Hard drive noise

H

Hamster

New Member
Well my dx4200 hard drive was making sounds every time I turn on the computer and start opening up programs like firefox, ccleaner, utorrent, and world of warcraft. I was told that the hard drive has bad sectors and could lead to hard drive failure. So I bought a new hard drive and still the hard drive is making these sounds. Is there a way to fix these bad sectors or do I need to buy another new hard drive(If so what's a good brand).

Heres a video from youtube of the sound my hard drive is making.
[YT]<object width="640" height="505"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/n9obzgmWrlM&hl=en_US&fs=1&"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/n9obzgmWrlM&hl=en_US&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="640" height="505"></embed></object>[/YT]
 
That doesn't really sound too off from the normal hard drive usage noise. How long has it been doing this? What brand do you use?
 
The first hard drive (Western Digital 640GB) been doing this ever since I got it and same with the second one(Samsung 320GB). The only sound that I'm supposed to hear from the hard drive is the disk spinning which is a light hum.
 
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Hamster said:
The first hard drive (Western Digital 640GB) been doing this ever since I got it and same with the second one(Samsung 320GB). The only sound that I'm supposed to hear from the hard drive is the disk spinning which is a light hum.
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Sounds normal to me. All drives will make the noise you're hearing; it's just a bit more prevalent with a pre-built system due to the (mostly) quiet nature of them. When people build their own they typically use more fans (for better cooling), which drowns out most of the Drive noise. However, there are times I hear my Drive being accessed, even with 4 total fans.

Pre-built systems tend to focus more on near-silent operation, meaning fewer fans (usually only one). The downside to that approach is that you're more inclined to hear the Drive when it's being accessed.

I was told that the hard drive has bad sectors and could lead to hard drive failure.
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Who told you that, exactly? While bad sectors are...well, bad, manufacturer's take that into account and all Drives will have backup sectors that will be used should things go sour with certain areas. A few bad sectors are OK, but problems can arise when you have many, so I guess it all depends on how many bad ones you had, as well as how many spare sectors were present. One of my Drives has bad sectors too and when they are detected, they're skipped over. Typically, the only actual *noise* you need to worry about from a HDD is if it starts to click.
 
I don't think the sound is normal...

I just turn on my computer and my computer froze. I couldn't move the mouse or type anything. I had the same problem on my other hard drive.

Error1.png

Error2.png


So I guess I need to buy another hard drive and hope it isn't faulty...
 
That noise is typical of the older hard drives like ones tha were made like 5 years or so ago. I haven't had a drive make that noise in a long time. I know the old maxtors made it before seagate bought them out.
 
Hamster said:
The first hard drive (Western Digital 640GB) been doing this ever since I got it and same with the second one(Samsung 320GB). The only sound that I'm supposed to hear from the hard drive is the disk spinning which is a light hum.
Click to expand...
Well if it happened in both drives then it's probably something unspecific to each drive. Also, if your WD drive is less than 3 years old, then I'd put it back in in place of your Samsung drive. I'd definitely trust WD with my data more than Samsung.
 
I'll just get a new hard drive and hope this crap doesn't happens again...

What brand do yall prefer?
 
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Hamster said:
I'll just get a new hard drive and hope this crap doesn't happens again...

What brand do yall prefer?
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It's your money... I think you'll be a bit disappointed though. Anyway, Seagate's are nice, as are Hitachi's. Some people hate WD, but I've had good luck with them.
 
imsati said:
It's your money... I think you'll be a bit disappointed though. Anyway, Seagate's are nice, as are Hitachi's. Some people hate WD, but I've had good luck with them.
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How would I be disappointed? Both the hard drives that are giving me trouble lock up my computer and I have to hold down the power button just to get out of it.
 
Hamster said:
How would I be disappointed? Both the hard drives that are giving me trouble lock up my computer and I have to hold down the power button just to get out of it.
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I don't know what happened with yours, but I've had a WD since around 2005 and it's still going strong. I would highly recommend them.
 
My first drive was making harsh sounds when I pulled up programs or play games and then sometimes it will lock up my computer. Same goes with the second drive but it sometimes locks up on start up or programs.
 
Hamster said:
My first drive was making harsh sounds when I pulled up programs or play games and then sometimes it will lock up my computer. Same goes with the second drive but it sometimes locks up on start up or programs.
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I'm thinking that there's something else wrong here that's unrelated to the noise. One thing that could be causing the noise is just your hard drive vibrating something else. Do you have it screwed in tight? That's really all I can think of at this point.
 
Yes I have the screws in but not tight(On the hard drive it says not to screw them in tight. I just screw them in to the point it got tight).

What do you think of these hard drives?

HD 1
HD 2
HD 3
 
Go with the Western Digital or Seagate. However, Western Digital rma process is lot easier then Seagates if the drive would need to be returned after the 30 days from newegg.
 
I would order a WD drive straight from WD as it will have revisions done to it... newegg has the older revision drives which I have had troubles with...

If it has the alignment notches then it is the revised version... If you have a drive that is bad from newegg just sent it to wd not back to newegg... cost you the same and you'll get a better drive..
 
Hamster said:
Yes I have the screws in but not tight(On the hard drive it says not to screw them in tight. I just screw them in to the point it got tight).

What do you think of these hard drives?

HD 1
HD 2
HD 3
Click to expand...
I'd definitely get the WD too, but of course you probably already guessed that :). I'm worried that you're just going to be spending a lot of time on nothing, though. If two drives do it then there's definitely something else wrong.
 
spynoodle said:
I'd definitely get the WD too, but of course you probably already guessed that :). I'm worried that you're just going to be spending a lot of time on nothing, though. If two drives do it then there's definitely something else wrong.
Click to expand...

Then what do you think that could be causing all this?
 
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