Question HGST HUH721212ALE600 Noise when isn't being used.

[SMalcolmB]

Hi I wonder if anyone can give me any advice.
I recently bought a used HGST drive to backup all my files from various smaller drives. Once I finished copying everything to it I only then realised that it makes sort of short regular read/write sounds.
I looked on Resource Monitor and Process Hacker and windows is not reading or writing anything to the drive. It does it when it is sitting there doing nothing.
I have tried unplugging the SATA cable and only leaving the power cable attached and it still does it.
Needless to say, if I spin the drive down it stops.

I am worried the drive is defective and the noise is very annoying.
You can hear it in action here (I have recorded it several different times so be sure to listen further in as it might be clearer):

View: https://youtu.be/g9Z-W3lzJZQ


Is this normal?

Also just after booting the PC I went to record the noise and I heard the drive making this noise (You might have to turn up the audio, it's louder in the latter half):

View: https://youtu.be/X7N30385MBo


It's made this sound a couple of times now.

Is the drive dying?

 

[fzabkar]

Check the logs in GSmartControl.

Perhaps the drive is doing background scanning, or maybe it is processing an internal self test?

 

[SMalcolmB]

I just downloaded that software. Checking the logs. Don't know what I am looking for but it doesn't seem to be doing any scans I don't think.
There are 4 interface CRC errors.

 

[fzabkar]

Pages 55, 279 and 285 of the product manual refer to off-line scanning. This feature can be paused and automatically resumed.

"The device will suspend off-line data collection activity after an interrupting command and resume it after some vendor specific event."

https://documents.westerndigital.co...t-manual-ultrastar-dc-hc520-sata-oem-spec.pdf

Perhaps the noises will go away after sufficient time has elapsed for a full scan to complete?

 

[SMalcolmB]

Thanks for your help.
Is this the correct place to look in GSmart for the off-line data collection activity? Don't worry I don't have Windows XP

 

[SMalcolmB]

This is the SMART attributes page. pre-failure? Is that bad?

 

[fzabkar]

Everything looks OK to me. "Pre-failure" is referring to the type of attribute, not whether it has failed.

My WD drive has a value of 0x0082 for "offline data collection status", meaning that "offline data collection activity was completed without error'. It would appear that your drive has not recorded any offline data collection activity. :-?

 

[SMalcolmB]

Thanks again.
Does your drive make this noise?

 

[fzabkar]

I do hear the drive making a noise occasionally, but it is only a backup drive, not one that I use for daily work.

 

[SMalcolmB]

I finally figured out how to use SmartCtl and have switched offline scanning off and it's still making those noises.
Wonder why it says it has never been run if it was enabled.
I manually forced it to run the scan and it now says 'Offline data collection activity was completed without error.' Still making the noises

It makes me think the drive is never idle so the test is never carried out because it's always doing something, making those noises.