The laptop makes weird rotating noise. The noise either starts as soon as the laptop turned on or it start intermittently.

Possible cause:

1. DVD drive failure.
2. Cooling fan failure.
3. Hard drive failure.

Possible troubleshooting steps and repair solution:

There are only three parts inside the laptop able to make weird rotating noise.

1. If the noise starts when you are playing a CD or DVD disc, most likely it’s related to the optical drive failure. Test the optical drive with different CD and DVD discs. If the laptop make nosie with all discs, replace the optical drive.

2. Take a look inside the fan grill on the bottom. If the noise appears when the fan starts spinning, most likley you have a faulty cooling fan. Replace the fan.

3. The last part able to create weird rotating noise is the hard drive. If the laptop freezes while making noise, it’s possible that you have a failing hard drive. In this case back up all persoanl data ASAP because the hard drive can fail any moment. Do not store any important data on a noisy hard drive.

The laptop cooling fan makes rattling noise. The noise comes and goes.

Possible cause:

1. Something stuck inside the fan.
2. Fan failure.

Possible troubleshooting steps and repair solution:

First of all, make sure it’s not the hard drive noise. In some cases a faulty hard drive can makes noises very similar to a faulty cooling fan.

Take a look inside the cooling fan under a bright light. It’s possible that something got stuck inside the fan and prevents it from spinning freely. You can remove a stuck object with needle nose pliers.

Try cleaning the fan with compressed air.

If there is no stuck object inside the fan, most likely the fan has a failed bearing and has to be replaced. Replace the cooling fan if needed.

The laptop optical drive makes a very louse noise playing a CD or DVD disc.

Possible cause:

1. Bad CD or DVD disc.
2. Optical drive failure.

Possible troubleshooting steps and repair solution:

1. Make sure the noise is comming from the optical drive and it’s not the hard drive or cooling fan noise.

2. Test your laptop with different CD and DVD discs. If the drive makes noise with one particular disc, most likley the disc is bad and there is nothing wrong with the optical drive. Apparenlty the disc is defective and out of balance.

3. If the optical drive makes loud noise with all CDs and DVDs, you have a faulti drive. In this case the optical drive has to be replaced.

As an alternative, you can purchase an external USB optical drive and use it instead of the internal optical drive.

The laptop is booting and running very slow. It takes a few minutes to boot to the desktop. The laptop was way faster when you bought it.

Possible cause:

1. Software related problem.
2. Not enough memory installed.
3. Failing hard drive.

Possible troubleshooting steps and repair solution:

This could be a software related problem. It’s possible that you have too many programs loading on startup at the same time. If the laptop was fast before and very slow now, you can try reinstalling the operating system from scratch. Back up all personal files and run the recovery disc. Reimage the hard drive back to factory defaults. Most likely reimaging the laptop will make it faster.

Also, it’s possible that your laptop needs more memory. Take a look at the system properties and find out how much memory you have installed. For Windows XP I would recommend at least 1GB. For Windows Vista at least 3GB. Installing more memory will speed up your laptop.

If you have enough memory installed and reinstalling the operating system doesn’t help, it’s likely that you have a failing hard drive. Does your hard drive make grinding noise or clicking sounds? If it does, you’ll have to replace it with a new one.

The laptop makes a lot of noise when it’s on. The noise was getting worse over time.

Possible cause:

1. The cooling module is clogged with dust.
2. The cooling fan failure.
3. Hard drive failure.

Possible troubleshooting steps and repair solution:

Firts of all, take a look int the cooling module. It’ spossible that the cooling an is clogged with dust and the laptop makes a lot of noise because of that.
Clean the cooling fan and heat sink and test the laptop again.

If the laptop makes noise only when the cooling fan spins, most likley you have a faulty fan. Try replacing the cooling fan.

The hard drive also can be a source of loud noise. Remove the hard drive and boot your laptop from a live Linux CD (you can use Knoppix). Test the laptop for a while. If the noise is gone when the hard drive is removed, most likely you have a faulty hard drive. If that’s the case, back up all personal data from the hard drive as soon as possible becuase it may fail any time.

The laptop makes high pitched noise.

Possible cause:

1. Screen inverter failure.
2. Motherboard failure.
3. Hard drive failure.
4. Cooling fan failure.

Possible troubleshooting steps and repair solution:

1. Try reducing the screen brightness. If there is no noise when the screen brightness is reduced, most likely you have a faulty screen inverter board. In most laptops the inverter board is located inside the display panel below the LCD screen. Try replacing the inverter board.

2. Test your laptop with an external monitor. Set the laptop to output video only on the external monitor. If the high pitched noise is gone when there is no video on the laptop screen, again, most likley it’s related to the screen inveter.

3. If the laptop makes hight pitched noise even when there is no video on the screen, most likely you have a faulty component somewhere on the motherboard.You’ll have to replace the motherboard or use it as is.

4. A failing hard drive also can be the source of the very annoying hight pitched noise. You can remove the hard drive and boot your laptop from a live Linux CD (Knoppix for example). If the noise is gone when the hard dive is removed, most likely that’s your problem. If the noise is still there, it’s not related to the hard drive.

5. Could be a faulty cooling fan. If the noise appear only when the cooling fan is spinning, most likely you have a bad fan. Replace the fan.

When you turn on the laptop, it starts loading the operating system but then makes grinding noise and freezes. Sometimes the laptop works fine for a while, but on the next reboot it makes grinding noise and freezes again.

Possible cause:

Hard drive failure.

Possible troubleshooting steps and repair solution:

Listen for the grinding noise. Most likley it’s coming from the hard drive area and it means the hard drive is failing.
If you still can boot to the desktop, back up all personal files as soon as possible and do not store anything important on the laptop. The hard drive may fail completely any moment.

Replace the failing hard drive with a new one and reinstall the operating system from the recovery disc.

The laptop turns and starts making clicking sounds. The laptop will not load the operating system or it starts loading and freezes at some point. The clicking sounds coming from the area where the hard drive is located.

Possible cause:

Hard drive failure.

Possible troubleshooting steps and repair solution:

Most likely this problem is related to the hard drive failure. It’s a mechanical failure inside the hard drive. You’ll have to replace the failed hard drive with a new one and reinstall the operating system from the recovery disc.