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Jimellow · 10-29-2009, 11:13 AM

Lately my computer has been making a physical clicking sound within the case. The clicks vary; sometimes it's just one, others it's many repetitive clicks. After the initial click(s), the computer freezes entirely, and only resumes after more clicks. I can't move the mouse or perform any actions when the computer is in this frozen state.

Furthermore, on occasion the clicks are so rampant and closely spaced that the computer will reboot entirely on its own.

I've taken the case off and listened, and if seemed that the clicking sound was coming from the front portion of the computer, specifically near the hard drives, though it's surprisingly difficult to pinpoint a sound in a such a small and confined area.

The computer is a Dell Dimension Pentium III 866MHZ, with 256 MB of RAM. I've formatted in the past, and if I remember correctly this may have been an issue with this computer at some point in the past, and I'm not entirely sure if I did something to resolve the issue (formatting, perhaps), or if it resolved itself.

I've run virus and spyware scans, and generally have minimal programs running in the background. The computer serves a basic purpose and does it well, with the exception of this recent issue that is becoming rather annoying and limiting.

I noticed recently that if I am watching a video and the clicking begins, the audio will cut out, and then a short while later, the video will start to stutter as well. Perhaps that could be of value to resolving the issue, or perhaps not.

I would suspect it's a hardware issue, on the basis that the clicking is the result of a physical piece of hardware making it, but perhaps a program is initiating the clicking. I can go a stretch of use and not experience the clicking, and other times will experience it often. I suspect it could relate to a specific part of the hard drive being bad, and thus only clicking when that portion is accessed, but that's only a theory and based on little more than a hunch.

The computer just clicked while I was typing this message, and there was no delay. Perhaps there are varying degrees of severity in regards to the clicks and if they aren't severe enough the computer continues working uninterrupted.

If anyone has thoughts, comments, feedback, or any sort of advice, please share it.

10-29-2009, 11:13 AM	#1 (permalink)
Jimellow Junkie	Computer hardware make an audible clicking sound that freezes up system ... Lately my computer has been making a physical clicking sound within the case. The clicks vary; sometimes it's just one, others it's many repetitive clicks. After the initial click(s), the computer freezes entirely, and only resumes after more clicks. I can't move the mouse or perform any actions when the computer is in this frozen state. Furthermore, on occasion the clicks are so rampant and closely spaced that the computer will reboot entirely on its own. I've taken the case off and listened, and if seemed that the clicking sound was coming from the front portion of the computer, specifically near the hard drives, though it's surprisingly difficult to pinpoint a sound in a such a small and confined area. The computer is a Dell Dimension Pentium III 866MHZ, with 256 MB of RAM. I've formatted in the past, and if I remember correctly this may have been an issue with this computer at some point in the past, and I'm not entirely sure if I did something to resolve the issue (formatting, perhaps), or if it resolved itself. I've run virus and spyware scans, and generally have minimal programs running in the background. The computer serves a basic purpose and does it well, with the exception of this recent issue that is becoming rather annoying and limiting. I noticed recently that if I am watching a video and the clicking begins, the audio will cut out, and then a short while later, the video will start to stutter as well. Perhaps that could be of value to resolving the issue, or perhaps not. I would suspect it's a hardware issue, on the basis that the clicking is the result of a physical piece of hardware making it, but perhaps a program is initiating the clicking. I can go a stretch of use and not experience the clicking, and other times will experience it often. I suspect it could relate to a specific part of the hard drive being bad, and thus only clicking when that portion is accessed, but that's only a theory and based on little more than a hunch. The computer just clicked while I was typing this message, and there was no delay. Perhaps there are varying degrees of severity in regards to the clicks and if they aren't severe enough the computer continues working uninterrupted. If anyone has thoughts, comments, feedback, or any sort of advice, please share it. __________________ Desperation is no excuse for lowering one's standards.