Intel iMac (Late 2006) Hardware Problem

Hi here goes my first post.. I have the above mac in 17" Intel Core 2 Duo 2ghz (Tiger). The problem with it is that it is running more louder than before (used to be close to silent). I tried the apple hardware test from the included cd and got the following message: 4MOT/1/40000003: HDD.

I've tried google for this error and the only thing I can find is that it is either a faulty hard drive or fan. I installed istat pro and the hard drive fan generally runs at 1354-9rpm with a HD temperature of 40 degrees celcius. I've also tried disk utility which has repaired all disk permissions and verified the disk. Techtools has also verified the disk and found no problems. Tried resetting SMC, PRAM, NVRAM etc but still the noise and vibration

If possible please could you explain the error code if you have experienced it and whether replacing the HD will eradicate the problem? PS I put my hand behind the case (over where it says iMac) and notice that it is vibrating more than usual. It's out of warranty btw won't mind replacing parts myself although its tricky to get case off. Thanks!!

The noise and vibration could be related to a loose hard drive mount (screws) or the fans. (loose mounting or noisy bearings) Doing any work within an iMac means removing the screen assembly, something you might not want to attempt yourself unless you feel up to it.

As a precaution you should make sure you have a good backup of your hard drive, preferably to an external disk. You can use something like SuperDuper or Carbon Copy Cloner to make a bootable backup to an external drive.

Here's a link that shows how to swap out a hard drive in an iMac. That will give you some idea of what's involved to get inside the machine.

Regards.

Thanks for the reply. I followed the link on how to replace the HD but it's for the latest iMac (I've got the White plastic model).

Anyways, i'm thinking of getting a new hard drive with bigger capacity. Which SATA 3.5" HD brand would you recommend? I need something thats close to silent. Thanks