My laptop...squeaks

[Rine]

In the last three months, my laptop has presented me with an unusual characteristic. It squeaks.

The laptop is a Dell and it's about four years old. It's starts squeaking randomly and the sound comes from just to the left of the mousepad. I've also noticed that if I pick it up one handed from that area, it starts to squeak, too. It's almost like a high pitched scream, to be honest.

What is this? Does anyone know? If this was a tower computer, I would just pop the lid open and poke around. But...I'm afraid to take my laptop apart.

I hope someone can help.

[TheCustomer]

Hard drive?

I'm venturing a guess, but maybe it's the hard drive that's squeaking? Most laptops I've worked with have the hard drive on the left side of the computer, just left of the mousepad. (Yes, I love opening those babies up )

If it's the hard drive I'd be a bit worried.

Just in case, is your CD drive on the right side of your laptop?

[Rine]

Yes, my CD player is on the right.

I make back ups of all my files every week since my laptop started to squeak. It was my first thought too--that the harddrive was making noise. Oh, no.

Why would it squeak?

[TheCustomer]

Worst case scenario is that your hard drive is failing (the head has crashed or is going to, or the bearings in the motor failed), and you'll need a replacement. Drives shouldn't squeak. :/

However, it might be other things. Orientation, maybe. But you're probably already holding the laptop bottom-down, not on its side.

It might also just be a fan in your laptop. They can sometimes squeak a lot.

Also, is it more of a squeak or a squeal?

[MrSmiley]

Why would it squeak?

About the only "moving parts" in the average computer are the fans and any disk drives, cd drives and hard drives. In the case of the hard drive, it's spinning the platter and moving the drive head across it to read different spots (think of a phonographic record player... though a lot smaller and the materials are different). You're right to be worried if it is coming from the hard drive, and the solutions for fixing it often removing the hard drive from the laptop and then sending that in for repair/replacement.

To narrow things down, you might want to clean the laptop's fans/intakes with compressed air or a Q-tip/cloth (depending on how much you can reach) when it's turned off. Also remove any disks/discs from the other drives on the system. if the high pitched squeel is still there then it's probably something deep inside... usually the hard drive or the cpu fan.

Dell's website has service manuals for most of their laptops (search by the model name & number), which usually includes instructions on how to open the laptop. If you're lucky, you have a model where all the screws are labeled on the unit (mine for instance are A, H, F.... installing a hard drive requires me to remove the "F" screws, however if I wanted to get at the CPU fan I'd have to remove all the "A" screws... etc) if you want to get inside.

It would probably be a good idea to contact Dell's support first though.

[HYHYBT]

This would be an excellent time to make sure your backup is up-to-date...

(Then again, the squeaking could be because the trackpad has a mouse in it)

[Rine]

Good news! It's not the harddrive. I looked at the manual and the harddrive is on the back and opposite side of the laptop.

Now...what exactly is a microprocessor thermal cooling unit? It's either that or the microprocessor itself or something else on the "system board."

[TheCustomer]

Good news! It's not the harddrive. I looked at the manual and the harddrive is on the back and opposite side of the laptop.

Now...what exactly is a microprocessor thermal cooling unit? It's either that or the microprocessor itself or something else on the "system board."

Great to hear that the hard drive wasn't in the area the sound emanated from.

By any chance is your laptop a Dell Inspiron 1300, B120, or B130?

The microprocessor thermal cooling unit would consist of a heatsink, and probably a fan. If it has a fan then it should be the fan causing the squeaking.

[lordlundar]

Now...what exactly is a microprocessor thermal cooling unit? It's either that or the microprocessor itself or something else on the "system board."

It's a fan then. The "microprocessor thermal cooling unit" is a very long way of saying "heatsink for a subchip"

Not nearly as immediate to repair, but you still want to send it in as soon as possible.

[Rine]

I appreciate everyone's help very much. Perhaps tomorrow I'll pop this thing open and clean it very, very carefully and then see if it helps. I have all the manuals downloaded and I think I can do it just fine.

This...microprocessor thermal cooling unit sounds expensive...though probably less expensive to replace than a microprocessor. Er. Ignorance here--can you even replace a microprocessor and whatnot? XD

[lordlundar]

This...microprocessor thermal cooling unit sounds expensive...though probably less expensive to replace than a microprocessor. Er. Ignorance here--can you even replace a microprocessor and whatnot? XD

First off, It's a FAN! Don't let the words confuse you. Usually in the one inch size and sitting on the microprocessor (usually the northbridge or southbridge). Now, that said, if you're looking to get it replaced (which you might have to do if it's bearings are failing) then it's best to just send it to the manufacturer for repair. As for the microprocessor? Not damn likely. 90% of the components on a notebook motherboard is directly soldered to it.

[Rine]

Oh, well, I did realize that it was only a fan. Anything over $10 is expensive on my budget. I think Dell charges an arm and a leg for repair, since it's been out of warranty for a few years now.

Hm...so I better hope that it's just the little fan and not anything else. Okay.

Thanks.

[Mikkel]

Hm...so I better hope that it's just the little fan and not anything else. Okay. .

FWIW I cant imagine anything wrong with the processor which make a squeaking noise while it still works.

[Geek King]

Sounds like a bearing in the fan. Replacements in desktops are fairly inexpensive, but I'm not sure how they price on laptops.

[Broomjockey]

Anything over $10 is expensive on my budget.

If you can find one, it'll probably be between $5-$30. You can also probably replace it yourself.