My Hard drive sometimes makes a knocking sound and then crashes what would be the cause and how do I resolve this problem.

I suspect it's on its way to wherever the Dodo went. Have you had any thunderstorms just before this started? Any jolts to the system like being dropped or kicked, or moved while running? And what do you mean by "crashing"? Does it lock up, or shut off?

Try booting to a start up disk and access the drive in DOS, see if it does the same thing. If the noise occurs during bootup as well, or in DOS, that's not a good sign, it would suggest that the drive is on its way to the graveyard.

------------------
Eagles may soar, but weasels don't get sucked into jet engines!
Note: Please post your questions on the forums, not in my email.

Computer Information Links (http://www.geocities.com/paleopete/)

Thanks for your help, and when I said crashed I mean it locked up I kind of figured that the hard drive is on its way out, I will try it in DOS though. I have managed to back up all my files thank god. and in answer to your question as to did we have a thuderstorm or did the hard drive sustain damage in any other way apart from normal use the answer is no, and I have only had the computer for just over a year its a real pain, but like I said thanks for your help.

OK, I wondered because often that will make it more likely. If the hard drive is only a year old, see if it's still under warranty, if so you might be able to have it replaced instead of buying a new one. Most drives will last more than a year under normal use. I have drives here over 10 years old that still work well, including MFM drives in XT machines....

------------------
Eagles may soar, but weasels don't get sucked into jet engines!
Note: Please post your questions on the forums, not in my email.

Computer Information Links (http://www.geocities.com/paleopete/)