Loud buzzing noise from Toshiba laptop

[hackintosh777]

Hi,

I have a Toshiba Satellite E55t-A5320. It has an Intel Core i5-4200U 1.6GHz CPU, 12 GB RAM (self upgraded from stock 4GB with Crucial 8GB 1DIMM), and 500GB WD 5400RPM HDD (replaced the stock Toshiba drive after it phantomly set a HDD/SSD password). OS is Windows 8 (not 8.1) Pro 64 bit.

Since I replaced the stock Toshiba drive (or rather, my dad's IT guy did), it's been making an awful buzzing/whirring/grinding noise. I don't know where it's coming from and if it's a sign of the hard drive's death.

Link:

https/www.dropbox.com/s/hblviyob8jt0bc3/grinding%20noise.wma?dl=0

 

[hackintosh777]

You can rule it out by taking it out and replacing it with another drive. If it's accessible via a back panel it should be fairly easy to do, just a few screws to unscrew and it slides right out. Just be careful when handling the drives and don't touch the unprotected bit on the back.

For the record, if you got a Mac and this happened, you would basically have to get a new laptop, because almost any repair that requires access to the components means a lot of labor and a lot of cost. Some models don't even have user-replaceable RAM or storage, so you'd have to replace the whole logic board if something went wrong. Not what you want to do if you like to upgrade or are worried about things not lasting as long as you'd expect them to.

OK I don't think it's the HDD because I had another one (the stock toshiba 500GB) last month and it didn't do this. So how much would it cost to buy a fan?

Also, what you said is my biggest beef with Apple, because they're not "open".

 

[drapacioli]

I'm not sure about the fan, you would have to obtain the part number for it before it can be looked up. There is more than one fan model for the E55T series, it seems. Both were about $40-$50 though from the one site I was able to find with a quick search. Talk to your IT guy, he may be able to get a better deal (In fact, if he caused the damage, he should repair it for free).

If it wasn't for the fact that you said you had an IT guy open up the case and change parts, I would recommend that you contact Toshiba about it, but now that it's been tampered with your warranty is likely void. Regardless, even if it wasn't a warranty RMA would take a week or two at best, sometimes even longer.

 

[hackintosh777]

I'm not sure about the fan, you would have to obtain the part number for it before it can be looked up. There is more than one fan model for the E55T series, it seems. Both were about $40-$50 though from the one site I was able to find with a quick search. Talk to your IT guy, he may be able to get a better deal (In fact, if he caused the damage, he should repair it for free).

If it wasn't for the fact that you said you had an IT guy open up the case and change parts, I would recommend that you contact Toshiba about it, but now that it's been tampered with your warranty is likely void. Regardless, even if it wasn't a warranty RMA would take a week or two at best, sometimes even longer.

How can I find out the model number? Should I just open the computer and look at the fan?

 

[drapacioli]

If you're comfortable doing that sure, otherwise you can also contact Toshiba to get the part number (probably easier if they're willing to cooperate), or have someone else open it up.

 

[hackintosh777]

If you're comfortable doing that sure, otherwise you can also contact Toshiba to get the part number (probably easier if they're willing to cooperate), or have someone else open it up.

I'll probably open the back because Toshiba has horrible customer support. Even though their value for the money is great, this will probably be my last Toshiba laptop. Thanks so much for helping.

 

[drapacioli]

You're welcome. Feel free to check back and post if you have any further questions.

 

[hackintosh777]

You're welcome. Feel free to check back and post if you have any further questions.

I just got you to your 10th solution