Dell Laptop clicking noise (fan or hard drive issue)

Question

I have a DELL 17R SE 7720 laptop and have recently noticed it has been clicking - I am not sure if this is fan or hard drive related, I have a video to illustrate the issue.

Can anyone suggest my best bet as the warranty has just run out (3 days ago.. can you believe it).

I have run the F12 pre-boot assessment diagnostics application and it hasn't shown any obvious problems - here is a video of it to illustrate the problem (please note I am using the laptop now, so the problem is intermittent but still very annoying).

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rsTr0qJ7_SQ

Below are my S.M.A.R.T results using HDDScan from hddscan.com

Solution

You can isolate if its the fan or HD by using any piece of tube like a stethoscope. Pointing one end near the fan or HD and the other in one ear will pin point the noise.

Causes of HD clicking noise will typically not show up on SMART stats, as it's usually rubbing parts. Sometimes as the drive heats up, this type of noise comes and goes. A fan clicking will be constant, whether the computer is warmed up or not.

BTW - I could hear some bumping on the video, but nothing like a click? maybe its just my hearing?

Comments

[James P]

Try downloading a tool with temperature and S.M.A.R.T reporting like SpeedFan (almico.com/sfdownload.php) and post the results here. Also, have you ruled out the optical drive?

[James P]

It could also be worth contacting Dell just in case they will honour the warranty after all. Some companies can actually be quite reasonable about these things.

[Zabs]

i've added the smart results above - nothing obviously wrong from the results

[James P]

Are you sure it's not the optical drive? If it is malfunctioning it could make strange noises when you boot the laptop even without a disc in there.

[James P]

I think the Recalibration Retries attribute could be a clue here. If the raw value increases after the clicking then your disk is probably faulty.

[Zabs]

I will look out for the attribute you mentioned next time it clicks.. touch wood it hasn't yet

[Zabs]

I have made my new SSD my primary windows partition and my SATA drive the data drive, so in theory it isn't going to in use so much. I've not heard the sound for a couple hours, i'll install steam shortly and use the laptop under full load when playing games later and see if the problem returns.