Hard Drive Whirring-Type Sound

jherwig · 20-01-2007, 02:08 AM

I had been experiencing problems with my old Western Digital 40 Gig Hard Drive (not sure on RPM). It made a constant humming sound and occasionally, every 10 minutes or less, it would make an extremely loud whirring-type sound that lasts about 2-3 seconds and stops.

Also, my CPU usage is very high when doing simple tasks such as opening webpages, but the CPU spiking and the hard drive sound is not simultaneous, so I don't know if that has anything to do with the problem.

Anyways, I decided to purchase a new WD 120 gig 7200 RPM hard drive last week and the constant humming sound is not present, but the 2-3 second whirring sound is exactly the same. I was thinking this may be a problem with my power supply, but I'm not sure.

Can anyone help me out??

Willz · 20-01-2007, 01:54 PM

Hi, welcome to HWF

All i can think of is that the Hard Drive is on its way out if its making unusual sounds like that.

jherwig · 20-01-2007, 11:11 PM

I think I'm going to try and get some more RAM before I totally give up. I've ran a few tests on my hard drive and they don't detect anything wrong.

Willz · 21-01-2007, 10:27 AM

The ram cant be causing a whirling sound on your hard drive though, bad ram causes thngs like resets and stuff games not working properly or windows not installing sometimes or BSODs.

varactor · 02-07-2008, 08:17 AM

try monitor your hard drive with a S.M.A.R.T tool if your hardDriver supports SMART ofc.

Search for "hard drive smart" in google and you get the tools for this in the very first few results.

Good luck

donkey42 · 02-07-2008, 04:18 PM

what model of HDD is it ?

here is WD download page to download data Lifeguard diagnostic tools

sabashuali · 11-07-2008, 10:48 PM

It could also be one of the fans..... try and disable the fans (not the CPU one) and see if the sound stops....

The reason for mentioning it is that my Freezer 4 bearing is on its way to meet its maker and it sometimes makes a terrible noise....

20-01-2007, 02:08 AM	#1 (permalink) Top
jherwig Geek Trainee Join Date: Jan 2007 Posts: 2 Status: Offline	Hard Drive Whirring-Type Sound I had been experiencing problems with my old Western Digital 40 Gig Hard Drive (not sure on RPM). It made a constant humming sound and occasionally, every 10 minutes or less, it would make an extremely loud whirring-type sound that lasts about 2-3 seconds and stops. Also, my CPU usage is very high when doing simple tasks such as opening webpages, but the CPU spiking and the hard drive sound is not simultaneous, so I don't know if that has anything to do with the problem. Anyways, I decided to purchase a new WD 120 gig 7200 RPM hard drive last week and the constant humming sound is not present, but the 2-3 second whirring sound is exactly the same. I was thinking this may be a problem with my power supply, but I'm not sure. Can anyone help me out??

20-01-2007, 01:54 PM	#2 (permalink) Top
Willz MiCrO$oFt $uK$ :D Join Date: Jun 2005 Age: 19 Male Posts: 4,234 Times Helpful: 150 My Mood: Lurking Status: Offline My Computer	Hi, welcome to HWF All i can think of is that the Hard Drive is on its way out if its making unusual sounds like that. __________________

21-01-2007, 10:27 AM	#4 (permalink) Top
Willz MiCrO$oFt $uK$ :D Join Date: Jun 2005 Age: 19 Male Posts: 4,234 Times Helpful: 150 My Mood: Lurking Status: Offline My Computer	The ram cant be causing a whirling sound on your hard drive though, bad ram causes thngs like resets and stuff games not working properly or windows not installing sometimes or BSODs. __________________

02-07-2008, 04:18 PM	#6 (permalink) Top
donkey42 Paranoid Geeky Geek Join Date: Mar 2006 Age: 34 Male Posts: 5,667 Times Helpful: 303 My Mood: Paranoid Status: Offline My Computer	what model of HDD is it ? here is WD download page to download data Lifeguard diagnostic tools __________________ GRUB manual \| Google Linux \| Distrowatch \| Linux Chix \| Kubuntu \| My Mini City

11-07-2008, 10:48 PM	#7 (permalink) Top
sabashuali Ani Ma'amin Join Date: May 2005 Age: 40 Male Posts: 1,409 Times Helpful: 65 My Mood: Breezy Status: Offline My Computer	It could also be one of the fans..... try and disable the fans (not the CPU one) and see if the sound stops.... The reason for mentioning it is that my Freezer 4 bearing is on its way to meet its maker and it sometimes makes a terrible noise.... __________________ This is not a PC friendly user!!! I want to use Linux because it is better. Cost and packages are added bonuses! Help with digital video? Help My Mini City to grow Hit or Miss

20-01-2007, 11:11 PM	#3 (permalink) Top
jherwig Geek Trainee Join Date: Jan 2007 Posts: 2 Status: Offline	I think I'm going to try and get some more RAM before I totally give up. I've ran a few tests on my hard drive and they don't detect anything wrong.

02-07-2008, 08:17 AM	#5 (permalink) Top
varactor Geek Trainee Join Date: Jul 2008 Posts: 2 Status: Offline	try monitor your hard drive with a S.M.A.R.T tool if your hardDriver supports SMART ofc. Search for "hard drive smart" in google and you get the tools for this in the very first few results. Good luck

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