Hard Drive Chatter

gositer

Reputable
Feb 25, 2015
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4,510
Apologies if this has been asked elsewhere, but all I've been able to find are very old threads.

I just got a new Lenovo Thinkpad T440s and the HDD makes a near constant chattering noise that is driving me crazy. How normal is this sound? Are there any ways to reduce it?

System specs:
Seagate 500GB HDD 7200rpm
Intel Core i7-4600U
Windows 8.1 64
 
Solution
It's an indication that it's time to get your personal files out of there and buy another disk. Solid State drives are getting less expensive by the day and they won't chatter or make ano other noise at all.

You could clone your system and everything else in one operation from the old disk to the new.
It's an indication that it's time to get your personal files out of there and buy another disk. Solid State drives are getting less expensive by the day and they won't chatter or make ano other noise at all.

You could clone your system and everything else in one operation from the old disk to the new.
 
Solution
Hi there gositer,

The HDD may be failing. So, you should back up the data that is stored on it as soon as possible as Saga Lout already suggested.
After that you can test it with brand specific tool. The results will show the overall health status of the drive. If it fails the test, then you will need to replace it. If the drive passes the test but the sound is really annoying, you can consider getting a SSD and use your current drive in an external enclosure.

Cheers,
D_Know_WD
 
This is a brand new machine, though - 2 days out of the box, and I literally haven't put anything on it yet apart from the OS and some music. The sound isn't quite the hard clicking I would think of as indicating a failing drive, but more a constant chatter as the drive is being accessed (even when the computer is idle). I've read some threads that suggest some HDD are noisier than others, but this seems excessive. I just don't have much sense for what's an expectable amount of noise, and what is something I ought to demand a return/replacement for.