My computer just made THE most bizarre sounds

tmontney · Jul 28, 2014

I've been working with computers for about 6 years. I'm MCSA/MCP/MCTS (etc.) certified. Point is, I know what I'm doing.

I was just doing some intensive transferring and what not (a lot at once). My disk seems pretty maxed out. (I have noticed for some time hearing an odd beep/noise when I put my laptop to sleep (something that I don't normally notice from my laptop or any laptop for that matter).) Anyway, my laptop just made a decently loud modem/dialup-like/electronic sound and then a click/pop noise. My laptop does not have a modem built-in. (AFAIK, modems don't always make an external sound.) Could it be the hard drive (it's a Samsung, a brand of hard drives I've never used)? About 2 months ago, I ran all Samsung's test and they all passed.

thx1138v2 · Jul 29, 2014

There are a couple of things that could make that kind of noise.

One would be the power circuit. They sometimes squeal right before a capacitor blows. Smell around the place where you connect the power supply and if you detect a burned plastic smell that is probably it.

A hard drive can make that kind of sound when a crash occurs when the read/write head is dragging on the surface of the disk.

You didn't say how what kind of machine is, how old it is, nor how much you use it so it's hard to be specific.

If the led's come on when you power it up but it won't boot I would guess it was a hard drive crash. If the led's don't glow when powered up I would guess the power supply. But there is also the possibility that it is both - the power circuitry went bad, surged the hard drive and caused a head crash.

If you aren't comfortable with disassembling it to look for the problems take it to a shop to have it diagnosed and/or repaired..

tmontney · Jul 29, 2014

thx1138v2 :

Laptop was made in late 2011, is an HP Pavilion dm4-2165dx. Laptop ran fine before, during and is still running fine.

Don't smell any burnt plastic, and the adapter is running warm but not hot. Laptop is still charging.

I'm not using any strange or additional hardware. Just what'd you expect from an average laptop.

I'm definitely more than comfortable repairing PCs, as is my job and field. I just have never heard anything like this before, which is strange considering how many years I've been working with PCs (although I guess it's bound to happen no matter your experience). I know that CPUs can emit electronic noise, especially when overclocked (the laptop is not OC'd). I don't suspect the fan could make such a noise. Judging from the popping/slamming noise, it could definitely be the hard drive. But again, I had tested it a couple months ago and it was fine. Perhaps it could be failing between then and now. I just wanted to ask to see if anyone else has heard similar noises.

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My computer just made THE most bizarre sounds

tmontney

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