HDD in laptop whines when not plugged in

[enwar3]

When my laptop isn't plugged into the wall (so it's running off battery), the HDD whines constantly. It's a high-pitched, somewhat soft whine, but it doesn't sound good, and it most certainly only happens when the laptop isn't plugged in. Any ideas what could be wrong?

 

[vbuggy]

Is it a WD?

 

[corkyg]

Is it a HP laptop?

http://forums.cnet.com/5208-19681_102-0.html?threadID=379154

 

[fleshconsumed]

I don't think it's HDD, but rather some power circuitry component. Electronics are weird like that. I have a cell phone charger that emits a high pitched whine when not under load, if I plug cellphone into it, the whine goes away. I hate that sound so I always unplug the charger when I'm done. If you want to be sure you could always swap your HDD for another one. Most laptops are designed for an easy user replaceable HDD swap, so if you got a spare - do it. However, like I said, I don't think it's HDD.

 

[enwar3]

Is it a WD?

It's a Seagate.

Is it a HP laptop?

http://forums.cnet.com/5208-19681_102-0.html?threadID=379154

It's a Dell Latitude d620.

I don't think it's HDD, but rather some power circuitry component. Electronics are weird like that. I have a cell phone charger that emits a high pitched whine when not under load, if I plug cellphone into it, the whine goes away. I hate that sound so I always unplug the charger when I'm done. If you want to be sure you could always swap your HDD for another one. Most laptops are designed for an easy user replaceable HDD swap, so if you got a spare - do it. However, like I said, I don't think it's HDD.

I understand what you're saying about the power, and some research on google showed that some hard drives whine they don't receive enough power. My question is whether this noise is any indication that my hard drive may fail prematurely (and that I should get a new one asap)?

 

[corkyg]

From all that has been said, odds are that another drive would perform the same way. Any way you can access another 2.5" drive to compare? If you go to a SSD there would be no whine.

I don't see the whine as indicating imminent drive failure.