Member Avatar for 2sandler

System Properties

-Dell Inspiron 6000 (Laptop)
-Intel Pentium M Processor, 1.60 GHz
-512 MB of RAM
-Microsoft Windows XP Home Edition: Version 2002, SP2

History of Conflicts, Problems

-In Late December 2005, early January 2006, the Computer Crashed (1st Time.)
*Cause Unknown
-We were able to gain access to all of the Data and remove it quickly. We reformatted the Drive using Dell’s “PC Restore feature. At first, the computer didn’t run too quickly but gradually picked up speed. Within a week, it was good as new.

Current Problem

-February 21, 2005
-After attempting to upload a 58mb video file my server (never had any problems before,) I tried once more. During the last upload, I turned on an episode of the X-files using “RealPlayer (some 100mb.)
-After a few minutes, the computer started making weird noises. The first sounded like “clicks. These were followed by a loud buzzing noise, at which point the computer froze while the buzzing noise continued.
-I turned off the computer, and turned it back on. Once it got to the Windows start up screen, it stayed there (loading for 10-20 minutes.) At this point, I restarted the computer again, this time in Safe Mode. I used “System Restore to restore the computer to the day before.
-The “System Restore featured worked fine, such that it was able to start up windows.
-This time, as a way of testing the server, I uploaded an image into my server, and it worked. Then, I tried once more to upload the video file. After two minutes, the computer started to make the “clicking noises, and a little “buzzing as well. In turn, I turned off the upload and the noised disappeared.

There is no spy ware or viruses on this computer. In turn, I am left to assume that this is a “hard drive defect/problem.

Can anyone else offer a Diagnosis as well?

Thank You,
Warmest Regards,
Stanley

  • 4 Contributors
  • 3 Replies
  • 271 Views
  • 4 Years Discussion Span
  • Latest Post Latest Post by jovi72

Dani AI

Generated

Short expert note on the symptoms described by .

The pattern — loud clicking while under heavy I/O (video upload/playback), a buzzing sound, and intermittent freezes — is most consistent with a mechanically failing hard disk (the classic "click of death"). The fact the system booted after a restore but then reproduced the noise during another heavy I/O session suggests marginal/degenerating media or a failing actuator/spindle rather than a purely software issue.

Building on points from and , a safe, prioritized approach (in order) that adds steps not already suggested in the thread:

  • Preserve the drive state for recovery: avoid prolonged use that writes to the disk. Capture a sector‑by‑sector image with a tool designed for failing disks (for example, ddrescue from a Linux rescue environment) rather than relying on normal file copies; imaging increases the chance of later recovery.
  • Confirm hardware status: at power‑on check BIOS/POST to see if the drive is consistently detected; run the vendor/boot diagnostics (Dell ePSA/F12 on Dell) to exercise the drive at firmware level.
  • Inspect SMART attributes for early failure signals (look for large or growing values in Reallocated_Sector_Ct, Current_Pending_Sector, Spin_Retry_Count and related counters). Advanced users can read SMART with smartctl from a rescue environment; on Windows a diagnostic utility or the Dell test will report failures.
  • If diagnostics fail or clicking continues, power down and replace the drive. For irreplaceable data, stop DIY attempts and consult a professional recovery service — continued spinning/operation reduces recovery chances.

If replacement is needed, consider a modern SSD upgrade for reliability and a big performance improvement. This advice expands on earlier comments by focusing on imaging-first recovery, SMART interpretation, and vendor diagnostics rather than only OS‑level fixes.

Recommended Answers

All 3 Replies

Member Avatar for dogbreath077

The big question here is what component is making the noise. Where exactly on the laptop are the noises coming from? It may be that your laptop (LT) is trying to access a drive and finding nothing. If a program is told to access a drive and it finds nothing, it may hang, and freeze up the computer. That's because it is using all the cpu's capacity to look in the drive. Try to determine what is making the noise by duplicating the process. Then, when you can pinpoint the place, hit <control><alt><delete> and that will bring up your task manager. It may take a few minutes, but wait for it. You can then see what applications are running, and what processes are tasking the cpu. This will tell you what is making your LT hang. Good luck and please repost.

Member Avatar for bobbyraw

That clicking sound could be your hard drive, evidence point to it, PC takes long to load, Upload takes forever. the system is trying to access area that are failing, therefore, the HDD is failing, the file you are trying to upload is stored in a bad sector on the HDD. to prove this try coppying the file to another drive or write to a cd. i suggest you run chkdsk /f on the hdd this will repair the sector if possible and move the file to a good area on the HDD

Member Avatar for jovi72

i am lookeing out for type to begin to service dell insp 6000 whatn r the basci steps to start when the lap top is not power on

Be a part of the DaniWeb community

We're a friendly, industry-focused community of developers, IT pros, digital marketers, and technology enthusiasts meeting, networking, learning, and sharing knowledge.