strange groaning noise

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Level 1

13 points

strange groaning noise

This happened twice yesterday (never happened before this) -- once while in Firefox and once while closing out of FF and trying to shut down. Both times there was also strange behavior -- first time a form I opened in FF kept hiccuping and duplicated itself many times; second time I couldn't use pulldown menu for several seconds. Any ideas? I'd rather hear it's a software (FF?) issue and not a hardware issue.😕

iMac (21.5-inch Mid 2010), Mac OS X (10.6.8), 3.6 GHz Intel Core i5

Posted on Dec 27, 2012 2:21 PM

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Answer 1

BGreg

Level 6

17,552 points

Dec 27, 2012 2:44 PM in response to JOCL

I would run the Apple hardware test, specifically to see if there are any memory or disk hardware issues. When prompted, choose the extended test. It may take an hour + to run, depending on how much memory you have.

Also, bring up Disk Utility and verify your hard drive. If it finds any issues, you may need to boot to an OS X DVD or external backup to run the Disk Utility repair disk from another boot volume (you can't repair a volume you've booted from).

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Answer 2

JOCL Author

Level 1

13 points

Dec 27, 2012 2:47 PM in response to BGreg

Thanks for responding so quickly BGreg -- I'll try your suggestions and post the results.

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Answer 3

JOCL Author

Level 1

13 points

Dec 27, 2012 3:47 PM in response to BGreg

BGreg, thanks again -- I did the extended Apple hardware teest and also brought up Disk Utility and verified my hard drive. All tests clean, no problems detected. Anything else I should do? Can I safely conclude that the problem is software-related?

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Answer 4

BGreg

Level 6

17,552 points

Dec 27, 2012 4:23 PM in response to JOCL

While the AHT and Disk Utility (sadly) aren't 100%, passing both says there is not an obvious hardware or disk structure issue. So I'd agree, yes, there likely is a software issue at hand.

How much free disk space do you have? General rule is to keep 10% of the disk capacity free for systems usage.

You might want to run OnyX, for it's cleaning and maintenance functions. As with any disk maintenance utility, you should have a hard drive backup before using it (I've used it for years with no issues). This will clean the system caches, in the event that contributed to what you saw.

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Answer 5

JOCL Author

Level 1

13 points

Dec 28, 2012 12:51 AM in response to BGreg

945 GB available

I will check out Onyx, thanks!

I recently updated my Firefox version, also downloaded and started using F.lux. There could be some bugs or incompatibility issues going on.

Thanks again for taking the time to respond to my dilemma. If it recurs I may be back with another question.

Happy New Year 🙂

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Answer 6

JOCL Author

Level 1

13 points

Dec 30, 2012 3:21 PM in response to BGreg

BGreg, you still out there? I haven't heard the groaning noise since this exchange, however just now, in the last five minutes I heard three separate, single knocks from the computer. Nothing unusual on the screen, no freezing or crashing. Ideas?

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Answer 7

JOCL Author

Level 1

13 points

Dec 30, 2012 3:50 PM in response to JOCL

I can't see where I can delete my last question. Turns out the knocks were chat notifications -- I had gone in a chat room of a forum I participate in, and then wandered off to another website. The knock signifies that someone has posted something.

Sheesh! Scared myself!

Happy New Year.🙂

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Answer 8

BGreg

Level 6

17,552 points

Dec 30, 2012 5:00 PM in response to JOCL

Simple answers are often the best .... Happy New Year to you!

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