Hard Drive keeps blinking and I hear noise

[betelgeuse4721]

Hey all,

Just got a Sager NP1830 laptop with 7 on it.

Is it normal for my hard drive indicator to blink like every second?

I also hear pretty audible hard drive activity noise even when the computer is doing nothing.

I just switched from a Mac so I'm not sure if this is normal.

Thanks,
Brady

 

[Ivan the SoSo]

Some system spec's would be helpful.....if the system runs out of ram, it will use the paging file on the hard drive, that can cause a lot of activity....It also could be the drive trying to read from bad sectors....or even a failing drive....

 

[Britton30]

The HDD light blinking sounds OK, mine does that. Win 7 does many things in the background, indexing, organizing, software update checks, etc. Noise is not normal however.

 

[betelgeuse4721]

It has 8gb RAM so that shouldn't be the issue -

And as far as the noise, its like that little scratchy clicky sounds I guess that hard drives make, like the heads moving and parking on the disc or something.

It sounds normal, but I seem to hear it pretty clearly . . .

That's the only troubling thing .

Computer runs like a banshee other than that though.

 

[Britton30]

I have 8GB RAM too, Win 7 likes to use it, read and writes occur no matter how much RAM you have.
HDD clicking is not good at all. Try HDDScan to test your drive.

Here too http://www.labnol.org/software/test-hard-drive-for-problems/17430/

 

[theog]

Is this the noise your HD is making:
Normally you will not hear the HD.
‪Hard Drive Click of Death Explanation and Live Demonstration‬‏ - YouTube

 

[betelgeuse4721]

Britton - thanks for the links, but still nothing
OG - it's not that prominent of a "clicking" noise, it's more like a noise if you were to say "chreka"

It goes like "chreka, chreka" small pause "chreka" then sometimes its a random pattern, othertimes it is a pattern of some sort.

I can only hear it if I turn all other sounds off in my room and it's silent. It's like the hard drive is trying to accomplish something, but it just makes the exact same "chreka" noise at random intervals.

Sheesh.

 

[theog]

I would Check the hard drive with the manufacturer's diagnostic tools.
Hard Drive Diagnostics Tools and Utilities (Storage) - TACKtech Corp.
HD Diagnostic

 

[karlsnooks]

Hey all,

Just got a Sager NP1830 laptop with 7 on it.

Is it normal for my hard drive indicator to blink like every second?

I also hear pretty audible hard drive activity noise even when the computer is doing nothing.

I just switched from a Mac so I'm not sure if this is normal.

Thanks,
Brady

Yes. Perfectly normal. Win 7 in indexing and keeping its index up-to-date.

 

[betelgeuse4721]

I did the HD Diagnostic for my Hybrid Seagate 500gb 7200rpm, w/ 4gb SSD memory - and all of the test came back fine.

karl - is there a way to prohibit 7 from indexing? I like to work in silence and this hard drive noise is seriously pissing me off.

 

[karlsnooks]

betelgeuse,

If your hard disk is making so much noise that you find the noise disruptive, then your disk is not long for this world.

Make a backup of everything dear to your heart, then make a system image backup.

There is not question about your disk failing, the only question is when.

How To Turn Off Indexing Of Your Local Drive In Windows 7 / Vista /XP

 

[Britton30]

Well turning indexing off would prove or disprove if maybe your drive is failing.
Start/Admin Tools/Services. Scroll to windows Search, double click then set Startup to Disabled. Reboot and see if you still have clicks.

EDIT: Oops, or use Karls way.

 

[TVeblen]

I'm also considering the possibility that the OP has a low cost PC case and the drives are mechanically attached to the cage with no rubber grommets or other sound deadening features.
Combine that with a low tolerance for noise and put the case on your desktop right next to your head and the normal sounds of a hard drive would drive anyone crazy!

betelgeuse4721: If any of the above sounds familiar then you should:

• Look at "Silent" PC cases
• Put the case on the floor, under the desk, away from your head
• Turn up the music

 

[betelgeuse4721]

These may all be true. I just backed up all my data and will continue to do so consistently.

I have a feeling it's just poor sound encapsulation, because:

a. the machine runs flawlessly
b. every diagnostic/test I've done on the drive has come back with no problems

Here is the exact HDD I bought for my laptop from XoticPC -
~ 500GB (w/ 4GB SSD Memory) Seagate XT 7200RPM NCQ Hybrid (Serial-ATA II 300 - 32MB Cache) in Optical Bay ( + 150 )
Maybe this model just has noise issues.

Thanks for all the help guys, I really appreciate it!!

 

[Britton30]

Your HDD is mounted in an optical bay?
Did you try disabling indexing?

 

[betelgeuse4721]

Yes it is and yes I tried that, still the same clicking/scratching -

I contacted XoticPC and am going to get my hard drive replaced with another model .

Don't want to risk it, might as well be safe.

 

[Britton30]

Ahhm that may magnify any noise the HDD makes. The optical bay is cavernous compared to a normal drive bay. Can you mount it elsewhere, eg, a drive bay?

 

[betelgeuse4721]

Oh snap -

I copy and pasted the wrong spec from the site, its NOT in the optical bay - it's just:

500GB (w/ 4GB SSD Memory) Seagate XT 7200RPM NCQ Hybrid (Serial-ATA II 300 - 32MB Cache) ( + 65 )

Now im a little concerned(again).

 

[Britton30]

Sager NP1830 is a laptop? If so I don't think moving it would help muffle noise. I was assuming this was a tower type case.
Sorry I missed that in your first post

So I would say have them replace the drive for you, but make an image of your system first. http://www.sevenforums.com/tutorials/663-backup-complete-computer-create-image-backup.html

 

[betelgeuse4721]

It's all good.

But ya, that is probably the best plan of attack. Will do.

Thanks again for your help, Ill keep you posted of my progress.