Strange metallic snapping noise during boot-up

Hi guys,

I have a 3 year old Dell Dimension 2400 to which I've added a Sony DVD burner and a second HD. I believe the system drive is an 80 gig Maxtor, the 2nd HD is a 250 gig Caviar.

Within the past two months or so I've been noticing that a fairly loud (considerably louder than any other sounds from the computer) sound that I can only describe as like the sound of a metal latch snapping shut---just a brief metallic snap, has come from the computer and it always seems to be once, occasionally twice, during boot-up. It doesn't happen every time I boot up, though, maybe one time in 4. It definitely sounds mechanical to my ears, but I suppose it could be an arc or spark, though it doesn't seem to sound like anything electrical.

Any ideas on what this might be? Is this something a failing HD will do? A fan? I don't think I've ever heard it beyond the minute or so that it takes the machine to fully boot up, and never more than twice in a row during that time. All drives and everything else are ostensibly functioning fine and I've had no apparent problems with the machine other than this weird sound recently.

BTW, it does it with the cover completely off the PC case, so it couldn't be the case cover itself making the noise.

Any suggestions would be most appreciated!!

Dave

 

any fans failing or failed?

 

I should have stated: I just replaced the PSU fan but this sound has occured both before and after that.

I suppose the next thing to do is stick my head in the case during boot up---I only haven't yet because it's hard to set my monitor and mouse up close enough to the case to do that, but I suppose I need to. Just wondering if anyone know right off the bat if this was a failing HD sound, which is my main concern.

Someone, though, has theorized on another board that it may be the PSU since I only have a Dell 200 W PSU and I have two HD's on it. That could well be, but I don't see why it wouldn't do it more often if that was the case, since I use both drives at the same time fairly often and as far as I can recall this only happens during start-up. Unless there is some special spike in power demands on both drives during start-up.

 

Have you tryed powering on the system with the monitor off ? Thares up to 30,000V in a monitor more then enough to make your electric arc like sound......just an idea....

 

i had a hard drive that was failing, but miraculously continued to work, and it was making a metallic click sound, but it was constant, not just while booting

 

A spark or arc would make a poping sound and there would be a definite smell afterwards. If the sound you are hearing during boot is a sort clank-clunk sound then that would be a drive-head bouncing off the disk-latter in your hard drive. In which case the drive is going bad and will need to be replaced.