Sleep issue and hard disk tick. Pleas help.

[kidcaro]

I have been noticing a single tick everytime i put my iMac to sleep manualy. Also a while after it does it again about twice in a row (maybe when it is done falling asleep completely? lol) Anyways, this bothers me since it is a brand new 27 inch iMac and I fear it has a hardware problem. I dont exactly know when it started, or even if it has been doing it a lot. But it came to my attention when i started diagnosing my computer on a dialy basis to make sure everything is ok. Now, I also have this problem with a WD Passport External HD. When I connect it to my iMac it recognizes it just fine, but sometimes out of nowhere it starts beeping and when I try to open it from the iMac, the beach ball starts spinning untill i eject it. Notice that this does NOT happen when i connect it to a windows computer. At least i havent noticed. And this is a little strange, but when i grab the HD and flip it, it STOPS beeping! and it goes on to do the usual time machine backup. I bring this issue up because i read somewhere that the external hd could be causing the tick as i put my iMac to sleep, and also because it bothers me how it only has happened to me in this iMac and not on my parents windows computer. Maybe a compatiibily issue? Also i would like to run a hardware test but I cant seem to find an option. Thanks everyone! I hope i can resolve my problem without having to take my computer to an apple storeBy the way, other than this two issues, my iMac seems to be completely fine, exept for the fact that when i wake the iMac from sleep it makes some type of humming noise as if it was booting up (someone tell me if this is normal) and it also tells me that "None of your preffered networks are available" but at the same time i go on safari and can use it just fine. Weird

 

[hughvane]

Boot your iMac from the Install disk that came with your computer (I'm assuming you know how to do that).

Open Disk Utilities from the top menu bar once the iMac has started from the optical disk. Choose First Aid > Verify Disk, and let it run. If faults are found, you may be able to repair them using Repair Disk.

For the external disk, should you wish to verify its hardware, be sure to choose the FIRST of its two names (possibly with a colored icon) showing in Disk Utility.

The "tick" noise you hear has been discussed in these hardware forums, but usually in relation to laptop drives. For that very reason I changed the Fujitsu 120 hard drive in my Macbook to a 320 to get rid of the noise. The 120 is now a portable external drive - and the ticking noise is still there! I just live with it, the drive functions normally otherwise.