HP dv6t 2010 - vibrating hdd or fan?

I have an HPdv6tse that I purchased during the summer of 2010 that started vibrating intensely beneath the keyboard a few days ago.

I was in a hurry and running between classes with my laptop closed and in my backpack. However, I had it in Power Saving mode, and in that mode it takes the laptop about 1 minute to actually go into standby after I close the lid. Usually I wait, but this time I was in a hurry so I just put it in my bag and left. I used it multiple time later that day with no issues.

Fast-forward a day later, and when I wake my laptop from standby, there's this loud vibrating noise coming from the left side of the keyboard. I simply put it to sleep again and re-awoke it and the vibrating was gone. For the next two days I would have to repeat the same process whenever the vibrating occurred (it didn't always happen). Also, if the computer successfully wakes without vibrating, it does NOT start vibrating while in use. If it vibrates, it begins at wake.

This morning I woke up, turned it on, and was met with vibration again. However, this time going into sleep and waking again is not stopping the vibration. I believe the vibration is coming from the HDD, though it could also be the fan. It seems to be coming from the lower left corner of the keyboard which is where I think the HDD is located.

Any idea what the problem could be or how to fix it? I'm very comfortable and familiar with computer software, but I don't know much about hardware. Could it be a loose screw that simply needs tightening or is it more likely a serious problem?

EDIT: On an unrelated note, any idea why the laptop takes so long to go into standby while in Power Saving mode? It's instantaneous if I'm in HP Recommended or High Performance mode. I would assume that it's because the system has "less power" to put programs into standby, except for the fact that I'm pretty sure it didn't take this long to go into standby while in Power Saving mode when I first bought the laptop.

 

To see if its the hard drive can you take the cover off the hard drive itself and when it vibrates touch it to see if its that or not? Same goes for the fan, when theres vibrating look and listen at the fan area underneath.

 

Sure, I'll take apart the laptop later today and post what I find.

However, after listening more closely, I'm fairly certain it's the fan (phew, no worries of losing my HDD data then).

 

Perhaps the fan sucked up something out of the backpack? sometimes it rubs on the blades? I'd blow it with compressed air from the side vents towards the fan blades and vacuum over the fan blades where the air and dust goes in....whilst the laptops off.
Better yet, when its off can you see anything in the fan thats not supposed to be there?
If it was a worn out, bad fan you'd think it would vibrate all the time now.

My DV9774 sounds similar to what you describe. It started to make a vibrating noise most definately from the fan itself, just after the warranty ran out years ago. Yet the fan worked Ok, so I have never changed it. Its only annoying when I first boot up, the fan runs full speed for about 5 minutes by default, noisy, and a vibration every single time, and then it stops spinning after 5 minutes if I am not doing anything on it other than browsing the net. When the fan comes on slow I don't hear much, but if I create heat by making the laptop work, then the fan speeds up and makes that noise of course. I've never found anything stuck in it, it started overnight suddenly too. reminds me of the days I used to put cardboard in my bikes wheel spokes to make it sound like a motorbike!

 

Ok it's definitely the fan. I was about to shut down the laptop and take it apart when the fan suddenly just stopped and all noise ceased. I imagine something's caught in it because I used to routinely blow compressed air into the vents and clean out the dust, but I haven't done that in a few months.

Will post results.

 

Just in case anyone stumbles across this thread in the future, the problem was indeed the fan.

I first took apart my laptop and cleaned the fan, but that didn't solve anything. So I ordered another fan from HP's Parts Store and replaced my original fan which fixed the issue. Additionally, my laptop rarely turns on fans, is much cooler, and has longer battery life (I think the thermal paste had completely melted away on the original fan).