very loud hdd/jet engine

I have a very noisey hdd its a 40gb and this started hapening prob about a month ago. It started makeing this loud grinding noice perhaps. Or maybe a jet engine, heh. Not realy sure how to discribe it but some days its louder then others, but its always continuis, never stops except for the odd day. Thye hdd is not realy hot at all, its slightly warm but temperature seems ok, yet ive only had it on for 2 hours. The HDD indicator LED is always flasheing, never stops. Though is a short flash every second, not like it is doing some heavy thinking or anything.

The drive works fine other then the noice, it has XP , NTFS file system, and does not seem to have any troubles reading, writeing or deleteing files. But the noice is enough to drive anyone wacky. The only change I can remember doing other then inmstalling/uninstalling dozens of software packages each day, is when I changed the case. I saw a sexy case and gave my system a new home.

Has anyone experinced this?

Ive atached a zip archive with a wav file i recorded with my mic

I don't think I've ever had one that got noticeably loud, but I'd sure be
shopping for a replacement. You could experiment (by doing nothing)
and see how long it goes before dying. Who knows? Back up your data
now.
:cool:

It could be resonance?...............make sure that the motherboard is firmly attached to the case and the HDD in its bay. Then try pressing on the case panels when you get the noise.

:)

Sounds like vibrations.

Normally when a hard drive is going bad, you'll hear clicks and pings. Not a loud screeching noise.

Make sure that the screws are in there tight. My case has rubber spacers between the hard drives and bays. They are silent... the metal never touches and vibrations are eaten up.

Are you sure it is the hard drive? Could be a dying fan? The berrings in there go bad and fans sometimes have to be replaced...

Could it be the fan on the heatsink? I've had more of these die than case fans...

I never thought of resonaunce but sounds very logical. The screws are tight as far as I can tell and I just switched hard drives, took the drive from my server, into this one and the noicey drive in question to the server. Tada, the noice in this computer is gone, but as soon as I power up the server, now the computer with the bad drive, the noice is there. Seems that it is definately the drive and not anything else, since i can put my ear on the drive and can verify thats where it comes from.

I noticed right away, with the drive that I borowed from the server machine, that it also has the same nopice but at a very very faint volume, so that I must put my ear directly close to hear it, where as with the problem drive it is a very loud volume. In a little while from now when I cool down in front of our new air conditioner ill try removeing the drive from the bay and hold it while i power it up. That should rule out any loose screws or case vibrations correct?

Will let you know what hapens, for now I just installed everything onto the second and much quieter drive, and oh the peace and quiet is wounderfull, if only i can get winter back, things will be good again.

The update is, it seems that perhaps the drive is always spinning, I held it in my hands while i powered up, and it felt like it was spinning inside. I even tryed moveing it in my hand difernt positions like on its side, upside down and right side up, and while doing that i felt vibrations and even felt like a centriphical force or something.

S.M.A.R.T

what errors is SMART reporting (if it isnt enabled in BIOS ..enable it.. and google for a Tool to read the SMART DATA)

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Normally when a hard drive is going bad, you'll hear clicks and pings. Not a loud screeching noise

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add to that "clang bang screeech clang.."

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Are you sure it is the hard drive? Could be a dying fan? The berrings in there go bad and fans sometimes have to be replaced...

Could it be the fan on the heatsink? I've had more of these die than case fans...

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certainly a bloody good spot to start...

ROFLMAO

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The update is, it seems that perhaps the drive is always spinning, I held it in my hands while i powered up, and it felt like it was spinning inside. I even tryed moveing it in my hand difernt positions like on its side, upside down and right side up, and while doing that i felt vibrations and even felt like a centriphical force or something.

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Yes there is something in there spinning.. a set of disks.. spinning at between 5400 and 7200RPM..

I don't know if that really sounds like vibrations...

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Are you sure it is the hard drive? Could be a dying fan? The berrings in there go bad and fans sometimes have to be replaced...

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That is definitly a good place to check...

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Seems that it is definately the drive and not anything else, since i can put my ear on the drive and can verify thats where it comes from.

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Then in that case I would definitly back up the data and get a new HDD ASAP!! If it's coming from the drive there's not much you can do to fix it anyway, it's not like you can open it up and and fool around with it... Just get a new HDD...

