[Koonwar]

Hi,
My PC is around 3 weeks old custom built and my Western Digital Caviar Black 1TB Hard Drive makes a weird noise when I access it by going into my document or when making a search inside the hard drive. The noise is a muted click but when I do a search it is similar to this noise...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n9obzgmWrlM

Is there a fix to this, or is my HDD just failing. I can exchange for a new one if necessary as I have a warranty. Any feedback as to what I should do, or what this noise is, would be appreciated.
Thanks.

 

[Lord Xeb]

Your hard drive is noisy... Generally that is a sign of it aging though I have seen drives do the same thing and file 3 days later. So, just to be safe I would backup everything and simply replace the drive. Plus, it gives you a chance to have a clean install and a fresh start

 

[Koonwar]

I've got a 120 SSD that I boot off of, so I wont be re-installing. But I have backed everything up just in case. I've us built m PC so does this mean, the HDD is just a faulty one?
It's functioning fine, its just very annoying as the sound happens with like 5 second breaks and only when im accessing the drive. But thanks for the input.

 

[Lord Xeb]

How old is the drive? Generally that is the sound of the heads more abruptly across the disk. Has the drive always been like this, or is is recent?

 

[Koonwar]

Just built my PC a couple of weeks ago. So the Drive is piratically brand new. The sounds is like a muted clicking sound, and occurs with a small gap in between each, however only when go into (D which is my HDD and start opening things. And if I do a search inside the HDD then it makes a more violent sounds similar to the video I posted above.

 

[Kramy]

Sounds like a normal HDD sound to me. It's probably making the noise because of a software setting - maybe file previews, or something like that.

If you're worried, download and install Defraggler and post a screenshot of its Health tab. We'll take a look and see if there's anything worrying in there.
http://www.piriform.com/defraggler

You may also want to run an Extended SMART test with the manufacturer diagnostic tools. It'll take a few hours, and the drive won't be accessible while running it. At the end it'll give your drive a PASS or FAIL depending on whether it encounters any read/write errors, bad sectors, etc.
http://support.wdc.com/product/download.asp?groupid=612&sid=3

 

[Kavster12]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kramy

Sounds like a normal HDD sound to me. It's probably making the noise because of a software setting - maybe file previews, or something like that.
If you're worried, download and install Defraggler and post a screenshot of its Health tab. We'll take a look and see if there's anything worrying in there.
http://www.piriform.com/defraggler
You may also want to run an Extended SMART test with the manufacturer diagnostic tools. It'll take a few hours, and the drive won't be accessible while running it. At the end it'll give your drive a PASS or FAIL depending on whether it encounters any read/write errors, bad sectors, etc.
http://support.wdc.com/product/download.asp?groupid=612&sid=3

This. I just did this for mine and I found out its my drive. It was faulty. It was not as loud as it was in that link you posted but it was similar. Resulted in a dead hard drive.

Backup ASAP just to be sure

EDIT: OK you have, good.

 

[Koonwar]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kavster12

This. I just did this for mine and I found out its my drive. It was faulty. It was not as loud as it was in that link you posted but it was similar. Resulted in a dead hard drive.
Backup ASAP just to be sure

EDIT: OK you have, good.

Yeah, mine isnt that loud either. Thanks Kramy for the info. I'll get the tests done and posted here by tomorrow (i live in new zealand and its getting late lol).
Kavster, I was reading your thread, so i heard about your HDD.

When I get the tests done and if something is wrong, i have a warranty so it should be fine. Thanks guys.

 

[Koonwar]

So I did the tests you asked. The WD diagnostic test came up with a pass, and the defraggler test came up with a pass as well.

So the Drive isnt faulty? Should I still return it and get another one?

 

[Kramy]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Koonwar

So I did the tests you asked. The WD diagnostic test came up with a pass, and the defraggler test came up with a pass as well.

So the Drive isnt faulty? Should I still return it and get another one?

That's not the Health tab.

The Health tab has actual stats in it.

->
Quote:

Originally Posted by Kramy

If you're worried, download and install Defraggler and post a screenshot of its Health tab.

