I think my imac just crashed......

[astroNikon]

remove stuff from your harddrive. Get an external USB harddrive and move stuff to it to free up space.
make sure you backup everything important on your computer.
and know what applications are installed and their installation keys

well ... my laptop harddisk went south in December. After my son knocked the laptop (in a case) over in the car the Harddisk started clicking.
Then I had bootup problems, accessing applications, etc etc
then after 3 days of clicking, reformatting, et all the harddisk just decided to stop working.

trying to access the HD via a docking station .. it did nothing .. it was dead.

All was backed up on a regular schedule. Since then I replaced the HD and all works great again, but only as a backup laptop now.

normally a clicking whirring sound is a fan, but it can also be the harddrive.
Think of all the things that spin .. basically the fan and the HD. Nowadays the fans are so small with such a small motor that built up dust can stop it. Not like the old days when they had a 5 pound power supply and fan that could chew on a small metal key.


fyi, my original iMac (the cute R2D2 looking one still works, as does my 5yr old miniMac)

 

[JustJazzie]

Well, dh got here and started the computer back up. No sound, no grey screen. It's acting normal, so I'm at least able to back everything up now!