There are several reasons that could be causing your computer to make a strange grinding noise, but the main two issues that are typical of this symptom are problems with the hard drive or fan. These both require very different solutions so it’s important to know what you’re dealing with.

There could be something large obstructing the fan. Small pieces of dust that accumulate around the fan will be blown away when the machine starts up, and most machines power up the fans at a higher speed for the first few seconds to remove anything that has accumulated. Anything larger that may have been trapped is easy to spot by opening your machine and inspecting the fan.

The other possibility is more serious – your hard drive may be at fault. If you have ruled out a problem with the fan, the chances are there’s something wrong with your hard drive. You should immediately back up your data at this point. It could be that your hard drive is about to fail, so make sure you save any data you really need.

A grinding noise is a symptom of a loose part, and when parts become loose, they can scratch the disk, causing irreversible data loss. If you can’t back up your data, you should immediately turn your machine off and remove the hard drive. Do not attempt further recovery efforts as this will often only make the problem worse. Instead, you’ll need to get in touch with a professional data recovery specialist, who will image the disk in a safe environment. 

 

 

 

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