Grinding noise produced by the HDD, but only in certain moments

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Blade11

Commendable
Apr 22, 2016
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1,510
Hello!

These are my PC specs, in case you need them:


  • ■ Motherboard Asus Z170-K;
    ■ Intel i7 6700K @4.0GHZ;
    ■ 16 GB RAM DDR4 @2100 MHZ;
    ■ Asus nvidia GTX 950 @ 2GB GDDR5;
    ■ 120 GB Kingston HyperX SSD - I only have Windows and programs installed there;
    ■ 1 TB Western Digital Blue drive;
    ■ PSU Corsair CX 750;
    ■ Windows 10 @ 64-bit.

I've read several forum threads, but I wanted to share my issue too, in detail; think it's a bit different as well. I also have a sound sample.

The issue

So, recently, a grinding noise, which is loud enough to be a little annoying, is produced by the HDD when there's more than usual / normal activity, like when opening the Steam app and performing a download / update, or playing a game - World of Warcraft. It's not doing it all the time in game, just for a short while when a loading screen pops up, if there are a lot of users in a zone, if I move from a zone to another, etc. Basically when it has to load a lot of stuff.

Here's the sound: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dgnJMsmOLQo. This is not my PC nor my video, but the sound is exactly like mine.

At this point, it doesn't affect the gaming experience, no lag or freeze. When I'm not playing, downloading, or using certain apps, it doesn't make that grinding noise. For example, now, while I'm writing this, having Deezer on (music app), Skype on, Photoshop, it makes no sound, it's all good.


What have I done so far

1. I've opened the chassis and made sure the sound doesn't come from the fans or any other hardware.

The weird thing is that it's like the sound doesn't come from the HDD itself also, I mean not straight from the drive itself; the drive itself seems quite. I even touched it and felt no vibrations. The sound starts from the HDD, that I am quite sure of, but I believe the sound really comes from the little board that is responsible for my chassis's front panel, where the USB ports are, mic, headphones, and red light for the HDD activity. The flickering of the red light also corresponds with the noise, so it definitely has to do with the HDD.

Could a cable be responsible for such a noise?

2. I've installed the Data Lifeguard tool from Western Digital's website, performed a full scan of the HDD and it passed all the tests: SMART and all that stuff, no bads or anything; everything came out peachy.

3. I also checked the Processes tab in the Task Manager and the Disk usage was not high at all. The temperature is also fine.

The drive, as well as the rest of the PC, is pretty new, just several months old, and the PC was assembled by professionals.

4. Also contacted WD support, but wanted your opinions too. In the first reply, they gave me this: http://support.wdc.com/knowledgebase/answer.aspx?ID=568. Since the HDD doesn't make that grinding noise all the time, I don't think removing the cable will help, because by doing so, I assume I can't access a game to check things out, no?

As you can see, grinding sounds are listed under abnormal, but since it passed all the tests and it doesn't do it all the time, I'm still wondering if it's not just a grinding noise, like old PCs used to make when you started to play a game or something. I mean, this kind of sound used to be normal back in the days 😀. I could live with that, if it's JUST a noise, nothing more that could be damaging.

For now, everything is running and seems well, though, except for the grinding sound.

From your experience, do you think the HDD is the problem? Should I plan to change it? Or that is just normal noise, perhaps caused by vibrations, due to more complex, high activity, and it will not affect the HDD or anything else?

Thank you in advance!
 
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I'm planning to buy a cable, tomorrow I hope, and check things out. Bought the HDD in April this year, along with all the other PC parts.

Just got an answer from WD, but they just asked for the serial number to see if it's eligible for a replacement. Guess that means they think it's RIP :). Don't know if they read what I explained there, though. Doesn't seem like it.

Anyway, don't know how they could help with the warranty, since I didn't buy it in the US or directly from their authorized distributors.

I'm still hoping it's not the HDD, though, because I'll have to send this one for a replacement and wait at least a week. Might as well buy a new one.
 
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Hey there, @Blade11!

I'd second @Rogue Leader's recommendation on changing the SATA cable that is connecting your WD Blue. You mentioned that the noise could be coming from the HDD bay that is holding the drive. It's possible that there is some loose screw that could be causing extra vibrations, especially when you are loading a demanding application (game). I'd suggest you re-mount the WD Blue and make sure it is seated properly inside your PC case.
Another thing you could try is testing how it would perform in another PC, if you have access to one. Either way, I'd still advise you backup all important data somewhere off-site as well and keep a duplicate safe and sound there. This is the surest way to avoid any potential data loss.

