# Computer Clicking **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [March 5, 2012, 10:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/computer-clicking/614804 "2012-03-05T10:34:19Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 5\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Jragon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e19b73/32.png) [@Jragon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jragon)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2012, 10:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/computer-clicking/614804/1 "2012-03-05T10:34:19Z")
My computer has been clicking intermittently today, usually during video playback (not streaming, from my computer) the video will slow to a halt and the computer will click for a few seconds. It’s pretty obviously the hard drive, and I’ll probably get a new one just in case, but is this _necessarily_ a sign that the hard drive is going? I’m running an offsite backup utility at the same time (today for the first time after a scare of losing my data due to a borked SATA cable this morning), is it possible that the computer is just requesting data in wildly disparate physical locations and causing it to flail or something? ---
**Author:** ![voltaire](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voltaire/32/313_2.png) [@voltaire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/voltaire)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2012, 10:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/computer-clicking/614804/2 "2012-03-05T10:51:51Z")
That’s the universal sign of a drive in it’s death throes. Better make sure you’ve got it all backed up. ---
**Author:** ![yojimbo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yojimbo/32/232_2.png) [@yojimbo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yojimbo)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2012, 11:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/computer-clicking/614804/3 "2012-03-05T11:04:25Z")
I’d back up now and go get a new drive. Clicking almost always is one of the first signs of the drive starting to go. ---
**Author:** ![Jragon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e19b73/32.png) [@Jragon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jragon)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2012, 11:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/computer-clicking/614804/4 "2012-03-05T11:10:51Z")
Yeah, that’s what I figured, I’m running both a local and remote backup utility now, I’ll probably do a copy+paste of important stuff tomorrow as a failsafe, as well as order a hard drive. Thanks. ---
**Author:** ![srzss05](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/898d66/32.png) [@srzss05](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/srzss05)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2012, 2:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/computer-clicking/614804/5 "2012-03-05T14:23:40Z")
Hard drive was the first thing I thought of as well before even opening this thread. I’ve never even heard of clicking being a sign of anything else, unless maybe fan blades rubbing on something or crickets inside the case.