I have what sounds like a berring going bad.

[Derek Broughton]

Steven Vollom wrote:

> Is there a way to make sure it is not a hard drive problem without opening
> the
> box?  For instance it could be a fan motor.

I'd pretty much guarantee its a fan - I can't imagine you being able to read
from a disk where the bearings are squealing (do they even have bearing?  I
would think it's an air suspension - even top quality bearings would have
too much drag).

In any case, smartctl should be able to give you hints.