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ROFLMAO
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The update is, it seems that perhaps the drive is always spinning, I held it in my hands while i powered up, and it felt like it was spinning inside. I even tryed moveing it in my hand difernt positions like on its side, upside down and right side up, and while doing that i felt vibrations and even felt like a centriphical force or something.


Yes there is something in there spinning.. a set of disks.. spinning at between 5400 and 7200RPM..

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HAHAHAHAHA

What type of hdd is it??..The old conners use to have some noise but I still have an old 256mb one and still goes fine not that i use it often now but tested it on a old machine the other day..+-4 yrs old..I would definitely backup all the data just as a precausenary measure, one can live to regret if you do not so it is worth it..

Might check the screws for overtightening..might pull the disk twisted somewhat..also make sure that they are not to long..

As for backing up the data, I had been prepairing to formate the drive for a few months, I have it all backed up. I do realize there are disks inside that spin but should they be constantly spinning? At first when I had only opened the case and felt the drive, it apeared only warm, but when I removed the drive it was actualy hot. I will enable SMART and find a software tool to analize it as sugested, I have only heard of SMART but never realy researched into it, so this will be a good learning project. It was asked what type of hdd it is, the answer is Western Digital. The good news is, that a friend of mine had recently gave us her 40GB drive because her son thought it was not working, but when I hooked it up, it turns out that it was working perfectly, so I am now useing that drive rather then the very noicey one. Today or tomorow ill hook it up as a slave and see if I can find out about the SMART technology thing.

I will be buying a new hard drive to replace the one from my server, problably a 80GB drive or larger, does anyone have a favorite brand or are they all about equal.

phishphreek80, What are these rubber spacers, I havent seen them in any computer suply store around here.

You can get the Western Digital data Lifeguard tools here:

http://support.wdc.com/download/inde...cxml=n&pid=999

As for the rubber spacers, I would try a radio/tv repair or electronics store rather than a computer store.

:)

http://www.antec.com/us/productDetails.php?ProdID=15138

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9 Drive Bays:
- 3 x 5.25" external drive bays
- 2 x 3.5" external drive bays
- 4 x 3.5" internal drive bays in individual trays with rubber grommets to absorb hard drive vibrations

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ndependent laboratory testing proves that Sonata is three times quieter than a comparable high-performance mid-tower case. How quiet? Just 20.4 dBA. Which means Sonata is literally quieter than a whisper. Just like we promised.

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The case isn't cheap though... (US$130) I just like quiet... since I leave my PCs on and I sleep in the same room as them. Before those cases... it was very loud. Now my 12 port switch makes more noise than my PCs.

The only thing I don't like about that case is the very bright blue LED on the front. But, you don't have to connect it if you don't want to. The damn thing lights up my whole room at night and its hard to fall asleep.

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Originally posted here by Und3ertak3r
ROFLMAO


Yes there is something in there spinning.. a set of disks.. spinning at between 5400 and 7200RPM..

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UFB, yes there is some thing spinning inside. Should feel like a gyroscope when powered on.
The noise is either the bearings in the motor or a head is draging on one of the platters. Your
best bet is to back it up quick and prepare for for it to fail.

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since I leave my PCs on and I sleep in the same room as them.

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Greater love has no Geek than he lays down his head WITH his system :D

although it has to be said that I am at present keeping all five of my boxes spinning 24/7 because I can :p

got a network ........... gotta use it :D

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I do realize there are disks inside that spin but should they be constantly spinning?

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they start to spin when you switch on, and they stop when you switch off OR when they die

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it apeared only warm, but when I removed the drive it was actualy hot.

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OK here in lies the possable cause of the failure of the HDD..
If the system is running 24/7 and the HDD is a 7200 RPM type the bearings will get extreemly hot and if allowed to run like this for an extended period of time the HDD will become noisey and fail.
Just taking the hdd out of the drivebay has also remove a inbuilt heatsink (heat transfer mechanism). this is also why it got hotter...

It is an excellent Idea to have a low volume fan circulating air around the HDD (even with 5400rpm models) when running for periods of greater than an hour.. this will keep the temps down...
useing a program like Everest (there was a demo version) will give you the hdd temps.. keep them below 40deg Celcius mine are typicly 25-28..