Noisy Hard Drive.

aimeeandbeatles

watermelon
Joined
Apr 5, 2007
Messages
20,112
I have a 6L160P0 MAXTOR DiamondMax 10 160 GB, which is very noisy. No unusual noises, just the regular "grinding." I now know it's definitely not the click of death, especially since I witnessed a dying HDD in school. The HDD was clanking and computer freezing. It's about three years old, I think. At least the computer's from 2006.

I've come up with a few ideas:

1. I've been readng too much on failing HDDs and I'm just noticing it more.
2. Googling says that Maxtors tend to be noisy. At least they used to be. Don't know if my model is before or after Seagate got them.
3. The swap file is being used a lot.
4. A screw has come loose and the HDD is echoing inside the case.
5. It needs to be defragged.
6. It's getting old.

Any idea? I already switched the antivirus from once-a-day to once-a-week (I didn't really need it anyways, and I read antivirus is hard on the HDD.)
 
To check if it's loose in it's mount you have to open the case. Since you've said before that you aren't allowed to do that, you are kind of stuck there. For the other, you should know how to defrag. The way to reduce swap file use is to add physical RAM.
 
I did open up one side a few weeks ago. Could a screw be loose around there?

I've been planning on installing more RAM eventually. Maybe I'll prioritize it higher.
 
Its possible, actually, a screw being loose is the most probable cause of the noise.
 
Also, mom was pulling at the front of the case (No idea why) and it came a bit loose. And it rattles quite a bit, especially with a CD in the drive. Is there any way to push it back in place?
I think it might be rattling when the HDD is on, making noise.
 
Just push firmly against any loose part of the case. On some cases the front plastic sections are just snap on. Or she could have broken a fastener. In which case you'd have to glue it back into place or secure it with tape or something like that.
 
I tried it and it worked!

My hard drive's behaving itself for now. Noisy fan, though. Always been noisy. Actually, I prefer the noisy fan 'cos then I know it's working.

My speakers constantly pop and squeal.
 
get good ones? or good sound card?

cheap $10 speakers. I think it's to to with electrical input, since they pop often when I turn a light on or off.
 
I tried one before and hated it, as the buttons were too small for my fat fingers.. My mom currently has it.
 
My hard drive's been quieter. :)

I also downloaded this HDD health thingy that uses the SMART attributes (or something like that) and my drive is 100% fine. According to it.

Does anybody know of a better (freeware) defrag then the default Windows one? I know I can just google it, but I prefer to have personal recommendations of one that works.
 
My hard drive's been quieter. :)

I also downloaded this HDD health thingy that uses the SMART attributes (or something like that) and my drive is 100% fine. According to it.

Does anybody know of a better (freeware) defrag then the default Windows one? I know I can just google it, but I prefer to have personal recommendations of one that works.
The one in Windows is fine, but defragging is rarely useful.
 
On my old computer, Aptiva IBM, did a defrag about once a month, and it sped it up greatly.

I miss the little colored blocks.

I think my HDD's got a mind of its own and it loves to annoy me. It can be really noisy and then quiet down within 2 seconds and for a second I'd be wondering "uh-oh, what happened" and then I realized it didn't freeze up -- everything's fine for now. Then I go to bed, and I'm half asleep when it starts grinding away, and I jump up 'cos it surprised me.
 
[font="Calibri,Arial"]I'd just like to make a point. The sound of the Click of Death varies from hard drive model to hard drive model.[/font]
 
Well, on the failing hard drive sounds site, it's mostly "Musical Maxtors." But there is the noise that reminds me of putting dice into a plastic cup and shaking it. And one that sounds really awful, two pieces of metal hiting each other and squeaking.

here's the site: http://www.datacent.com/hard_drive_sounds.php
 
I meant under the Maxtor section. Two of them are Musical Maxtors.

maybe i ought to leave, cos i dunno if im wanted here.
 
I meant under the Maxtor section. Two of them are Musical Maxtors.
You said the site was mostly musical maxtors, not just the maxtor section. The way it was phrased made it seem like that, and add in your whole "maxtors suck" kick and you'll understand why I thought that.
maybe i ought to leave, cos i dunno if im wanted here.
When you don't spam or post false things I have no problem with you.
 
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