If your WD Blue is still covered by the warranty, you can still RMA it even if wasn't bought from the U.S. I'd strongly recommend reading through our Worldwide warranty policy & limitations for more details.

Keep us posted with the troubleshooting, though. :)
SuperSoph_WD
 
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Hello and thank you for your replies!

I've changed the cable, but the issue still persists.

@SuperSoph_WD No, the sound doesn't come from the HDD bay, it's definitely not a vibration of that type, which implicates the mounting part. I also had my hand on it and felt 0 vibrations. The HDD is also put between two plastic rails, which I assume they're for preventing vibrations.

I don't have another PC, unfortunately.

I've already talked to a representative from WD via email. He said that you guys can send a replacement. I actually mailed him a few minutes ago.

As I told him in the mail, I've listened to the noise again, more carefully, from the left, from the right, even used a stethoscope :), and even though I still can't rule out the HDD, it still kind of seems to me that the noise comes from the small board on the front face of the chassis, where the USB ports and all that stuff are, including the red light for the HDD activity, which is on my culprit list. Maybe the wiring there became faulty or something. Or it could be that the sound is playing tricks on me; coming from one place and I'm hearing it from another. I'll mail both Asus and Zalman (the chassis manufacturer) and ask them, to see if my theory is even possible, and the wiring from the front face of the chassis could make such noise, and not the HDD.

If my theory is possible, then I'll investigate further. If not, then I'll rule those out, and then I can be sure that the HDD is the problem, and I'll send your colleague my shipping / billing details. Don't want to use the warranty if I'm not 100% sure it's the HDD.

Do you guys think it's possible for the little board in the front face of the chassis to make that noise?
 
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I always have weird issues with PCs :), nothing surprises me anymore. I mailed Asus and Zalman to see what they think.

Perhaps the sound comes from the HDD, but it reflects and it seems to me that it comes from the front panel board...
 
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If its not loose that sounds far more likely, there simply isn't any parts on that board to make such a noise.
 
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Yep, that's what I'm thinking too, but, like I said, nothing surprises me anymore :). It's like, the more advanced the technology becomes, the often and easier it breaks. I barely had problems back in the day with the old PCs, and not only with PCs. Even if you had problems, you found the cause pretty quick, fixed it, forgot about it. Now it becomes a saga.

Sold my previous computer because it drove me nuts with all the issues, spent a lot of money on this one, and 5 months later here I am :). The PSU makes a weird noise too when I'm playing a game. Don't know if it's coil whine or the fan. Got to check that too. Second Corsair PSU with a problem, think I'm going to switch brand.

I'll let you know what Asus and Zalman say.
 
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You should definitely find some way to try the HDD on another PC. This will surely help us determine for sure whether or not the WD Blue is the source of your troubles. Just like @Rogue leader mentioned, there's no way these noises could be coming from anywhere else in the front of your PC, especially the chassis in the front.
In the mean time, you should try powering down your system and re-seating all the connections inside. Make sure there's nothing loose in the cables to the PSU as well. I'd even test the Power Supply Unit, if you feel comfortable doing this by yourself. If there's something wrong with it, you should definitely consider replacing the unit ASAP. It could easily take out other hardware components as well.

Keep us posted! You are doing a great job with the troubleshooting so far, though.
SuperSoph_WD
 
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Hello and thank you for your reply!

Asus answered. They didn't specifically answer all my questions, but they did answer one that lead to my final conclusion. They said I could unplug the wire for the HDD led, the one for the HDD activity, so I did. Without that led light, I could finally pinpoint the problem to the HDD.

The thing was that, since the HDD activity led was flickering exactly as the grinding sound, basically matching the noise, was very misleading, making me think that that could be the problem. That plus the sound reflection inside the chassis.

I also remembered an important thing. Like a couple of months after I bought the PC, including the HDD, I got a strange error and my PC restarted. I went to Windows' Event Viewer and saw, if I remember correctly, around 30.000 bad blocks errors coming from harddisk2. I immediately downloaded the Data Lifeguard from WD and performed a full scan, but it passed all the tests, so I thought it was just another crazy Windows behavior. Could there be bad blocks on the drive that go undetected? Perhaps the situation has gone worse since then, and it will soon fail for good, I assume.

I also made sure all the cables are well plugged in, nothing is loose. As for the PSU, I'm still investigating. If the sound comes from there, because now I'm starting to doubt where I'm hearing noises from :), I believe it's a fan noise, not coil whine.

