Ticking noise every 5 seconds that goes away after a while

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Level 1

9 points

Ticking noise every 5 seconds that goes away after a while

Starting about a week ago, I started hearing a strange ticking noise coming from my macbook. I've had my macbook for over a year and have never heard this before until now. I've mostly noticed it when I first approach my macbook in the morning. (If it's relevant, I have it set to never sleep in Energy Saver, except for the display and have the "put the hard disk to sleep when possible" checked.)

It's not the "clicking" type of sound associated with failing hard drive, which I know from experience. It's more of a quiet clock ticking type noise that happens every 5 seconds or so. And the weird thing is, it will eventually go away... and then eventually come back again.

I've read on here somewhere that it may be a fan issue where it will make the noise anytime you're below 3000rpm... I've also read that it could be the hard drive's Load Cycle Count as described here: http://tinyurl.com/d3dw8n

But it's hard to tell if these people are describing the same thing. Anyone experiencing this as well?

Macbook Pro, Mac OS X (10.5.5), 2.4 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo

Posted on Apr 17, 2009 11:26 AM

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Answer 1

CMCSK

Level 6

11,452 points

Apr 17, 2009 2:10 PM in response to bogstep

I'm not. Since you know the sound is not associated with your hard drive, take the computer to an Apple Store & let them figure out what is causing the clicking noise.

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Answer 2

S.U.

Level 6

9,601 points

Apr 17, 2009 2:36 PM in response to bogstep

I don't have this sound on mine at all--I have a 250 GB Fujitsu drive that is absolutely silent. What seems strange if not worrisome is that your sound was not always there, but has just started. Can you tell at all where it is coming from? The article you linked made it sound that this was a hard drive sound rather than a fan sound. I have heard of the WD 250 GB PATA notebook drive making an annoying clicking sound, but that's not the issue here, and besides, the WD drive makes the noise from the beginning, and not after a year of use.

The ticking sound could still be an early indication of hard drive problems yet to come--I don't know. But one thing you might want to do is to take a detailed look at your hard drive, which you can do with S.M.A.R.T Utility:

http://www.versiontracker.com/dyn/moreinfo/macosx/32454

You can download the demo and run it several times for free. It would be interesting to see if it reports any errors, even if the S.M.A.R.T. status of your hard drive is still verified.

Good luck!

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Answer 3

bogstep Author

Level 1

9 points

Apr 17, 2009 4:01 PM in response to S.U.

I've heard two possible explanations from looking at posts from people having similar "ticking" noise on their machines. One group says it's a fan issue and another group says it's the hard drive. The link I posted is an example of the latter group.

To me, it sounds like it's coming from the left side of the macbook, which would indicate something other than the hard drive. And it's not a "clicking" sound you get with a failing hard drive. And the explanation I read that it's a fan related issue that only happens when it's under 3000rpm and goes away when it's above 3000rpm makes more sense in terms of what's happening to me.

Thanks for the suggestion about the S.M.A.R.T. utility. I'll check it out as it couldn't hurt.

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Answer 4

S.U.

Level 6

9,601 points

Apr 17, 2009 6:54 PM in response to bogstep

Both the hard drive and the left fan are on the left side of your computer, so it could be either. So is the Left I/O Board. Have you tried running the extended version of the Apple Hardware Test? Possibly it could give an error code if there is a problem with the left fan. I can only say that my fans have never made a sound like you describe.

Good luck!

Good luck!

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