Ask the Doctor: Daily Grind

The Maximum PC Staff — Sat, 27 Jun 2009 12:41:00 -0500

I recently upgraded my computer. When I shut down my PC, it makes a metallic grinding-type noise. It also happens when my computer is running at full load. Any advice?

—Frank Pavey

That’s not a good sign, Frank. The way the Doctor sees it, this could be one of two things. First, check to make sure none of your case fans are hitting anything: errant wires, the sides of their enclosures, etc. Same goes for your CPU fan—if one of its cooling fins is bent it could be hitting against a fan.

Otherwise, that could be the sound of a hard drive head grinding against a platter, which is exactly as bad as it sounds, because it means that the drive is going to crash soon. If you have more than one hard drive, try to isolate which one of them is making the sound. Then back up the data on it and start looking for a replacement. The (somewhat) good news is that new drives are cheap as hell these days, and you can get a 1TB drive for less than a hundred bucks that will probably be faster than what you’re running.

SUBMIT YOUR QUESTION Are flames shooting out of the back of your rig? First, grab a fire extinguisher and douse the flames. Once the pyrotechnic display has fizzled, email the doctor at doctor@maximumpc.com for advice on how to solve your technological woes.

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Ask the Doctor: Daily Grind