HELP! can hear ticking! before SHUTDOWN

Discussion in 'other software & services' started by ticking, Nov 2, 2005.

Thread Status:
Not open for further replies.
  1. ticking

    ticking Guest

    PLEASE HELP ME my computer has shut down twice today.

    I can hear ticking like a clock, before it shuts down
     
  2. ravin

    ravin Registered Member

    Joined:
    May 2, 2003
    Posts:
    241
    Location:
    South Carolina
    It is always helpful to include information as to operating system etc. so that we can better advise you.
     
  3. blazr63

    blazr63 Registered Member

    Joined:
    Oct 9, 2005
    Posts:
    58
    Location:
    Danvers, MA
    My advice is to do a full image backup asap. Before my hard drive broke, it made a clicking sound.
     
  4. ticking

    ticking Guest

    yes running windows XP sp2

    It started just after I used leechget to download.
     
  5. AnthonyG

    AnthonyG Registered Member

    Joined:
    Aug 3, 2004
    Posts:
    617
    Clicking is a bad sign. If you have anything vital on your hard drive. Back it up to CD/DVD now.

    It usually means your hard drive it almost on its way out!.
     
  6. ticking

    ticking Guest

    my hard drive is less than 12 months old. Is everyone sure it's the hard drive? should the system automatically shutdown if it is?
     
  7. ravin

    ravin Registered Member

    Joined:
    May 2, 2003
    Posts:
    241
    Location:
    South Carolina
    go to start select run. type in command and hit enter. at the command prompt type chkdsk /r c: and hit enter if it asks to do check on reboot type y for yes and hit enter. if says the volume is in use do you want to dismount the volume type y for yes and scanning will commence. if you have any problems at this point let us know.
     
  8. Capp

    Capp Registered Member

    Joined:
    Oct 16, 2004
    Posts:
    2,125
    Location:
    United States
    Just out of curiosity, have you taken a look at the light on your floppy drive after you attempt to shut down?

    Where I work, we sometimes have users complain of the same thing (ticking when they log off/shut down). When I take a look at the machine, something is trying to read the floppy drive during shutdown and, since there isn't a disk in there, it just churns away.

    Just a thought :)
     
  9. ticking

    ticking Guest

    I have done a scandisk error checking through right clicking properties c drive and that went fine after restart.

    and no it is not my floppy. I dont get the ticking when i am shutting down or restarting.

    the ticking started after i downloaded a 40 mb file with leechget. i ignored this at first, but two hours ago after i downloaded another big file 20 mb. the ticking started again and this time after 20 ticks or so the computer autoatically shutdown by itself.

    any other views?

    thank you so far

    also i have noticed that when i disabled blackice engine i could not restart it i got an error saying that the HANDLE IS INVALID this also seems to be the case when i select windows update from the start menu. i will check to see if this persist with other programs

    cheers
     
  10. ravin

    ravin Registered Member

    Joined:
    May 2, 2003
    Posts:
    241
    Location:
    South Carolina
    Last edited: Nov 2, 2005
  11. ticking

    ticking Guest

    cheers ravin i am doing this right now.

    anyother views? the scan will take some time...
     
  12. Notok

    Notok Registered Member

    Joined:
    May 28, 2004
    Posts:
    2,969
    Location:
    Portland, OR (USA)
    For a dying drive you would want something that reads the S.M.A.R.T. info, things like scandisk will only identify problems with corrupted data/sectors on the drive, which wouldn't cause a ticking sound. The S.M.A.R.T. info will tell you about things like mechanical errors, that could cause a clicking sound. I use HDD Health, it's freeware.. http://panterasoft.com/ You can also usually get a diagnostic tool from the manufacturer's website. If it's a Maxtor drive, you'd run the utility and write down the error code it gives you, if any.

    If it's just under 1 year old, I would contact the drive manufacturer immediatly. Most harddrives only have a one year warranty (and there's a reason for that), so get in there before it expires!
     
