IBM Thinkpad A31 noises problem!

[chloe84]

Hello everybody,

Before I start I would like to let you all know that I am not much familiar with computer hardware so excuse my computer language.

Problem:

My IBM A31 notebook is making very weird noises like the sound of knocking at the door and at times it feels like as if something is rotating inside it. The problem initiates when the computer starts and when it wakes after I put it to sleep mode, also it occurs with no particular symptoms as well. In addition the computer gets really busy while having all this problem.

I don't have a single clue about what's going inside it, please can anyone help me out?

Thanks

Chloe.

[daeojkim]

Does the harddrive light flash a lot when this happens?

Is this a new computer that you purchased or have you owned this for a long time and this sympom is showing up recently?

These are the things that I can think of right now.

1. Your hard drive is failing. Thus making a lot of noise during start up.

2. A failing hard dive in combination of virus / spyware, causing slow down of computer and a lot of work on the hard drive.

3. Older drives are slower and make more noise during seeking. i.e. during start up, large file transfers, a lot of small file accesss, etc.

My recommendation of back up important files ASAP. If it is hard drive it will fail any minute.

[proaudioguy]

Hard Drive Going south?

Back it up and use it till it dies.

After you back it up try to defragment it.

Too bad you have to know about computers in order to use them.

[chloe84]

Does the harddrive light flash a lot when this happens?

Is this a new computer that you purchased or have you owned this for a long time and this sympom is showing up recently?

These are the things that I can think of right now.

1. Your hard drive is failing. Thus making a lot of noise during start up.

2. A failing hard dive in combination of virus / spyware, causing slow down of computer and a lot of work on the hard drive.

3. Older drives are slower and make more noise during seeking. i.e. during start up, large file transfers, a lot of small file accesss, etc.

My recommendation of back up important files ASAP. If it is hard drive it will fail any minute.

Thanks all for your replies.

Yes, the light keeps on flashing when this happens.

The notebook is refurbished and has been in my possession since 5 months.

Yes, this sympton showed up only recently.

The computer is virus and spyware free.

If this is a case of failing hard disk then can it be replaced? Any recommendations on buying a new hard disk?

Chloe

[daeojkim]

As for new hard drive, I do recommend Hitachi 7K60, which is 7200 rpm and it will definitely improve the performance over the current hard drive. The hard drive is the bottle neck when it comes to notebook performance. There are few hard drives on sale by forum members in the market place forum so I do suggest to check them out.

The key is to have at least 8MB cache and at least 5400 rpm. I recommend sticking with Hitachi or Seagate or fujitsu in that order.


Now, as for solving you current problem I do recommend you to do what proaudioguy suggested.

1. Back up all impoartant files on your hard drive.

2. Run Disk clean up (Start -> All Programs -> Accessories -> System Tools -> Disk clean up) to get rid of temporary files and other files that you will not need.

3. Run Disc degrament (located in System tools as above)

let us know what happened after doing all of above.

[chloe84]

As for new hard drive, I do recommend Hitachi 7K60, which is 7200 rpm and it will definitely improve the performance over the current hard drive. The hard drive is the bottle neck when it comes to notebook performance. There are few hard drives on sale by forum members in the market place forum so I do suggest to check them out.

The key is to have at least 8MB cache and at least 5400 rpm. I recommend sticking with Hitachi or Seagate or fujitsu in that order.


Now, as for solving you current problem I do recommend you to do what proaudioguy suggested.

1. Back up all impoartant files on your hard drive.

2. Run Disk clean up (Start -> All Programs -> Accessories -> System Tools -> Disk clean up) to get rid of temporary files and other files that you will not need.

3. Run Disc degrament (located in System tools as above)

let us know what happened after doing all of above.

1. I stored important files on a CD-R.

2. Disk clean up successful.

3. Disc degrament successful as well and the computer did not make any of the noises during the process but it took it forever to complete it. The results are as following:

Volume (C:)
Volume size = 27.93 GB
Cluster size = 16 KB
Used space = 4.72 GB
Free space = 23.22 GB
Percent free space = 83 %

Volume fragmentation
Total fragmentation = 7 %
File fragmentation = 14 %
Free space fragmentation = 0 %

File fragmentation
Total files = 21,168
Average file size = 204 KB
Total fragmented files = 2
Total excess fragments = 598
Average fragments per file = 1.02

Pagefile fragmentation
Pagefile size = 384 MB
Total fragments = 23

Folder fragmentation
Total folders = 2,119
Fragmented folders = 9
Excess folder fragments = 25

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Fragments File Size Files that cannot be defragmented
6 15 MB \WINDOWS\SYSTEM32\CONFIG\SOFTWARE
2 5 MB \WINDOWS\SYSTEM32\CONFIG\SYSTEM
2 75 KB \WINDOWS\Debug\UserMode\USERENV.LOG
582 701 MB \Documents and Settings\Chloe ann\Desktop\School\lecture.avi
14 4 MB \Documents and Settings\Chloe ann\Desktop\Music\X&Y\Coldplay -X&Y (Special Edition 2006)\Coldplay - X And Y (Special Edition 2006)\CD1\06. Coldplay - Xandy.mp3
2 23 KB \System Volume Information\_restore{9A7A6CF9-DC10-4C6B-825F-AFF0CED443F3}\_FILELST.CFG


Chloe.

[daeojkim]

Still making a lot of noise?

[chloe84]

Still making a lot of noise?

Yes, it does and now its even making while I'm typing this message.

Chloe.

[daeojkim]

Sounds like it is time for a new hard drive.

http://www.zipzoomfly.com/jsp/ProductDe ... e=100517-1

This looks like a decent deal. Also in the market place in this forum some members are selling some har drives so they may be worth looking into.

JK

[chloe84]

Sounds like it is time for a new hard drive.

http://www.zipzoomfly.com/jsp/ProductDe ... e=100517-1

This looks like a decent deal. Also in the market place in this forum some members are selling some har drives so they may be worth looking into.

JK

I was looking on ebay and just came across this, is it a good deal?

http://cgi.ebay.ca/40GB-5K-Hard-Drive-I ... otohosting

Also, is there anyway that I can copy the old Windows on the new hard drive or I have to get a fresh installation again?

Thanks
Chloe

[daeojkim]

It does seem like a good deal. But make sure to take into account the shipping rate. I did not realize that you are in Canada, so I am not sure if you buy a hard drive in US the warranty is honored in Canada.

Try few different places for hard drives with similar specs and make sure to take into account the shipping rate.

As for duplicating the data to a new hard drive, it is possible, but you will need a duplicating software and an external enclosure for the new hard drive. It may end up costing more than you want.

If you have recovery disks just use them to restore the computer.
If not, as long as there is a COA for windows you can use a Windows CD to reinstall the computer and use Lenovo software installer to update all of drivers and softwares for your laptop.

JK