but sometimes the clicking noise can be the fan going out (even though it come on again a few times before it truly "goes out"). When it does this, it doesn't exactly wait for the programs and processes to terminate the way they are supposed to. Depending on the age of your computer and the operating system you have, this can mean big problems. You can try what landonewts suggests, but if I were you I'd take it in. Ask the repair person to diagnose, not fix. If it's a simple issue, the diagnostics quite often "fix" the problem. If it's something bigger, they let you know and you can then decide if it's worth it to fix. Depending on what she uses it for, it be more cost effective to just get a new one :)