Occasional "hit" sound from the HDD

[Puppy]

I'm experiencing a short "hit" sound (like if a metal part crashed into another one) from the HDD in my R51. The sound is very noisy comparing to normal hdd noise. It happens few times during the day, most of the time when the hdd is idle. PC Doctor does not report any issues. Is that normal ?

[greyhound]

Hey dude,

I'm using a R51 as well. And I have that 'click' sound at least 10 times a day. Wasn't expecting to be a hardware problem though. But since mine has 3 yrs warranty, I will just wait for the HDD to kill himself and I can ask for a new one as replacement.

Anybody with this issue out there? Please advice on the 'click' sound.

[sethstorm]

If things are normal, it sounds like it could be just thermal calibration to keep the drive in check.

[JohnDrake]

Yes, don't worry about it, sounds normal.

[soarer]

hi all dudes.

i am from singapore and this is my first posting.

just got a R51 2887-AGA 2 weeks ago and was very happy with it until bingo! the hard drive "CLAICK" every few times a day.

now it is like getting addicted and "CLAICK" every hour!

I called up the ibm singapore and they tell me to send it in for service and they would give me a replacement if defects are found.

but having read the terms and conditions to qualify for a replacement, i deem myself no chance as the ONLY defects are the noise which annoys the hell out of me but however only "unusual noise" stated on the ibm website are about the only way to have it deemed a DEFECT.

stumble upon this forum and i thought i should join in this discussion.

i would like to say, the noise that develops in the hard drive is definitely not normal AND it definitely is not the parking of the hard drive head or whatever it is call to save power etc etc or the active shock protection is at work etc etc . I had tried disabling both features and the "CLAICK" does not go away.

Now the "CLAICK" has upgraded itself to some kind of very soft but annoying gurgling.

Anyway my hard drive is hitachi (IC25NxxxATMR04-0) and hitachi's website is where i would be looking for an answer instead.

Cheers

[soarer]

Found a tool called the Power Booster on the hitachi website.

It works for me, at least for now.

http://www.hitachigst.com/hdd/support/d ... #Resellers

[soarer]

Found this website.
Just thought this would give many of us a peace of mind.


http://www.pcbuyerbeware.co.uk/HDDProblems.htm#clicking

Even the quietest hard disk drive makes some noise, but some makes and/or models make more noise than others. That particular model from Seagate has been criticised for being noisy.

Unfortunately, from the symptoms it's difficult to say whether it's normal behaviour or a sign of imminent failure.

The most ominous clicking noises are loud clicks that occur when the computer is first switched on. In this case, the heads are searching the platter(s) until they hit the stops, and this is indeed a symptom of internal damage and imminent terminal failure. The next most ominous noises are scraping sounds that occur when the drive attempts to access particular areas of the platter(s). These noises usually indicate that there is damage to those areas of the platter(s) that have probably been caused by crashing of the search heads, and the damage will spread rapidly to other areas and therefore occur more often.

Fortunately, there is another kind of periodic clicking that is normal, which is caused by a process called thermal recalibration. The hard drive heats up as soon as the computer is turned on. It's bimetallic construction is designed (like a thermocouple) to compensate for any expansion of its components, but internal adjustments usually still have to be made to make sure that the read/write heads are in precisely the correct position over the platter(s). Normal clicking sounds are issued by the drive when it makes these adjustments. The noise is more obvious with some makes and/or models of drive than with others. Drives manufactured during the early to mid-1990s have to perform this recalibration frequently as the drive heats up. The process takes long enough to interrupt the real-time recording of sound or video streams, hence the later incorporation of data buffers on AV-rate drives that buffer that data stream during the thermal recalibration so that it can run smoothly during the interruptions. To some extent even the most modern servo drives still have to perform thermal recalibration. Occasional recalibration is normal, but if it is excessive, this is probably an indication of the imminent terminal failure of the drive.

Modern drives have data buffers that compensate for any interruption of reading and writing activities, therefore, if there is freezing, it is likely to be a faulty drive that requires its data to be backed up before it dies.

Hard disk drives dating from around 1995 are monitored by what is called SMART diagnostic software, which is activated at system start-up by the BIOS setup program. If it is enabled by a setting in the BIOS, it should issue a warning of imminent drive failure, so you should make sure that it is enabled.

Overheating could be the cause of the problem. - To make sure that such a drive isn't overheating, you should make sure that the drive is mounted in the case so that there is enough space around the top and the bottom of the drive to allow for the free flow of air. Moreover, a drive installed with its circuit board (on the bottom of the drive) in close proximity to part of the case, or another drive, can overheat.

A warning regarding the free diagnostic utilities that are provided by the major hard-drive manufacturers: I have often found them to be inadequate. I have come across faulty drives that freeze up constantly while reading or writing data, yet the diagnostic utility from a particular drive's maker has given it a clean bill of health.

[soarer]

another worthy website!

http://www.soliton.net/content/comp/ibm/

[JohnDrake]

If you want to do some serious diagnostics on your hard drive to insure it is in good operating condition, use this:

http://www-307.ibm.com/pc/support/site. ... IGR-4HXKVX

Info about drives in general can be found here:

http://www-307.ibm.com/pc/support/site. ... IGR-4YQLGR

[soarer]

but that need a diskette

nowdays ibm laptop do not comes with a 1.44

i really wonder which smart [censored] comes up with that.