Laptop Makes Buzzing Noise When Flat

Hey everyone, I'm new to this forum and in dire need of some help.

Just recently, my Samsung QX411 began making a buzzing/whirring noise in the upper right corner when placed/held flat. The noise disappears completely when I hold it at a sharp angle towards me. I have read that the problem may be a dirty fan or loose hard drive. The possibility of my speaker malfunctioning was ruled out; I re-installed the driver to no avail.

I am by no means a skilled technician, so I would like some guidance before I open it up. I have learned to measure twice and cut once.
Please note, my laptop works completely fine, but I would like to eliminate the cause of the noise before it leads to other problems. Thank you.

 

You forgot to include: if you made any recent modifications to your laptop? Also the age?

Anyway, with what you have included my first guess would be HDD then fan.

The fan should be relative easy to rule out since you can hear when it kicks in.

 

Hi Krane, thank you for the speedy response.

I've owned the laptop brand new for a little over two years. I have not made any hardware modifications to the laptop as of yet, only the scheduled software updates.

Is there an immediate risk if it is the HDD creating the noise? Also, is it as simple as tightening the screws that hold it in place? I'm a little concerned since the components seem pretty sealed in.

 

A very serious risk--you cold lose all you data! At two years if could very well be that your HDD is about to fail. So consider getting a replacement now while you still have time.

For good measure it might also be a prudent idea to backup your data at this point if you haven't already.

Unlikely its a screw; and there are no user serviceable parts to an HDD.

 

it sounds like your fan--pun intended. holding the machine vertical causes the blades to come up off of whatever they're now nicking and spin more freely on the fan's axle. i wouldn't worry about it too much since there's not a whole lot you can do, short of replacing the fan. you might try to open it up and see if there's any dust bunnies inside or if the power wire popped up into the path of the fan blades or something like that. just be careful if using canned air to clean it out. you want to hold the fan in place with a pen or something while you blow air through it. you don't want to anything to forcibly spin the fan.