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WD Raptor Noises, What is Normal?

pradeep1

pradeep1

Golden Member
I recently purchased a used WD 74GB Raptor hard drive from a forum member and I am installing XP on it and I can hear distinct clicks and metallic noises from it. I am not sure exactly when they happen, but it seems on initially access during boot, it does it. The general read/seek noises are okay, but these other random noises are worrying me.

This is the first raptor I've owned and I don't want to rely on a disk if it clicks. From experience, a drive is about to die when it starts clicking.

Any thoughts and suggestions from Raptor owners?

Thanks,

Pradeep
 
My WD 36gb raptor (1st gen, bought a lil after launch) makes a constant high pitch whine (or whistle) that is not noticeable when you get used to it. Whenever data is being accessed, it makes a dull clicking sound.

It has done both since I bought it all those years ago.
 
Originally posted by: Schadenfroh
My WD 36gb raptor (1st gen, bought a lil after launch) makes a constant high pitch whine (or whistle) that is not noticeable when you get used to it. Whenever data is being accessed, it makes a dull clicking sound.

It has done both since I bought it all those years ago.
Click to expand...

Mine does not have a wine, and the dull click on access is okay, but these clicks are more noticeable. I wish there was a way to record this and compare notes, right?

Maybe I need to find some type of diag. software from WD that could diagnose my drive.

Pradeep
 
I haven't had a mechanical drive that did not click.

I don't "see" anything wrong with the drive.

This is why it's good to have a copy of SpinRite 6.0 laying around. 😀
 
I have a 74 gig Raptor, and while it is somewhat louder on seeks than my other WD drive, I would not describe it as making clicking noises.
 
I have a 36GB raptor. You can distinctly hear the seek/read/write noise (i believe that is what people mean by the clicking noise) and it is louder than other modern drives I own. It makes no other noticeable noises, no whine.

The 'metallic' noise would worry me as it seems very out of the ordinary compared to what I hear from my Raptor.
 
I would characterize my Raptor seeking noises as more clunky and metallic than other HDs. I think you're fine.
 
Originally posted by: tapir
I would characterize my Raptor seeking noises as more clunky and metallic than other HDs. I think you're fine.
Click to expand...

My 36gb Raptor's done that since the day I bought it, which was maybe two months after they were initially released, so it's been a while now.
 
Thanks guys and gals for the vote of confidence. I had lost mine in this drive until I read your replies. I ran WD's diagnostic tool in exhaustive mode, and it checked out okay.

Now I just have to figure out how to mount that drive in the case so it won't transfer the vibration and noise to the metal body.

 
Someone (I think MaximumPC) did a write up not too long ago about using rubber bands, pencils, and a 5.25" bay to mount a hard drive silently. I hear it works pretty well, but looks pretty ghetto. Short of that, I suppose you could pop your HDD into a HDD silencer/cooler bay, or possibly use some small rubber washers or something similar in between the drive and the case to dampen the noise.

EDIT: Not where I originally saw it, but here's a thread with some good pictures and a decent explanation of what to do for the rubber band mod.
 
I have two raptors at the moment... a 74GB and a 150GB. Both drives are a little louder in reading data than most drives. They have their distinctive metal-esque clunk (kinda like a thump) noise as another user described. But this noise is most certainly not like a drive clicking.

I never hear any of my HDDs though in my Lian Li case. I even have two Seagate 750GB drives in one of them and I read how they were supposedly "very noisy" but I can't hear them at all. My second PC is a little noisy still because of the... CPU fan I think, so I may replace it with a Zalman cooler to make it a bit quieter (my main PC has one and it's soooooo quiet).
 
I also have a pair of Raptors, one 74GB and one 150GB. The 150GB is SLIGHTLY louder IMO, but they sound pretty similar to me. I've got a Silverstone TJ-03 and I suppose it doesn't dampen the noise all that well. Still, they really only get loud when seeking for extended periods of time, like running virus scans or something like that, and even then it's not so bad.
 
The rubber band mod is good in concept, but the natural rubber used in rubber bands will break down after a while and you'll find your hard drives on the floor of the case one day.

Instead, use sewing elastic, it's basically thin bungie cords...if the rubber breaks down, the fabric sheath will keep the hd fairly safe.

Here's more info on that, and some other ideas:
http://www.silentpcreview.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=26313&start=

-z
 
If you're that worried about it run Hitachi's Drive Fitness Test on it to make sure it's okay. Make sure you do the advanced test.
 
Originally posted by: Nocturnal
If you're that worried about it run Hitachi's Drive Fitness Test on it to make sure it's okay. Make sure you do the advanced test.
Click to expand...

QFT. DFT FTW. It's on UBCD FYI, so go DL that ASAP.
 
Suspending disk drives is very bad. They should *ALWAYS* be mounted TIGHT to a chassis with four screws and grounded.

If noise is of concern purchase a chassis that isolates itself mechanically from the rest of the main chassis such as found in the cooler master stacker 830.
 
Originally posted by: Rubycon
Suspending disk drives is very bad. They should *ALWAYS* be mounted TIGHT to a chassis with four screws and grounded.

If noise is of concern purchase a chassis that isolates itself mechanically from the rest of the main chassis such as found in the cooler master stacker 830.
Click to expand...

Suspending drives is safe, actually, as long as it is done right. Check the SPCR link earlier in this thread for ideas. The only way to quiet these drives is to decouple them from the case. Otherwise the vibration transfers to the case and it gets louder.

I have my raptor sitting on the floor of my case on some foam. It has a 120mm intake fan running at 5v right next to it so it runs cool. It's pretty quiet. I can hear it, but my fans are all at 5v. When I had it in the hdd cage (which has rubber mounts built into it) it was so loud I couldn't stand it.

 
what about grounding tho? Will the power connector ground it or should you run a length of wire from the drive to the case?
 
Originally posted by: EvilRage
Originally posted by: Nocturnal
If you're that worried about it run Hitachi's Drive Fitness Test on it to make sure it's okay. Make sure you do the advanced test.
Click to expand...

QFT. DFT FTW. It's on UBCD FYI, so go DL that ASAP.
Click to expand...

sad that I know all those. 😉

-z
 
Originally posted by: Nathelion
what about grounding tho? Will the power connector ground it or should you run a length of wire from the drive to the case?
Click to expand...

The power connector grounds it.
 
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