HD Noise, Not normal ???

[lupin]

A ticking sound is coming from my HD. Not very loud, but noticeable. It started just now, a ticking noise, but very fast, like a fan hitting an object.

I have two HDs, a WD 10k rpm, about 1.5 yrs old, and a WD 7.2 rpm, about 2.5 yrs old.. I'm not sure which one is producing the sound. Do HDs only last that long??

 

[AlphaStrike1]

I had an older PC that had a WD6.4 drive that sounded 'sick' like that. After the sound started, it began to give me problems gradually like transfering files and some errors began to appear. Then I couldn't load programs from time to time. Usually a reboot fixed it for a time. Then it finally got louder and quit altogether. I would say that it lasted about 2-3 months after the noises began and the total age was about 2 years. Mind you I kept my pc running all the time. If you can isolate the drive I'd definitely make a backup and not put any vital info on it. I tried reformatting which didn't do squat. I think WD has software that will tell you if there is something wrong with the drive, using the s.m.a.r.t. system, but I'm not sure.

 

[Wind]

lupin,
Start backing up ur important data. Seems tht the HDD started to fail. I dunno how long it will last...some manage to get it going up to 6 mths while others...2 days later.

 

[ucla88]

hard to say for sure. you've got a 10k scsi, i presume. older scsi often make occasional clicking sounds-my seagate 10k have clicked and ticked since birth. on the other hand, if it's a new ticking sound, this often means that the drive is starting to have difficulty. i would definitely back up your data and run diagnostics on both drives.

 

[agentK]

my seagate ticks everytime it reads. didnt have a problems with that. you may want to backup though just in case. if it changes sound or gets louder... it might be goin bad. try a scandisk utility to check if bad sectors are developing.