New PC making HIDEOUSLY LOUD clicking noises! Please help!

A

azwebs

New Member
My sister just bought a new PC (I know, should've built one). It's a Packard Bell iXtreme 9600 with the following specifications.

  • Intel Q6600 @ 2.4Ghz
  • 3GB RAM
  • Vista Home Premium
  • Seagate Barracuda 7200RPM 750GB
  • AOC 20" LCD
  • GeForce 9600GS 768mb

I know it's not the greatest machine in the world. In fact, its probably the worst atm. She got it four hours ago, and whenever reading or writing from the disk, it makes a hideously loud clicking noise. I have tried everything from reinstalling Vista to making sure it's level (using a spirit level).

I cannot make it stop clicking! I tried to run SeaTools for Windows (because the drive is a SeaGate), but it said the drive didn't have pass through. I then tried running the DOS version from a CD, and it couldn't find the hard drive!!! Yet, it boots fine (if a little slow, compared to my standards). SeaTools for DOS just says no devices found. Check power cables, connectors and jumper settings. All of these have to be fine for Vista to boot, but I can't open up the PC!

What should I do? Any advice any one?! Thanks for any help.
 
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Take the pc back. Sounds like a dying disk.

I then tried running the DOS version from a CD, and it couldn't find the hard drive!!!
Click to expand...

thats normal. DOS doesnt support SATA disks.
 
jdbennet said:
DOS doesnt support SATA disks.
Click to expand...

What do you mean? I have a Dell Inspiron 530S, with a 500GB SeaGate Barracuda on SATA, and it finds that fine. I used it only a few weeks ago to do a low level format (completely overwritten with zeros, then ones, then zeros). I will try it on that machine again, but I'm sure its the same disk I used then.

Anyway, thanks for the help as always.
 
It supports SATA disks in IDE mode, but not true SATA disks. XP is the same. To get XP to install on SATA disks in full SATA mode, you need to use F6 and a driver floppy
 
jdbennet said:
It supports SATA disks in IDE mode, but not true SATA disks. XP is the same.
Click to expand...

Not trying to have an arguement with you here, but are you sure thats right? According to Dell (just phoned), the drive is a SeaGate 500GB Barracuda SATA II 7200.10RPM (running at full SATA, because apparently that PC has no IDE connectors on the motherboard). This information is confirmed in the device manager. Don't know for sure though - haven't opened it, because there's still 2 months of warranty.

Just saying, are you sure you got the right information?

EDIT: I have the 2.07 version, which I believe is the newest one.

SeaTools for DOS

SeaTools for DOS has replaced SeaTools Desktop and PowerMax. SeaTools for DOS can test Seagate or Maxtor Parallel ATA (PATA and IDE) and Serial ATA (SATA) interface disc drives. Because the software boots to its own operating system you can test your drive regardless of the OS installed on it. You can even test a new or completely blank drive. SeaTools for DOS will instruct the drive to run its built in Drive Self Test (DST) and give either a pass or fail status. If you are troubleshooting your disc drive and the DST passes, then you have a good drive!

Learn more about SeaTools for DOS.

See the tutorial on the usage of SeaTools for DOS.

Download SeaTools for DOS now!
Click to expand...
 
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Ah, well. Thanks for the clarification. Seeing as I can't run any diagnostics on it, is there anything else I could try before sending it back to the manufacturer?

I so wish I'd built this. Whip out that drive and fit a new one in 5 seconds flat. . .
 
just tell them to replace the HDD

clicking is an obvious sign of faulty hdd

If you purchased it in the UK they have to replace it within a year if its faulty. Dont hesitate.
 
Yeah. Seeing as it's still less than a day old, I'll take it back to the shop for her, and see if they'll just exchange it for a new one. They can repair this one. She doesn't have time to wait the 6 weeks at the moment (they're backlogged), as she needs it for a university course. That's also the reason she bought one - she needed it fast.

Just a quick question - Firefox (2.0.0.11) came installed on the machine, and keeps crashing. Could this be down to the hard drive, or is this a problem in Windows? I haven't noticed any other problems with CoD4 and Crysis (did some testing on load times etc), and they didn't crash.

Ran HDTune, could not determine health of hard drive, but speeds were between 39.0Mb and 72.4Mb with burst rates at 148.5Mb. Average about 64.8Mb. I think this is normal, but still don't get why I couldn't health test it.
 
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thats an old version of firefox. FF3 is out now. Deinstall that one and install the newer version. Should be more stable.
 
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