Recurring "Clicking" noise which shuts down Windows.

[OrtegaSeason]

Hi there,

I’ve had my PC since late 2013. Around August last year it periodically started making a strange noise that it never had before. It sounded like something scratching against something else, then a revving noise, and then the normal “processing” sound. Once it started doing this it wouldn’t stop and would basically stop/interrupt all other functions in Windows. Generally i shut the PC down (which this issue also made slower) before it could go any further but sometimes if left for too long it would cause the PC to go to a memory restore screen. This issue was sporadic and sometimes it would happen a couple of times a week and then not happen at all for a month even though I was using the PC in exactly the same way. Anyhow the PC operating system busted in January this year and I took it to the seller and they reinstalled it. The PC has worked totally fine from then (early Feb) until a couple of days ago when the scratching noise has started again with same results.

Taking it to get fixed again isn’t a problem since I’m insured and they’re very quick but I’d really like to know why this is happening and how to stop it in future. Like I said it worked fine from early Feb till now after it had come back from the shop so presumably whatever they did fixed the original problem but what would cause it to re-emerge?



Thanks for any assistance.



System details



OS Name Microsoft Windows 8.1
Version 6.3.9600 Build 9600
Other OS Description Not Available
OS Manufacturer Microsoft Corporation
System Name IDEA-PC
System Manufacturer LENOVO
System Model C540
System Type x64-based PC
System SKU LENOVO_MT_C540
Processor Intel® Core™ i3-3240 CPU @ 3.40GHz, 3400 Mhz, 2 Core(s), 4 Logical Processor(s)
BIOS Version/Date LENOVO I0KT33AUS, 23/08/2013
SMBIOS Version 2.7
Embedded Controller Version 255.255
BIOS Mode UEFI
BaseBoard Manufacturer LENOVO





Thanks for any assistance.

 

[BadActor]

Sounds as if the HDD is failing. You can check the SMART status of the drive to confirm. You can use CrystalDiskInfo to easily check this. Only solution is to replace the drive. I would suggest upgrading to an SSD.

http://crystalmark.info/software/CrystalDiskInfo/index-e.html

 

[The Paladin]

Since it is an all in one system I would tend to agree with BadActor on this one, it does sound like a bad HDD issue.

 

[OrtegaSeason]

Sounds as if the HDD is failing. You can check the SMART status of the drive to confirm. You can use CrystalDiskInfo to easily check this. Only solution is to replace the drive. I would suggest upgrading to an SSD.

http://crystalmark.info/software/CrystalDiskInfo/index-e.html

This is the data I got from CrystalDisk. Thanks

----------------------------------------------------------------------------
CrystalDiskInfo 7.0.5 (C) 2008-2016 hiyohiyo
Crystal Dew World : http://crystalmark.info/
----------------------------------------------------------------------------

OS : Windows 8.1 [6.3 Build 9600] (x64)
Date : 2017/06/02 11:33:39

-- Controller Map ----------------------------------------------------------
+ Intel(R) 6 Series/C200 Series Chipset Family 6 Port SATA AHCI Controller - 1C02 [ATA]
- PLDS DVD-RW DS8A9SH
- ST1000DM003-1CH162
- Microsoft Storage Spaces Controller [SCSI]

-- Disk List ---------------------------------------------------------------
(1) ST1000DM003-1CH162 : 1000.2 GB [0/0/0, pd1] - st

----------------------------------------------------------------------------
(1) ST1000DM003-1CH162
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Model : ST1000DM003-1CH162
Firmware : CC56

Disk Size : 1000.2 GB (8.4/137.4/1000.2/1000.2)
Buffer Size : Unknown
Queue Depth : 32
# of Sectors : 1953525168
Rotation Rate : 7200 RPM
Interface : Serial ATA
Major Version : ATA8-ACS
Minor Version : ATA8-ACS version 4
Transfer Mode : SATA/300 | SATA/600
Power On Hours : 12237 hours
Power On Count : 1779 count
Temperature : 48 C (118 F)
Health Status : Good
Features : S.M.A.R.T., 48bit LBA, NCQ
APM Level : ----
AAM Level : ----
Drive Letter : C:

