My freezer is defrosting and the frig is squealing intermittently,

Sounds like a intermittent problem with the defrost timer. Sometimes they get stuck. Check continuity of the defrost heater and defrost thermostat. If both are good then replace the defrost timer, that should solve the problem.

Buy a used fridge on ebay, they are very cheap.

No model # given to reference the symtoms. I would surly worry if you had ice buildup on the defrost timer. Some are in the fresh food side and some are outside the compartments. Extreamly rare to have one in the freezer.
Also if this is a standard SxS or top mount system...everything that happens in the fresh food section, happens because of the freezer. Air moves from the ff side to the freezer. The air is cooled down and recirulates back through the freezer and to the ff side. Issue could be ...evaporator fan bad or low RPM, freezer door switch, cold control not cycling on / back on. Compressor intermittantly cycling / bad start device / weak compressor, condenser fan slow or not cycling...should be on anytime compressor is running. Some of these items can be visually checked, some require advanced knowledge and a multimeter for test. Be careful of live voltage and sharp edges.

Ric

If the compressor is running and not getting cold I would say that you have burnt out your compressor.
If it was stuck in defrost you wouldn't hear the frig running. When in defrost the compressor stops while the frig defrosts.

If it is a frost free side by side fridge/freezer, check evaporator fun in the freezer. While doing that, check is evaporator is full of ice.

if the evaporator is iced up and the fan can spin freely, you have a broken fan. Replace it.

If evaporator and the fan are iced up, you have a broken thermostat. Defrost ice with hot water.
Turn it on, if it starts to cool effectively, replace thermostat.

For those who had the control board replaced or are experiencing the frig side warming while the freezer side continues freezing; The problem may (still) be a faulty control board. I fixed the issue by replacing a $1.00 capacitor on the board. I'm not a techy and it wasn't too difficult to solder. More info on what to do here; DIY Chatroom

In the mean time defrost the ice that is blocking airflow and causing the frig to warm. Check behind the lower panel inside the freezer.
I use a pump pressure garden sprayer with hot water to defrost the coils. Gets the job done in 20 minutes and I don't have to worry about defrosting items in the freezer.

sound like side by side check compressor for starting up check defrost timer

You may have a problem in the evaporator fan . Defrost fridge for 24 hours and start up. Problem should go away for some time. For a long term solution you need to check if defrost cycle is funtioning well if not suspect the timer or the heater.

Checked the switch in the freezer and it was bad. Odd time for it to go out, but it was not working and it would work intermittently if you shook it.

If the compressor is running non-stop then the temp. control is not telling it that it's "cold enough". If the compressor isn't running non-stop then you should look at the air damper (little window) that lets the freezer air into the refer compartment... if it's stuck open then you will always get cold air pushed into the fridge eventually becoming a freezer in itself.