD on my 15" Albook. The clicking can get annoying when it's really quiet. Still thinking if I should return it. But otherwise, it's a perfect machine.

Got it on Panther night.

I make it go away by running iTunes in the background.

ixus_123 · Oct 31, 2003, 09:12 PM

Trust your instincts. If it doesn't sound right chances are that it isn't. A clicking noise is a sign a drive could be on it's way out. I'd get it replaced.

Unfortunately I found out the hard way. I bought a brand new Maxtor drive and that died in 3 months - I lost everything as stupidly I was using as a backup drive thinking as it was new nothing would go wrong with it.

I bought another maxtor to replace it because they seem to have good reviews / feedback - I guess I was just unlucky forst time.

BearOso · Nov 1, 2003, 01:46 AM

Powerbook is back, and with a new hard drive, the clicking is still there, exactly as it was. I'm going to assume that this is normal. Unless of course, if someone thinks I should give it another go at a repair.

But then again, if someone with a fujitsu drive is experiencing the problem, maybe it isn't the hard drive after all. In that case, why would it occur during hard drive access?

shef · Nov 1, 2003, 10:53 PM

Originally posted by BearOso:
Powerbook is back, and with a new hard drive, the clicking is still there, exactly as it was. I'm going to assume that this is normal. Unless of course, if someone thinks I should give it another go at a repair.

But then again, if someone with a fujitsu drive is experiencing the problem, maybe it isn't the hard drive after all. In that case, why would it occur during hard drive access?

I finally got the drive replaced at the local repair center...but the noise is still there for me too...so do you think this noise is normal???

MacFreak · Nov 1, 2003, 11:03 PM

I don't know if it is normal, but was told by a Apple Genius that it was...I do have a case number that I can reference in the future if something should happen...

gomariners · Nov 2, 2003, 01:25 AM

Originally posted by MacFreak:
I don't know if it is normal, but was told by a Apple Genius that it was...I do have a case number that I can reference in the future if something should happen...

If you're talking about a periodic "ka chunk" sound, my understanding is that the drives reset the head to save power and prevent HD problems in the event of sudden motion (e.g., a fall). If that's what you're hearing, I think it's normal. Mine does it, and I'd rather it not, but I'm not freaking about it.

dennis88 · Nov 2, 2003, 06:29 AM

Originally posted by gomariners:
If you're talking about a periodic "ka chunk" sound, my understanding is that the drives reset the head to save power and prevent HD problems in the event of sudden motion (e.g., a fall). If that's what you're hearing, I think it's normal. Mine does it, and I'd rather it not, but I'm not freaking about it.

Yeah, that's right.
They said that on the discussion forum on apple.com too.

x · Nov 4, 2003, 02:56 AM

On my 15" Albook, I hear the sounds when I'm not accessing my hard drive. Occasional ka-chunks and "mouse-clicks". I can only hear these when it's really quiet.

Based on the response from people here, it does sound normal and the only reason I can hear it is the rest of the machine is just dead silent.

coolmacdude · Nov 10, 2003, 02:19 PM

Originally posted by gomariners:
If you're talking about a periodic "ka chunk" sound, my understanding is that the drives reset the head to save power and prevent HD problems in the event of sudden motion (e.g., a fall). If that's what you're hearing, I think it's normal. Mine does it, and I'd rather it not, but I'm not freaking about it.

APM Tuner X gets rid of this on most Macs if you don't like it. I know its normal but I find it annoying as hell. I currently have the only known active link of this program here. Run it, set the slider to 254 and click set. Also it resets after every restart.