Click of death

Click of death is slang describing the noise made by a computer when the hard drive actuator, arm, or head are malfunctioning. When this happens, a loud clicking is heard inside the computer.

If this is happening and the computer can still boot, back up all important information on the computer before the hard drive fails. If the computer cannot boot, all information on the hard drive is considered lost, and the drive should be replaced.

Actuator, Computer slang, Hard drive, Hard drive terms