Hard drive sounds

[sinwha321]

Hi,

I have a Western Digital 2TB Desktop SATA Hard Drive - OEM - Green which has been making noises constantly for months. Prior to that I had been using it without problems.
Stats:
81GB out of 1.81GB utilised.
0% fragmented (I recently defrag'd it)
Crystal disk gives it a healthy rating. http://imgur.com/2SoyPWK

It sounds nothing like any of the WD sounds listed in this link:
http://datacent.com/failing_hard_drive_sounds

My question is:
1) Is my drive going to fail?
2) Anything I can do to get a quieter drive?


Thanks!

 

[glamdringfh]

Hi sinwha,

1) Quite possibly. Healthy drives don't typically make loud noises so it is a very bad sign.

2) I recommend running the official Western Digital diagnostic software on your drive. Make sure to run both the QUICK and the EXTENDED tests:

“Data Lifeguard Diagnostic” under the WD Software Tab: http://support.wdc.com/downloads.aspx?DL

Please keep us posted on what the diagnostics turn up!

 

[galeener]

Also make sure that the drive is mounted tight enough that you are not just hearing vibration . I had a noise recently from one of mine and I thought crap its going to die so I backed it up Then i opened up my system and the issue was some how it was loose and vibrating against the case front. Hopefully yours isnt dieing but back it up while it still works if you can.

 

[SuperSoph_WD]

Hey there, sinwha321!

Sorry to hear about your WD Green drive! I'd recommend you to follow these guys' advice on the troubleshooting.
First, start by making sure the drive is mounted properly just as @galeener suggested. A loose screw could potentially cause a lot vibration = making annoying noises.
Checking the HDD's health and SMART status using our brand-specific tool as @glam mentioned is the recommended thing to do.

Either way, make sure do a backup of the data stored on that WD Green HDD. Having at least two copies of your files is the best way to avoid the headaches of data loss, in case of a failure. Better safe than sorry, right?

Good luck! Keep us posted!
SuperSoph_WD

 

[glitchmaster0001]

just like what the guys above said run a SMART test on the HDD and see what the results are. Make sure to run both a short and a long SMART test though.

 

[sinwha321]

Hi all. I ran the test using WD DataLifeguard Diagnostics.
Both quick and extended tests were a pass:

Test Option: EXTENDED TEST
Model Number: WDC WD20EZRX-00D8PB0
Unit Serial Number: WD-WCC4N1442483
Firmware Number: 80.00A80
Capacity: 2000.40 GB
SMART Status: PASS
Test Result: PASS
Test Time: 09:09:41, November 03, 2015

Test Option: QUICK TEST
Model Number: WDC WD20EZRX-00D8PB0
Unit Serial Number: WD-WCC4N1442483
Firmware Number: 80.00A80
Capacity: 2000.40 GB
SMART Status: PASS
Test Result: PASS
Test Time: 09:29:13, November 03, 2015

Does this provide any insight?

 

[SuperSoph_WD]

Hey there again, sinwha321!

Good thing that the drive is passing the tests, however, it would a lot more helpful to see the SMART data results. In the DLG tool, there is a small button above the list of HDDs that will show you the SMART status of the drives tested with the utility. Click on that and share the results from there. Did you try reseating the HDD's connections as well? Make sure the drive is properly screwed to the mounting frame inside your PC rig.

Keep us posted!
SuperSoph_WD

 

[sinwha321]

Thanks for going through this step by step with me.
http://imgur.com/msYVu26
http://imgur.com/Cr7nFSj
...I see a lot of green so I assume it's okay.

 

[glamdringfh]

Well it certainly does look like your drive is healthy.

If you wanted to be safe you could take this opportunity to make an external backup on any important data on the drive. Beyond that, making sure the drive is snugly seated in your drivebay as SuperSoph suggested is a good thing to double check, as sometimes drive vibration can work the screws loose a bit.

 

[dfk]

it could be the Intellipark thing doing the head parking every 8 seconds to save power.

 

[glitchmaster0001]

i have a seagate barracuda 1TB HDD and it makes alot of noise too. i guess just some hard drives make more noise than others. because second drive in my computer (WD Velicoraptor) has a 10,000 RPM compared to a 7200 RPM seagate. yet the seagate runs louder than the WD. it could be that mechanically the drive is loud. just like in cars a subaru boxer engine is mechanically louder than a honda inline 4

 

[sinwha321]

Is there a way to disable a harddrive/stop it from running while running the computer to see which of my hardrives is making the noise?

 

[glamdringfh]

As long as it wasn't your boot drive the easiest thing to do would be to unplug the drive's SATA cables while the PC was off and start-up to see if the noise continues. It would just be a process of elimination.

 

[glitchmaster0001]

Is there a way to disable a harddrive/stop it from running while running the computer to see which of my hardrives is making the noise?

You can unplug the power from it and it will stop the drive from spinning