Faulty hard drive? Listen please

PeterM546

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Nov 7, 2011
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Hello, I have a Hitachi 7k3000, 2TB drive that passes all tests (Hitachi's diagnostics) and CrystalDiskInfo. It has been making strange clicking sounds under heavy load since I bought it 4 months ago. Is this sound normal? See Youtube:

http://youtu.be/YjySfuiDXEw
 

singemagique

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Feb 13, 2009
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In my opinion that is not a normal sound. It sounds like the drive is parking the head or the head is crashing. I had an old WD caviar drive that started doing something similar (although a higher pitch) and it eventually died not too soon after the sound started.

Does this sound go away if you put the drive under load, ie start a bunch of programs stored on the drive (or write/read a large file)? What are your power settings on the drive? It may be that it is going into/out of a low power state.

Alternatively, it could also be a warning sign and your drive may be ready to bite it. I would definitely back-up any important information on the drive asap.
 
I agree, it sounds like the drive is parking at random, it is only supposed to happen when your disc spindles down (low power or off). If the drive is new then it is time for an RMA, because this is a sign that something is wrong.

It may be fine for the moment, but unplug it immediately, and do not turn it on again until you have something to back the data up to.
 

PeterM546

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Nov 7, 2011
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This sounds is mainly appearant under load, when idle or less used it is quiet.
 

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