HDD Sounds when in Case (Fractal Design Define S)

[Schweet]

HDD: WD Blue 1tb 6gb/s 7200RPM 64MB Cache

rest of system:
gigabyte gaming 5 z170x
gtx 1070
16gb ddr4
500gb ssd (where os is)
i7 6700k

All inside a fractal design s case. On this case, the HDDs and SSDs are screwed in vertically on the back side of the case, not horizontal in a cage.

When turned on and screwed into the case, the HDD makes a very quiet (almost imperceptible) frog type sound about every 10 seconds, which gets kind of annoying after awhile if I'm not listening to any sound that would drown it out. However, the HDD does not seem to make the sound when I take it out of the case entirely.

I will test it again screws in and out, vertical and horizontal, in the case and out, a few more times to see if I can pinpoint it, but it seems to be due in some way to the case, either because it is screwed in or because it is vertical and not horizontal.

The HDD works fine, and chkdsk did not bring up any issues while testing it screwed into the case and vertical.

Is this a problem at all? Could the slight noise be ok and I should just forget about it?

 

[Elixer]

Chkdsk doesn't show the status of the HD.
You need to use something like CrysdtalDiskInfo (portable, free) utility to get the SMART status of the drive.
That said, if it chirps in one orientation, and not in the other, then I assume it is something mechanical, and nothing that would show up via SMART tests.

 

[Schweet]

thanks for the response

Is that chirping/ribbit sound necessarily bad? Is it damaging or decreasing the lifespan of the HDD? Could it just be that screwing the HDD in allows the sound to pass through the screws and into the case, amplifying the sound? The hdd bracket has rubber spacers on the screw holes to dampen that though. I

noticed that the sound decreased a little bit as I loosened the screws, and seemed to disappear when I took the bracket off altogether, so maybe the nature of the bracket is that it just gets too close to the HDD? would that make sense as a reason for causing a quiet frog sound every 10 seconds?

 

[UsandThem]

You can download the Data Lifeguard Tool, and see if it catches anything wrong.

http://support.wdc.com/downloads.aspx?DL

 

[ClockHound]

Definitely run some diagnostics on the drive. If it's fine, then suspend/decouple it from the case.

I use elastic suspension for all hard drives in my system - an old but great hard drive DIY suspension ideas at:
http://www.silentpcreview.com/article8-page2.html

 

[Elixer]

I suppose it could be harmonics, it just depends.
I have seen some seagate drives chirp, and those failed within 6 months, but, not sure I would say all chirp sounds are the same.

 

[Schweet]

I tried this Data Lifeguard Tool tool and it said everything was fine (SMART status), and I can install and use programs on it, so maybe that's just the noise it makes.

I think I'm gonna just not worry about it I guess. Worst comes to worst, I rma it and reinstall the games that were on there.

thanks guys!