 

[All3n]

Ya that video sounds like a normal HDD to me, judging by the amount of background noise, it's not even that loud.

Anyhow I would follow Kramy's advice as he is helpful.
Once you find out that your drive is OK you can look at some mounting solutions that will help quell the noise.

 

[Koonwar]

Sorry, is this it?

 

[All3n]

That is it, but you will have to scroll to the right and re-post the image so Kramy can see what's in those columns.

(Scroll down too, maybe maximize the window if you can)

 

[All3n]

I may as well use this double-post for another observation, that HDD seems to be a little warm, it's probably fine, but for comparison my HDD idles at 26 C.

 

[Kramy]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Koonwar

Sorry, is this it?

Yep, that's the right screen. You cut off most of the Error stats, but the ones that are visible are all at 0, which is a good thing.

Quote:

Originally Posted by All3n

I may as well use this double-post for another observation, that HDD seems to be a little warm, it's probably fine, but for comparison my HDD idles at 26 C.

Google actually concluded that drives like to be within 30-47C. It's only up around 55C or down around 25C where failure rates shoot way up.

Your drive is running cold rather than his running hot - but I'd still keep airflow on it... cooling the chips and motor a bit has its merits. 26C would irk me a little, so I'd probably swap out the fan (I assume you have one blowing on it?) for a lower RPM one.

http://www.overclock.net/t/1108456/samsung-hd154ui-running-to-cold/0_100

 

[All3n]

Who would of thought, that is interesting, thanks.
I guess it makes sense as mechanical devices have their optimal temperature range to be run in, I just never really considered 26c to be cold. lol
Nonetheless tolerances are usually designed within a specific temperature range, as this shows.

As you can see by the picture below my HDD does have "adequate" airflow. I may have to live with it as I just got the case all tuned up cool and quiet.

I suppose I could experiment with applying material to the top of the drive just to warm it up a few degrees, but realistically it is the winter time here in the great white north, and a different time of year might bring it up to 30 C. So I may wait and see as I have these three intake fans running @ 7v off the R4 fan controller. (I hate to turn them all down, so I would have to reconfigure a lower fan or two to run independent of the controller, like on the MoBo etc.)

Koonwar, in my case I have the HDD mounted on the little rubber grommets that came with the Fractal HDD bays. I just had to drill holes for them in the bottom of my tower. The helps to isolated the HDD from the case to reduce seeking noise a little.

 

[Kramy]

Quote:

Originally Posted by All3n

I suppose I could experiment with applying material to the top of the drive just to warm it up a few degrees, but realistically it is the winter time here in the great white north, and a different time of year might bring it up to 30 C. So I may wait and see as I have these three intake fans running @ 7v off the R4 fan controller. (I hate to turn them all down, so I would have to reconfigure a lower fan or two to run independent of the controller, like on the MoBo etc.)

I wouldn't worry about it. You're on the edge of what's acceptable, but we also have to consider other factors that may be hard on a drive, like difference in temperature from ambient temps. If it's cold out, you want your drive on the colder end of the acceptable range.
Quote:

Originally Posted by All3n

Koonwar, in my case I have the HDD mounted on the little rubber grommets that came with the Fractal HDD bays. I just had to drill holes for them in the bottom of my tower. The helps to isolated the HDD from the case to reduce seeking noise a little.

I was amazed at how much rubber grommets made a difference. My old case used to make crazy rattling vibration noises when my old Raptor got busy. (side panel vibrated a bit) I had it in my Fractal case for a while... almost whisper quiet.

 

[All3n]

Yes the grommets do work well. This setup is slightly louder then when I had the full HDD stack in there, but still pretty good given the simpleness of it.
I attribute the slight increase in noise due to now it is mounted directly on a panel, whereas before the HDD stack would absorb a slight amount of vibration.

 

[Koonwar]

Would it be just better to return this HDD and get a new one, just for safety?

 

[Koonwar]

I'll open up my pc, and see if there's anything wrong with the HDD itself. I'll get back to you guys.