Hard disk drive noise test

[crazyeddie1]

So lenovo sent me a replacement drive for my x60s but its as noisy as the previous one, the drive is from FUJITSU 5400rpm made in 02-2008. I ran pc doctor's test on both and they scream like mofos but am unable to tell which one is least in this regard. Is there a software to determine noise level on hard drives?

[RealBlackStuff]

You got two of those built-in, they're called ears

You need a sound level meter, something like this: http://www.action-electronics.com/dbmet ... Economical

[qviri]

You'll need a sound meter that goes much lower than 40 dB if you want to measure a notebook hard drive, even a noisy one.

[crazyeddie1]

You got two of those built-in, they're called ears

You need a sound level meter, something like this: http://www.action-electronics.com/dbmet ... Economical

Yes I would love to use my ears effectively but how do I find out what kind of data triggers the drives to make noises? there must be some software out there that establishes this. I have run pc doctor a few times and there is a variation in the quality of noises the drives make, occasionally it's the sound of flowing water but mostly hammer like beating.

Few days ago I was watching a dvd movie with external cdrom connected and the drive was going crazy every time I paused and played the movie. On comparison my other laptop has 4200 rpm drive and it has never made its presence.

Both lenovo drives are made by FUJITSU, the replacement drive has a "used" sticker on it.

[rkawakami]

There's no software that I know of which can tell you what the dB level of a hard drive is. As specified earlier, you would need a sensitive sound level meter. As far as software which will cause hard drive noise....

Assuming you are using the DOS version of PC Doctor, then the Random Seek and Random Verify tests under the Fixed Disks diagnostics will probably generate the most noise. These tests makes the drive's read/write head move around to random tracks for several seconds.

For Fujitsu drives, you can try running the FJDT program which is available in both Windows and DOS versions here:

http://www.fujitsu.com/us/services/comp ... ities.html

You can also try the Seagate Seatools disk diagnostic program:

http://www.seagate.com/www/en-us/suppor ... s/seatools

There is an "Acoustic Test" under the Basic tests menu. What this does is it puts the drive into an idle state and then prompts you to "spin up" the drive. Any noise caused by the motor turning on and head being positioned should be evident at that time.

If the excessive noise (e.g., head thrashing) occurs at seemingly random times while using the disk drive, then you may have a/some bad sector(s). In that case I'd recommend running the PC Doctor Fixed Disk Linear Verify test. It scans each sector on the drive from beginning to the end. You will need to sit near the system and listen to it as I believe that there's no log made of "hard to read sectors". Certainly if there are any bad sectors, the diagnostic will make a note of it in the bottom half of the screen. But for those sectors which initially have trouble being read, yet are accessible after several attempts, you will not see any visible record of this happening. The Linear Verify test does take some time to run; for a 40GB 5400RPM drive I'd reserve at least an hour.

[crazyeddie1]

I cannot find acoustic test under the Basic test menu:

http://homepage.mac.com/crazyeddie1/.Pi ... titled.jpg

The drives passed the Fujitsu test but I cannot find DOS version of PC Doctor on my unit, mine only came with Windows. Do I have to buy DOS version? Out of couple of tests you mentioned I only have Random Seek test in pc doctor.

Muchas gracias!

[rkawakami]

PC Doctor for DOS should be available from here:

http://www-307.ibm.com/pc/support/site. ... ATRIX.html

Select your system and locate the "Diagnostics" or "PC Doctor" headings. There should be both Windows and DOS versions. Older systems will have you create a set of bootable floppy disks; newer ones will have an .ISO file which you use to burn onto a CD-R.

The Acoustic test in Seagate's SeaTools diagnostic appears to be only in the DOS version. The link I posted earlier has it at the very top of the listing, right before the Windows version.

[crazyeddie1]

Thanks so much for guiding me through the correct apps and for all the help. I have run both of 'em now and have come to the conclusion that the original drive is more noisier than the replacement, I will be sending it back tomorrow morning to lenovo.