So, that being said, now I'm sure the HDD is faulty and, unfortunately, needs to be replaced. Hope it will last until I get the new one, though.
 
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Yeah, I know. Backed up my data, but have I no replacement. Guess I'll buy a new one, then I'll send the faulty one for a replacement, because it can take 1-2 weeks until I get a replacement, and I won't be able to fully use my PC until then. I mean, I have my SSD with Windows and programs on it, but all the data for my work and stuff are on the WD, so I'll be "crippled" without another HDD. Waiting a week or two isn't an option.
 
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Hello again, @Blade11!

I'd second @Rogue Leader's opinion and advise you to find a backup destination external drive or a cloud storage solution online for all your important files from the WD Blue ASAP! These grinding noises mean that the drive could basically fail at any point which would lead to data loss of your work & personal files. 🙁 I'd advise you check your warranty status on our website. If the WD Blue is covered by us and wasn't pre-installed by the OEM, then you should contact our Customer Support either by phone or e-mail, and raise your RMA request.
Hopefully, the replacement won't take too long to arrive!

Good luck!
SuperSoph_WD
 
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Hello!

@SuperSoph_WD. Yeah, already backed up my data on Google Drive. As for the warranty, I'll just buy a new one and then send the faulty one for a replacement at the store from which I bought it here. Your Advance Replacement system would have been great, but I never received or shipped stuff out of the country, all that is new to me, and it could be a kind of a hassle, especially from what I read there. I'll just deal with the guys here. Hopefully they won't send me another one which is packed only with bubble wrap and nothing else, like the previous one :).
 
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Hello!

So, since I thought I'll send the new HDD for a replacement, I bought a new WD Blue HDD, so I can still use my PC and do my work properly. The funny thing is that the grinding sound hasn't gone away, even with the new hard drive, it's still there, which isn't surprising, because I told you I always have werid issues with PCs.

I don't know what to think at this point... It clearly has to do with the hard because whatever I do on that drive (e.g. downloaded my backup files from Google drive) starts the sound, and the activity led coincides with the noise too, like always. Maybe it's just normal noise and that's how WD hard disks sound like? Perhaps it was doing this from the start, but I only noticed it recently and thought it's new, although I kind of doubt it. Maybe something else triggers that HDD noise? But I don't have an idea what could it be...
 
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You can't be that unlucky, @Blade11! 🙁
You mentioned that you were going to check the PSU, right? Have you had the chance to test it? Normally, the hard drives are not that noisy and the acoustics are almost the same with any standard HDD (29/30 dBA for 7,200 RPM and 27/28 dBA for 5,400 RPM WD Blue).
I'd advise you to check if you have seated the HDD properly in the bay and make sure there are no loose screws that could cause the extra vibrations when accessing the drive. If it still does this, you should definitely investigate your PSU further. It could be causing the issues with the other hardware components, especially if it's faulty.

Keep us posted, though.
SuperSoph_WD
 
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@SuperSoph_WD Oh, yes, I can be that unlucky, trust me :).

Today I took out the HDD and plugged it outside the chassis, so I can listen to it better. And yes, the sound comes right from inside the HDD. Listened to the inside of the chassis, no grinding sound. I also plugged another power wire from the PSU into the HDD, thought the other one might be faulty, but still no change. A friend recommended that, even though it's very unlikely, I unplug the little beep speaker on the motherboard. Did that too, no change.

As for the PSU, it sounds like usual fan noise when it's start spinning faster, because I only start hearing it when I'm playing games. It's quite the rest of the time. The HDD makes grinding sounds every time I deal with something that's on the drive; for example, if I unzip something on it.

I'll contact Corsair too anyway, to ask them if it's possible for the PSU to affect the HDD in such manner.

I've found another video which reproduces my sound, and it's presented as normal sound. I know, it's kind of old and HDDs got quieter, but still... Take a look - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J09pWNQPK7U. That's the noise, not so loud of course, but that's the noise. If 2 HDDs are making the same noise, perhaps it is kind of normal after all? If you look at the first comment, someone says he / she owns a WD 1TB Black which is making that sound too. Of course, there are many others who say their HDD makes the same noise, and the comments are pretty recent.

 
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Yeah, guess it could be the case amplifying the sound. Don't know what to think anymore, to be honest, there are too many possibilities. I'll just leave it like that, and if anything breaks, so be it. At least I'd know one thing.

Thanks for your help! Much appreciated!
 
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