clutch or syncro?

how can you tell if your clutch is starting to go bad or if it's your syncro? when i shift from 1st to 2nd when i'm running the car hard, it wants to grind. it doesn't do this in any other gears. there is also a whining sound that i started hearing recently only when the car is in gear. if the car is in neutral and i rev, there is no noise.

If the clutch is indeed failing to fully disengage, it may simply be in need of adjustment. Any good service manual should give you the proper numbers for pedal travel and "free-play". If in cannot be adjusted to within these, it may need replaced. If it is not the clutch, have you checked the fluid level in your transmission? Gears often behave best with a lubricatory mediator present. If the clutch is good, and the fluid level proper, it may indeed be wearing of the synchro. Or you might be trying to shift it too quickly. 1st to 2nd is often the widest gear spacing, and if the engine RPM doesn't drop very fast, trying to shift it too quickly places a lot of stress on the synchronization systems of the transmission. If the synchros have become worn, you should take extra care when shifting (allowing RPM to drop the proper amount before attempting to engage the next gear); because after the synchros go, the engagement teeth are next. And if you make metallic peanut butter out of those, how will all those ponies get to the wheels?