-- S.M.A.R.T. --------------------------------------------------------------
ID Cur Wor Thr RawValues(6) Attribute Name
01 116 _99 __6 000006726D50 Read Error Rate
03 _99 _97 __0 000000000000 Spin-Up Time
04 _98 _98 _20 000000000ACE Start/Stop Count
05 100 100 _10 000000000000 Reallocated Sectors Count
07 _86 _60 _30 00011BD01AB0 Seek Error Rate
09 _87 _87 __0 000000002FCD Power-On Hours
0A 100 100 _97 000000000000 Spin Retry Count
0C _99 _99 _20 0000000006F3 Power Cycle Count
B7 100 100 __0 000000000000 Vendor Specific
B8 100 100 _99 000000000000 End-to-End Error
BB 100 100 __0 000000000000 Reported Uncorrectable Errors
BC 100 __1 __0 0004000405AF Command Timeout
BD _96 _96 __0 000000000004 High Fly Writes
BE _52 _46 _45 000030180030 Airflow Temperature
BF 100 100 __0 000000000000 G-Sense Error Rate
C0 100 100 __0 0000000003FF Power-off Retract Count
C1 _99 _99 __0 000000000AD3 Load/Unload Cycle Count
C2 _48 _54 __0 000800000030 Temperature
C5 100 100 __0 000000000000 Current Pending Sector Count
C6 100 100 __0 000000000000 Uncorrectable Sector Count
C7 200 _99 __0 000000003FD6 UltraDMA CRC Error Count
F0 100 253 __0 647D00003033 Head Flying Hours
F1 100 253 __0 00074590D5D6 Total Host Writes
F2 100 253 __0 000ADAA4989E Total Host Reads

-- IDENTIFY_DEVICE ---------------------------------------------------------
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
000: 0C5A 3FFF C837 0010 0000 0000 003F 0000 0000 0000
010: 2020 2020 2020 2020 2020 2020 5331 4442 544E 3637
020: 0000 0000 0004 4343 3536 2020 2020 5354 3130 3030
030: 444D 3030 332D 3143 4831 3632 2020 2020 2020 2020
040: 2020 2020 2020 2020 2020 2020 2020 8010 4000 2F00
050: 4000 0200 0200 0007 3FFF 0010 003F FC10 00FB 0010
060: FFFF 0FFF 0000 0007 0003 0078 0078 0078 0078 0000
070: 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 001F 8D0E 0004 0044 0040
080: 01F0 0029 346B 7D01 6163 3469 BC01 6163 203F 0034
090: 0034 0000 FFFE 0000 D000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000
100: 6DB0 7470 0000 0000 0000 0000 6003 0000 5000 C500
110: 61CB 89DF 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 401E
120: 401C 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0029 6DB0
130: 7470 6DB0 7470 2020 0002 0140 0108 5000 3C06 3C0A
140: 0000 003C 0000 0008 0000 0000 05FF 0280 0000 0000
150: 0008 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 5800 8800
160: 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0002 0000
170: 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000
180: 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000
190: 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000
200: 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 3085 0000 0000 4000
210: 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 1C20 0000 0000
220: 0000 0000 1020 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000
230: 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000
240: 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000
250: 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 4FA5

