Please Help! HD making squealing sounds. Won't boot!

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Oct 14, 2014
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Hey everyone, I have encountered a weird problem here and I'm kind of out of ideas, very worried!

I built this computer back in 2006/2007, have upgraded most parts since, but the Motherboard, PSU and HD are all original. Never had any problems. Well, last week my computer crashed, and when I tried to start it back up, the HD started making a weird beep/squeal sound every few seconds (like the sound of a low pitched beep and squeal combined). It wouldn't boot. Each time the computer would say that it detected a HD issue and could not communicate with the HD. In BIOS I could see the HD was still recognized just fine. I tried other SATA ports and cables... nothing. Tried removing the CMOS battery and pressing the reset buttons.... nothing!

So I assumed there was a problem with the HD heads, which I figured made sense, considering the HD is like 8 years old. So I tried putting it in the freezer for a few hours, and then popping it back into my comp. It started right back up, no sounds! I quickly got all my files off the drive. About 24 hours later it started to make the sounds again, and crashed. Back to that problem again. I tried freezing once more.. it worked again, but only lasted for 30 mins this time. So, I ordered another HD.. same brand/model, just a little larger capacity.

That new HD came in today, I hooked it up, popped my Windows 7 installation disk in there and it started right up, no problems, no sounds. I figured, "good, must have been that harddrive for sure." So I installed Windows, started instaling drivers, and maybe 2 hours later while windows updates were installing, I start to hear that same SOUND again, same as the old HD!!! Of course, it froze up, and crashed. I tried restarting again and I'm getting the SAME EXACT problem from the old HD!

Now, this makes me think it never was the HD to begin with! I mean, there is the chance that this one had problems from the factory and I could try RMAing it and trying another... but doesn't it sound it that's a slim chance?

Currently my mobo is displaying code 75 (USB?). It's worth mentioning that when I try (and fail) to boot, the numbers on there fluctuate a bunch, then once Windows is about to bring me to the login screen, a blue screen flashes for a millisecond and it restarts.. that beep/squeal sound happening with no real sound pattern the whole time. Sometimes, when I go into BIOS, theres some weird string of numbers that are written in jibberish (like symbols and stuff) strawn across a random part of the screen, and those numbers are flucutating....

Also worht mentioning, this mobo has the original CMOS battery in it (2032 coin shaped battery), do you think that might be the problem? Should I try replacing that??

Any ideas you guys might have, please let me know, thanks!

Specs:
Abit IP35P Motherboard
Intel Q6600
EVGA GTX 750ti ftw
PC Power & Cooling Silencer 610w
4GB RAM
Windows 7 64bit
Seagate Barracuda 7200 RPM 250GB (OLD HD)
Seagate Barracuda 7200 RPM 500GB (NEW HD)
 
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It could still be bios related. It wouldn't hurt to still flash the bios over, just to rule it out. It's pretty safe to do, as long as you follow the manufacturers directions and use the manufacturers tools, as well as have a legit bios file to flash.
 
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Sorry to be such a pain Stinger, I have never done this before haha. I checked out that link you gave me, thanks! I have an IP35 Pro, I found that section of the FTP list, there are 6 files in there, 5 of them seem like the same thing and one is a "stepping" file?

ftp://91.121.194.115/pub/download/bios/ip35pro/

Should I download all of these? Also, on the Abit site, I found http://abit.ws/page/en/download/download_utility_detail.php@pFILE_TYPE=Utility&pMAIN_TYPE=Motherboard&pTITLE_ON_SCREEN=IP35+Pro&pSOCKET_TYPE=LGA775

Is that another thing I have to download? Then stick all of these on a thumb drive, and boot the computer up with the thumb drive in there?
 
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Hm. I'm doing a bit more research atm to try and locate more info regarding those. Stepping is merely a designation assigned to CPU's to tell you which version they are, IE stepping 2 comes after stepping 1. Sometimes stepping "7" OC's better then other steppings so people look for that exact CPU to buy. (7 is just an example). How this is in relation to the bios file, I do not know. Yet. I don't like not knowing, so I'm finding out 😀

As to the number of files, each is a separate version, the one with stepping in it being the latest version, thus the "B_18" that precedes it.

Also, the guru as I found out is a monitoring and tweaking utility for use inside windows itself, designed for ABIT motherboards. That may prove useful to you, as it monitors frequencies, voltages, the whole kit and kaboodle. I'll be back soon, looking for a verified flashing method and instructions along with it. We may have to go with a general flashing utility, there's plenty of them out there, but I hope I can find something Abit themselves endorses or developed. Some companies, like Asus, have done so.

Be back soon ^.^
 
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Well I'll be damned. They wrote a guide to using a floppy disk.... Man that's old. But it should still work. Just, USB or CD instead. It skipped my mind that many BIOS's have the ability to update directly from inside the BIOS. Check that first.