  13. ticking

    ticking Guest

    cheers notok downloaded your recommendation and went to the manufacturers website and downloaded theirs.

    i'll get straight onto it after the Microsoft live safety center. I am doing the full scan and so far 50% into the scan it is quite interesting...

    it has so far detected 2 VIRUSES abd 3 INFECTED files. i say interesting because I have done a full system scan with all my ANTI - spyware, virus, trojan software. of which both Nod32 and MWAV from escan detected no viruses. will give update.

    cheers
     
  14. ticking

    ticking Guest

    Well the infected files are the quarentine files from Giant anti spyware. and the viruses seemed to have been deleted without any information given unless i somehow missed them (can't see how though)
     
  15. ticking

    ticking Guest

    hey Notok, i cant use your utility nor the manufacturers one as double clicking the icon only gives me this error

    ---------------------------
    C:\Documents and Settings\USER1\My Documents\hdd health\hddh.exe
    ---------------------------
    C:\Documents and Settings\USER1\My Documents\hddh.exe



    The handle is invalid.


    ---------------------------
    OK
    ---------------------------
     
  16. hadi

    hadi Guest

  17. Firecat

    Firecat Registered Member

    Joined:
    Jan 2, 2005
    Posts:
    8,251
    Location:
    The land of no identity :D
    I have seen this sort of "ticking" when the floppy is being accessed at shutdown, or when my hard disk's power connector is not connected 100% properly.

    Check the Hard disk cables.

    Joke: There is a bomb in your PC :D
     
  18. ticking

    ticking Guest

    i'll check the HD cables tommorrow and i already have speedfan. installed HDD health which says "There are no known problems with this hard drive.
    " predictions precision 25% overall health N/A.

    thank you all.

    note the clicking noise is not continuous why i worried is because my computer shutdown automatically after the noise last time and i still dont know why? DO you guys know why the computer shutdown automatically after the clicking noise?
     
  19. Firecat

    Firecat Registered Member

    Joined:
    Jan 2, 2005
    Posts:
    8,251
    Location:
    The land of no identity :D
    My computer HUNG automatically when I had the HD cable loose and heard that clicking sound.
     
  20. stefan_c38

    stefan_c38 Registered Member

    Joined:
    Dec 30, 2004
    Posts:
    18
    You set LeechGet to shut down when all downloads are done:D
     
  21. ticking

    ticking Guest

    no i havn't set it to shut down, i am just downloading a trial software that is 10mb just to see if it happens again. i will check the leads tommorrow.
     
  22. Comp01

    Comp01 Registered Member

    Joined:
    Sep 4, 2003
    Posts:
    638
    You say its shutting down automatically? How old and what make/mdoel is the Computer, what are the specs? Is the clicking sound you're hearing the monitor clicking off possibly? (From having no signal, auto-standby?) Is it coming from the speakers or from the actual case of the Computer? If you've scanned with AV's, etc, I would first make a backup of any important files you have, just in case it is an HD problem, sometimes running the test tools will cause it to fail, so I would backup before anything, download and run HDTune (It can check the S.M.A.R.T status of your drive.) Then try downloading the CD diagnostics tool from the manufacturer of the HDD and testing your drive with it, also check the HDD temps from within SpeedFan and report back, that could be causing it if its over-heating, and as for the auto-shutdown it may be something not relating to the ticking/clicking you're hearing, it may be a memory problem, you should also run memtest86+ (available here: http://www.memtest.org/) the auto-shutting off may also be a software problem, but personally it sounds like a failing HDD to me. Just because its only 12 months old doesn't mean anything, I've had drives fail a week after installing them (brand-new) and drives that were failing out of the box.
     
  23. ticking

    ticking Guest

    PC spec P4 2.8, 992 mb ram, win XP pro
    HDD maxtor 120gb

    just turned computer on 5 minutes ago here are the readings

    speedfan
    temp1 36c
    temp2 26c
    HD0 20c

    readings from my cpu lcd screen LCD screen
    CPU 25c sys 24c HDD 30c

    anyone know the settings i should set with speedfan?
     
  24. Comp01

    Comp01 Registered Member

    Joined:
    Sep 4, 2003
    Posts:
    638
    The temperatures check out, my PC runs hotter than yours does (at idle my CPU runs between 38 and 42C, HDD's are at 39 and 35C or so.) - It sounds like a hardware problem to me, just because the S.M.A.R.T readings say its ok doesn't mean anything, I've found that S.M.A.R.T is usually right but sometiems it can be wrong.
     
Thread Status:
Not open for further replies.
  1. This site uses cookies to help personalise content, tailor your experience and to keep you logged in if you register.
    By continuing to use this site, you are consenting to our use of cookies.