-- SMART_READ_DATA ---------------------------------------------------------
+0 +1 +2 +3 +4 +5 +6 +7 +8 +9 +A +B +C +D +E +F
000: 0A 00 01 0F 00 74 63 50 6D 72 06 00 00 00 03 03
010: 00 63 61 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 04 32 00 62 62 CE
020: 0A 00 00 00 00 00 05 33 00 64 64 00 00 00 00 00
030: 00 00 07 0F 00 56 3C B0 1A D0 1B 01 00 00 09 32
040: 00 57 57 CD 2F 00 00 00 00 00 0A 13 00 64 64 00
050: 00 00 00 00 00 00 0C 32 00 63 63 F3 06 00 00 00
060: 00 00 B7 32 00 64 64 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 B8 32
070: 00 64 64 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 BB 32 00 64 64 00
080: 00 00 00 00 00 00 BC 32 00 64 01 AF 05 04 00 04
090: 00 00 BD 3A 00 60 60 04 00 00 00 00 00 00 BE 22
0A0: 00 34 2E 30 00 18 30 00 00 00 BF 32 00 64 64 00
0B0: 00 00 00 00 00 00 C0 32 00 64 64 FF 03 00 00 00
0C0: 00 00 C1 32 00 63 63 D3 0A 00 00 00 00 00 C2 22
0D0: 00 30 36 30 00 00 00 08 00 00 C5 12 00 64 64 00
0E0: 00 00 00 00 00 00 C6 10 00 64 64 00 00 00 00 00
0F0: 00 00 C7 3E 00 C8 63 D6 3F 00 00 00 00 00 F0 00
100: 00 64 FD 33 30 00 00 7D 64 11 F1 00 00 64 FD D6
110: D5 90 45 07 00 00 F2 00 00 64 FD 9E 98 A4 DA 0A
120: 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00
130: 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00
140: 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00
150: 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00
160: 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 82 00 48 02 00 7B
170: 03 00 01 00 01 6C 02 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00
180: 00 00 00 00 FE 09 00 00 03 03 03 03 01 01 01 01
190: 01 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 01 00 00 00 00 00 00
1A0: 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 4E A9 AD 87 11 28 00 00
1B0: 00 00 00 00 01 00 38 01 D6 D5 90 45 07 00 00 00
1C0: 9E 98 A4 DA 0A 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00
1D0: 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 4A 15 00 00 01 00 00 00
1E0: 00 00 00 00 60 87 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 03
1F0: 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 DE

-- SMART_READ_THRESHOLD ----------------------------------------------------
+0 +1 +2 +3 +4 +5 +6 +7 +8 +9 +A +B +C +D +E +F
000: 01 00 01 06 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 03 00
010: 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 04 14 00 00 00 00
020: 00 00 00 00 00 00 05 0A 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00
030: 00 00 07 1E 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 09 00
040: 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 0A 61 00 00 00 00
050: 00 00 00 00 00 00 0C 14 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00
060: 00 00 B7 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 B8 63
070: 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 BB 00 00 00 00 00
080: 00 00 00 00 00 00 BC 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00
090: 00 00 BD 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 BE 2D
0A0: 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 BF 00 00 00 00 00
0B0: 00 00 00 00 00 00 C0 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00
0C0: 00 00 C1 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 C2 00
0D0: 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 C5 00 00 00 00 00
0E0: 00 00 00 00 00 00 C6 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00
0F0: 00 00 C7 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 F0 00
100: 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 F1 00 00 00 00 00
110: 00 00 00 00 00 00 F2 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00
120: 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00
130: 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00
140: 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00
150: 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00
160: 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00
170: 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00
180: 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00
190: 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00
1A0: 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00
1B0: 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00
1C0: 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00
1D0: 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00
1E0: 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00
1F0: 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 FD

 

[BadActor]

The HDD doesn't show any obvious problems, but could still be at fault. Is there a lot of dust and dirt collected in the PC? Have you run several different virus scans? I would suggest running Adwarecleaner and Malwarecleaner by Malwarebytes, RogueKiller, and an online scanner such as TrendMicro's or ESET's

 

[SgtScream]

Clicking can also be the power supply. Especially if the computer is unexpectedly shutting down:
http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/264358-28-power-supply-clicking

The noise can also be the bearings in fans. You'll have to try and narrow down the noise so you can find out which component is the problem.

Do you see any disk errors in event viewer, under the system logs?

 

[OrtegaSeason]

Clicking can also be the power supply. Especially if the computer is unexpectedly shutting down:
http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/264358-28-power-supply-clicking

The noise can also be the bearings in fans. You'll have to try and narrow down the noise so you can find out which component is the problem.

Do you see any disk errors in event viewer, under the system logs?

It's not actually ever shut it self down, it just goes to a blue screen saying "Your PC encountered a problem and needs to restart itself..." after the clicking has gone on for a while, and then restarts.

I looked at the Event Viewer and it had a number of "Warnings" with the disk as the source and many of them correspond to the times when these events took place recently. Here are some examples;

The IO operation at logical block address 0x394f5f40 for Disk 0 (PDO name: \Device\00000031) was retried.
The IO operation at logical block address 0x3946d80 for Disk 0 (PDO name: \Device\00000031) was retried.
The IO operation at logical block address 0x5234932 for Disk 0 (PDO name: \Device\00000031) was retried.

 

[SgtScream]

Assuming disk 0 is your system or spare data drive, It would be advisable that you should back up your personal data and replace disk 0.