borayda
Level 1 (0 points)

Q: my iMac grinds

Since I upgraded to mavericks my computer grinds all the time and is very loud.

iMac (20-inch Early 2008), iOS 7.0.6

Posted on Mar 9, 2014 9:06 AM

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borayda

Q: my iMac grinds

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  • Helpful answers

  • by Mike Sombrio,

    Mike Sombrio Mike Sombrio Mar 9, 2014 9:29 AM in response to borayda
    Level 6 (17,234 points)
    Apple Watch
    Mar 9, 2014 9:29 AM in response to borayda

    A grinding noise indicates a hardware problem and would be coincidental to installing Mavericks. You should take your iMac to the nearest Apple Store or AASP for diagnostics. The only moving parts inside your iMac that could be making a grinding noise would be a fan or disk drive.

  • by den.thed,

    den.thed den.thed Mar 9, 2014 9:32 AM in response to borayda
    Level 7 (27,646 points)
    Mar 9, 2014 9:32 AM in response to borayda

    Go to: Applications > Utilities > open your Activity Monitor and check to see if you have a run away process or just need more RAM.

     

    For more info, see > OS X Mavericks: About Activity Monitor

  • by borayda,

    borayda borayda Mar 9, 2014 4:27 PM in response to Mike Sombrio
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Mar 9, 2014 4:27 PM in response to Mike Sombrio

    I did a SMC reset and it solved the problem

  • by Mike Sombrio,

    Mike Sombrio Mike Sombrio Mar 9, 2014 4:46 PM in response to borayda
    Level 6 (17,234 points)
    Apple Watch
    Mar 9, 2014 4:46 PM in response to borayda

    So then.....it was just the fan running?

  • by borayda,

    borayda borayda Mar 10, 2014 9:37 PM in response to Mike Sombrio
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Mar 10, 2014 9:37 PM in response to Mike Sombrio

    Actually, it stopped the grind for a couple of days and now it is back on, but not as loud.

  • by Mike Sombrio,

    Mike Sombrio Mike Sombrio Mar 11, 2014 3:26 AM in response to borayda
    Level 6 (17,234 points)
    Apple Watch
    Mar 11, 2014 3:26 AM in response to borayda

    Is this noise actually a metal on metal grinding noise or is it the normal disk access noise that a hard drive makes when it's working?

  • by borayda,

    borayda borayda Mar 11, 2014 8:57 AM in response to Mike Sombrio
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Mar 11, 2014 8:57 AM in response to Mike Sombrio

    I think it is a disk access noise. it is very annoying.

  • by Mike Sombrio,

    Mike Sombrio Mike Sombrio Mar 11, 2014 3:04 PM in response to borayda
    Level 6 (17,234 points)
    Apple Watch
    Mar 11, 2014 3:04 PM in response to borayda

    It sounds like Spotlight is constantly indexing your drive. I'm not an expert at Spotlight by any means but I'll see if I can get someone to help out.

  • by Frank Caggiano,

    Frank Caggiano Frank Caggiano Mar 11, 2014 3:28 PM in response to borayda
    Level 7 (25,796 points)
    Mar 11, 2014 3:28 PM in response to borayda

    Open spotlight (cmd+space) if any drives are being indexed it will report it. So when you hear the noise see if indexing ids going on.

     

    However even is that is the case you should not be hearing enough noise that it makes you post here unless you're in a really, really quiet room.

     

    I think you need to backup your drive right away and then have the system checked. Again hearing enough  noise from a system that it makes you ask about it  is not normal

  • by WZZZ,

    WZZZ WZZZ Mar 11, 2014 7:57 PM in response to borayda
    Level 6 (13,112 points)
    Mac OS X
    Mar 11, 2014 7:57 PM in response to borayda

    Another way to check: Open Activity Monitor in Utilities. Look for mds and mdworker. They are the processes underlying Spotlight. See how much CPU they are consuming. If Spotlight isn't being indexed or being used, they should be at or close to 0%. And I agree with Frank. Any loud or louder than normal noise coming from within the computer is not normal. Can be a fan or the drive. Those are the only moving parts.

  • by dmcar,

    dmcar dmcar Nov 12, 2015 6:02 PM in response to borayda
    Level 1 (4 points)
    Nov 12, 2015 6:02 PM in response to borayda

    Just in case this applies, I hope that those of you who were having a problem are still reading this thread. Background:  My iMac (2010) has been doing this since I brought it home from the store, and I am now running El Capitan. The OS has never changed the duration (all the time) or quality (incessant hard disc access sound) of the noise.

     

    But I was just whacking around after reading this, and found that in October 2012, Apple announced a recall of Seagate 1T drives from the 2010 iMacs, Model ST31000528AS, with firmware revision either A24 or A25.

     

    I never got this recall announcement. The problem apparently had something to do with drive failure, which has not happened to me yet, but I am now cautiously optimistic that this might get fixed. Hope this helps someone ...