Should I worry if my computer is making noises?

I'm tech savvy, but not... that savvy.

You see my computer is starting to make weird noises. I can't figure out from where. It's a laptop Latitude D600. It's 4 years old. We got a new hard drive for it a while ago (two years ago, maybe?) at least, I think that was a hard drive...? Before, it wasn't working at all.

Now it's working, but it's old and now it's making noises. Should I worry it will die? Is there anything I can do?

I probably won't get another lap top, if I do, for a year when I go to college, and I really don't want mine to die before then!

There are smarter people on YWS than me, so please! Save my computer...*cries*

Four years old. o.O What type of noises?

It sounds like a whirring noise. I'm not sure how else to describe it. Like when you have a disc in the computer/CD player and it's spinning, and you can hear it spinning?


So I'm thinking it's the hard drive or the motherboard. or. OK, the thing that is inside the computer that spins. I'm just not sure if it's something to worry about?

It could also be the fan, but I don't think it is?

No clue, but you should save your files on to a disc just in case. XD

~JFW1415

Suz - neh, a family member of mine's laptop acted kinda like that once...I'm not 100% sure, but I suggest you start saving up for a new laptop.

What exactly are you doing when it whirs and whistles?

...To the Geek Squad!

From my basic research, I think I'm having a hard drive failure. Which apparently is bad.

clograbby: I might be using it (online, on AIM, on Itunes, etc) or not using it at all, but with things open.


So long as it lasts me another year. Or. If I can brain wash my father into getting me a computer now.

Is it getting warm?

Yes. It's always been bad about getting excruciatingly hot. Especially on the bottom. If I wear shorts and put it on my lap, I could potentially burn myself. But it's been like that even before the noises?

I moved some files off my C drive and onto my E drive. My C has been cranky and full lately, and now it seems... more appeased? I sound like I'm talking about island gods, but really, that's what my computer is like.

Do you ever do Disk Defragment, by going to Accesories and System Tools? Your hard drive could be cluttered up and need to be reorganized.

I don't know if it will help but... maybe it's worth a try.

It's not good to fill up your hard drive, it makes it very unhappy. You might have over taxed it, maybe by moving some files off of it it might save it for a while. I strongly suggest getting your hands on some sort of external hard drive.

Sacrifice a goat to the gods - always does the trick.

What Jigg said. Ok here's what I know

1) Laptops always get hot on the bottom. Don't worry about that. My old one always got burning hot fast but that was an older model. I always turned it off and let it cool before I used it again.

2) Defraging is your friend. It can clear up your hard drive and make your computer go a lot quicker than it does.

3) Anti virus? Sometimes minor virus's can get in and agitate your computer. I use AVG and honestly, it works.

Finally 4) I think when a computer gets old it starts to make whirring noises like that. It's happening to my brothers desktop which is over ten years old and has taken on hundreds of games. My old laptop used to do that then it just crapped out. My final opinion is go see someone from the GeekSquad or something =P I'll try to have my brother (he goes to RIT) check this thread and see what he thinks. He a computer genius ^.^

~Lupe

Thank guys!


Yes, Adam, my computer was freaking because of how full my drive was! I knew that weeks ago, and have slowly been shifting things to the other drive. (We had taken my 60G drive and split it in half because we originally meant to do a dual partition between Windows and Linux - Linux never happened.) I've begged my dad a few times for an external hard drive now, so we'll see if I get one.


I think I'll do a defrag and a virus hunt while I'm at it. Thank you guys so much!

As I sit here with my Latitude on my lap it is making exactly the same whirring noise. And the heat is unbearable - I have it on a cushion on my lap.

Mine's done this since I first got it last year - but it was second hand. I always just thought it was the fan...

Alainna
xx