Anywhere, here's the guide I found from Abit. http://abit.ws/page/sa/download/guide.php

I'll continue looking to see if there's anything else to it. If there is a self-updater/flasher inside the BIOS itself, all you have to do is provide the files and it will do the rest.

Edit: Found this AWD flash utility (Award BIOS) on the website as well. Not positive that it will indeed work, the page preceding it says for files before 2001.... But here it is. http://abit.ws/page/en/download/download_utility_detail.php@pFILE_TYPE=Utility&pMAIN_TYPE=Others&pTITLE_ON_SCREEN=AWDFLASH

Edit #2: Alright, I found more details. It's not from Abit themselves, but then again it seems they haven't released anything for several years in this department. Last thing was flash menu, but that's been shown to have issues, and it's over ten years old. Anyway, here's the link. Just scroll down to where it says "How do I flash the BIOS?" http://www.racelinecentral.com/bios_downloads.html
 
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Stinger, sorry for the late reply. Thanks for the response and all the research!

I tried opening that .zip file with the flash in it, but it isn't working for me for some reason. I could just toss that stepping file onto a CD and try that if you think that would work?
 
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It would only work if your BIOS had an updater built into it that would take care of the heavy lifting. Here's a copy + paste of the guide from the website I linked above on how to complete the flash. Also, if you cannot unzip the files, it will not work. Unzipping is necessary. If it will not allow you to do this, it's either a corrupt download (redownloading should fix it) or the built-in unzip that comes with windows is having issues with the file. WinRar will most likely be able to successfully do the job. You can find this via google, or at Download.com

In order to flash update the BIOS, you will need a floppy disk or bootable CDROM containing the the following:
DOS without any memory management drivers installed. I recommend you use the DrDOS 7.X boot disk designed specifically for BIOS flashing available on the downloads page or www.bootdisk.com
The BIOS *.bin (or *.b00 or *.b01) file to which you wish to update. The previous BIOS *.bin file (just in case you wish to flash back!)
Version 8.64 of the AWDFLASH.EXE utilities Listed Below.
Optional: ABIT supplies a file called RUNME.BAT with their BIOS releases which calls ABITFAE with the BIOS filename. You can put this on the floppy disk if you wish, and then instead of Step 6 below, type "RUNME".
Note that ABIT often supplies their BIOS files as executables (eg. KR7_WW.EXE). You will need to run this executable (which is a self extracting Zip file) to get the BIOS binary file and possibly also AWDFLASH.EXE, ABITFAE.BAT and the optional RUNME.BAT. You may also encounter BIOS distributions in *.zip files, in which case you must first extract the zip file using WinZip.
Shut down the OS properly, then turn the machine off.
Restart the computer with the DOS diskette in the floppy drive or CDROM in the CD. If you are using a CD image, you can either edit the CD image before burning and insert the Bios and flash utility on the CD, or you may be able to boot off the CD and run the flash tool from your hard-drive. Note, this second option will only work if your hard-drive is formatted with FAT, not NTFS.
At the prompt, type DIR to check the files on the disk. Assuming all the files in Item 1 of this list are present, go to the next step
At the prompt type ABITFAE filename - where filename is the name of the *.bin or *.b00 file you are using. (If you installed RUNME.BAT, you can simply type RUNME instead)
The utility will ask you to confirm a number of things, and will then automatically flash the BIOS with the correct parameters. Once it has finished go to the next step.
Press F1 to reset, then immediately press DEL to go into BIOS, then Go into CPU SoftMenu III to adjust your CPU speed and voltage (please make sure the CPU voltage matches your CPU specs)
Set up any other BIOS parameters you required (remember you will need to redetect your hard disks!!)
Remember that if you need to clear your CMOS with the jumper on the motherboard, you will need to reset the computer's clock! Save and Exit and You're done.
For a detailed discussion of flashing the Award BIOS, We recommend the AWARD Flash BIOS Upgrade Guide at X-Bit Labs.
 
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Hey Stinger, I've actually JUST got into DOS (finally)! I ended up creating a DOS boot USB Drive and sticking those flash files directly onto that drive as well.

I'm now at the part where I have to type stuff into DoS to do anything, but I have no idea how to find the files or execute the flash.

Here's what it says on my screen right now: "Using US-English keyboard with US-English codepage [437] C:/>"
and it allows me to type things in. Any ideas?
 
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At the prompt, type DIR to check the files on the disk. Assuming all the files in Item 1 of this list are present, go to the next step
At the prompt type ABITFAE filename - where filename is the name of the *.bin or *.b00 file you are using. (If you installed RUNME.BAT, you can simply type RUNME instead)

You should change C:\> to be the letter of the drive that the USB is. To discover this, simply move forward from C. If you have 1 HDD and 2 CD/DVD Rom's in, then HDD = C DVD 1 = D DVD 2= E so.. USB = F. You can simply type F: to change to F. If that doesn't work, CD F:\ should. (Had to edit, forgot the \ after F:. Yes, that is important.)
 
