New Build - Grinding Noise /w HDD Activity Light

[acyr90]

Built a new PC last week and after installing everything, I was noticing a frequent grinding noise that coincided with the HDD Activity Light on the case. After giving it about a week and the noise not dissipating, I decide it was best to buy a new hard drive just to be safe.

Just got the new one installed today (went from Seagate 1 TB to Western Digital 1 TB Blue) and it's still making the same noise - and still when the HDD activity light is blinking.

Any ideas on what might be causing the program?

It's always hard to describe the noises coming from a computer, but it's like a harsh grinding or scratching that will last only as long as the blinks on the HDD activity light (but just as frequent, happens when computer is idle as well). Could it be a case issue?

 

[DaronMal]

Built a new PC last week and after installing everything, I was noticing a frequent grinding noise that coincided with the HDD Activity Light on the case. After giving it about a week and the noise not dissipating, I decide it was best to buy a new hard drive just to be safe.

Just got the new one installed today (went from Seagate 1 TB to Western Digital 1 TB Blue) and it's still making the same noise - and still when the HDD activity light is blinking.

Any ideas on what might be causing the program?

It's always hard to describe the noises coming from a computer, but it's like a harsh grinding or scratching that will last only as long as the blinks on the HDD activity light (but just as frequent, happens when computer is idle as well). Could it be a case issue?

It's probably just the HDD doing what HDD's do.

 

[acyr90]

That's what I keep telling myself, but it's much louder than I've experienced with past HDDs. It's not like a faint clicking that you'll hear from the usual suspect, but more like a cat trying to cough up a hairball.

 

[DeathRabit]

Hm... I have on second PC 1TB WD EZEX and he is very quite even during work.
Try run HD tune to check disk health.

 

[D_Know_WD]

Hi there acyr90,

You need to open up your computer and make sure where it is comping from.
In case the power and SATA cables are long enough, you can take your HDD out of the slot and boot up your system. This way you will be sure whether all of this is caused by the HDD. Also, it may be a good idea to try using different SATA and power cables(SATA port as well). Testing your WD drive with WD's Data Lifeguard Diagnostic tool will not hurt as well: http://products.wdc.com/support/kb.ashx?id=pj2DmL

Apart from that, weird sounds could be caused by fans as well. This is why, it would be nice if you double check these.

Cheers,
D_Know_WD

 

[acyr90]

Hi there acyr90,

You need to open up your computer and make sure where it is comping from.
In case the power and SATA cables are long enough, you can take your HDD out of the slot and boot up your system. This way you will be sure whether all of this is caused by the HDD. Also, it may be a good idea to try using different SATA and power cables(SATA port as well). Testing your WD drive with WD's Data Lifeguard Diagnostic tool will not hurt as well: http://products.wdc.com/support/kb.ashx?id=pj2DmL

Apart from that, weird sounds could be caused by fans as well. This is why, it would be nice if you double check these.

Cheers,
D_Know_WD

I'm running the full scan using that tool right now, and did observe something worth noting. While it's only about 10 minutes into it, it has stopped making the grinding noise. The HDD Activity Light is permanently on (Duh, because of the tool running), but that has me thinking it's only when data is being initially retrieved from the Hard Drive that it has difficulty, and as a result makes the grinding noise.

Could this be due to faulty connections with the power supply/MOBO? Once this test is done running I'm going to swap the connections around to see if that does anything.

Also, the PSU I bought (Corsair CX600m) has 5 total cables, 1 permanent and 4 removable. I currently only have 2 of the removable cables plugged in since I did not need any more connectors. Could this be causing the problem? Are there certain slots/cables I should be using first? I can't test plugging in all the connections right now since the test still has an hour left on it, I'm just brainstorming things to try once it's done.

 

[D_Know_WD]

Yeah, it could be caused by faulty cable or port. You definitely need to swap cables/SATA ports around. Check both ends of the cables.
I don't think this is related to the fact that you are using only two of the connectors.

D_Know_WD

 

[acyr90]

No luck, guess I'll have to suck it up and deal with a noisy hard drive.