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It did that because capitals are important when using the /XX commands. They are important because /CC and /cc are two different commands. The screen that displayed should help you capitalize correctly to get the command that you're trying to get.

Edit: Posted while you said it was flashing. Fingers are crossed ^.^
 
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Ok, phew, the flash worked! The new BIOS is up and running! Thanks for your help Stinger!

Now, for the fun part... to determine if THAT was indeed the problem lol. Going into Windows now...
 
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Ahhhh well it was working fine for about 30 mins 🙁, then it happened again while I was installing some programs back on there... the same hard drive sound started up again... BAM froze up. Now its right back to not booting into windows (BSOD right after Windows colored circles appear, restarts immediatley, etc). I don't, however, see any of that weird jibberish in BIOS anymore.

So, at this point, I'm going to assume it's either the PSU like you were saying earlier, or the motherboard needs to be replaced because of some SATA issue.

I actually took a photo of the voltages as displayed in my BIOS currently, and I'm sticking the link in the post. Maybe they look weird to someone, I don't really know much about voltages.

2qlyj9z.jpg
 
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At this point it's hard to say what it might be. Could be a sata cable. Could be the HDD is damaged from a previous bios issue that is now fixed by flashing the new bios. Could be the PSU. Could be the mobo. Could be the power cable the HDD is using. Just calls for more troubleshooting.
 
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Well I've tried multiple SATA cables and that hasn't made a difference. Haven't tried the HD power cable though. I guess I should RMA this new hard drive and buy a new power cable before I drop money on a new motherboard or PSU.
 
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From earlier:
This happens with the HD both connected AND disconnected, no change.
Click to expand...

Why are you changing the HDD again?
 
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Well the thing that was happening regardless of the HDD being connected or not was that strange string of jibberish in BIOS. Now that I have flashed the BIOS, I don't see that anymore (for now at least). The only reason I'd change this HDD is in case the old corrupted BIOS permanently damaged this new HDD, or in case the slim chance that the HDD might be broken. I'm kind of out of ideas. I posted my voltage readings up in the PowerSupply/Components Forum and posters were reproting the readings were 100% fine, so it'm making me doubt PSU problems. A this point I feel like I'm going to have to either RMA this HDD and give it one last shot while i can make a return, or drop ~$75 on a new socket 775 motherboard if I can even find one. I really don't know what else to do 🙁

 
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Currently running both Crystal Mark and Seagate tests on the drive. All tests currently show the drive to Pass. Running a "Long Drive Test" now, which will take 1.5hrs. Doubt the PC will run that long before it crashes so I hope it displays something immediately.
 
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I apologize for the late response here, I've been away from the computer for a bit. At this point I'd simply RMA the drive. You could try reformatting and reinstalling Windows and giving it another go, or even using a 3rd party program to shrink the already partitioned data so as to make enough free space to create another partition to put a clean install of windows on. If it works, and you're able to use that partition without any problems, it may just be a leftover symptom from the previous issues. I.E the drive took some non-physical damage that it cannot fix on its' own, and therefore isn't performing correctly. This damage could be a corrupted MFT, partition table, some corrupt data etc. Something that can be fixed. It could be that after you are able to treat this particular symptom, all issues go away and it's clear sailing again. But there's a lot of "if's" there. The simplest answer is to RMA the drive, as there could be a malfunction in the drive itself, may or may not be caused by your system, and may or may not be easily fixable.

Once again, sorry for the late response, I'll be a little more attentive now and over the next few days 😛
 
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Hey Stinger, glad you posted this. I actually did RMA the HDD and JUST got the new one in yesterday. I popped the new one in there and everything was 100% OK and back to normal again. I installed Windows 7 on there, updated everything and installed all my old programs. I ran it all yesterday and today with no problems. Ran Seagate and Crystal diagnostics, everything PERFECT.I played a few games, everything working great! I was just about to feel happy and assume that it was actually fixed.

Then, I went to play a game just now, 30 mins ago (Nosgoth). I went into the settings, bumped up the graphics to a higher setting, then hit "apply", then screeeep screeeeeeep that HDD sound again!!!! I thought to myself "nooooooooooooooo". But, sure enough, it crashed. Same problem. Same sound. It wasn't the HDD. Now this HDD suddenly has the same problem. I'm sure it will also now fail the Seagate tests, giving me that "bad sector" reading again.

At this point I'm assuming it's gotta be either the Motherboard or the Power Supply. Even though my PSU voltage reads were perfect, and the log test shows no weird PSU changes before it crashes.

Out of ideas, this thing has burned me out. I guess I'll just have to save up and replace both the motherboard and the PSU and see if that helps.

🙁
 
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