Question Seagate Barracuda 2TB making a grinding noise.

[qmzapuvqrjmjecvyuihzxrt]

So I built my first PC a few days ago. Everything seems fine, but I've noticed that my 3.5 Seagate Barracuda 2TB HDD has been making this grinding/rattling noise at all times. I've tested it while idle, and while downloading a game. It still makes the exact sound.

I've tried CrystalDiskInfo and Seatools, both find no problems whatsoever, and the drive is in "good health". But it's really starting to worry me.

I've also tried removing the drive, and sure enough, the sound seems to stop.

Is this normal? Can I stop the sound somehow? Should I return it while I can?

 

[Bob O' Goobo]

Mechanical drives can be noisy. You are probably hearing the head arm that moves back and forth at a high rate of speed reading/writing on the platters. The spinning platters can be noisy too. The sound probably gets worse when it's mounted into the case because it is resonating through the metal structure. If you hold it in your hand it dampens the vibrations through your flesh which cancels any sound it makes. Just keep an eye on it and see if it gets worse.

 

[qmzapuvqrjmjecvyuihzxrt]

Mechanical drives can be noisy. You are probably hearing the head arm that moves back and forth at a high rate of speed reading/writing on the platters. The spinning platters can be noisy too. The sound probably gets worse when it's mounted into the case because it is resonating through the metal structure. If you hold it in your hand it dampens the vibrations through your flesh which cancels any sound it makes. Just keep an eye on it and see if it gets worse.

I forgot to mention that if I put my ear towards my back panel, it makes a slight banging noise as well. Is that also normal?

 

[Bob O' Goobo]

I forgot to mention that if I put my ear towards my back panel, it makes a slight banging noise as well. Is that also normal?

That sounds odd. That could still be the head going back and forth. I will say this. When ever I had a HDD that got noisy all of a sudden I knew it because by PC would not boot anymore. I would back up your data and monitor SMART. Then RMA it when SMART starts showing fault. HHD manufacturers usually wont issue an RMA until SMART indicates a failure

 

[Nighthawk117]

So I built my first PC a few days ago. Everything seems fine, but I've noticed that my 3.5 Seagate Barracuda 2TB HDD has been making this grinding/rattling noise at all times. I've tested it while idle, and while downloading a game. It still makes the exact sound.

I've tried CrystalDiskInfo and Seatools, both find no problems whatsoever, and the drive is in "good health". But it's really starting to worry me.

I've also tried removing the drive, and sure enough, the sound seems to stop.

Is this normal? Can I stop the sound somehow? Should I return it while I can?

'Grinding and rattling' doesn't very good but it can mean different things to different people. I haven't found the lower capacity Seagate Barracuda's to be noisy so it doesn't sound promising to me.

 

[Nighthawk117]

I forgot to mention that if I put my ear towards my back panel, it makes a slight banging noise as well. Is that also normal?

Doesn't sound normal on a 2 TB Barracuda. It's difficult to say without hearing it but if it's within the return window I would consider returning it.

 

[qmzapuvqrjmjecvyuihzxrt]

'Grinding and rattling' doesn't very good but it can mean different things to different people. I haven't found the lower capacity Seagate Barracuda's to be noisy so it doesn't sound promising to me.

It's not very noisy, but if it's quiet in the room you can definitely hear it.

 

[Nighthawk117]

It's not very noisy, but if it's quiet in the room you can definitely hear it.

It would really depend on the noise, I have a WD Black that's noisy but they are known to be quite noticeable when doing something. This may be worth looking at:
https://datacent.com/hard_drive_sounds.php

 

[kerberos_20]

mechanical drive creates vibrations, those vibrations can be sent to your case, so you can hear it better

dismount your drive from hdd cage, hold in hand...see how it sounds...its should be making just some tiny amount of noice (clicks)
if you hear difference (much quiet in your hand), then you gonna need to use rubber/silicon mount to dampen you case noise

 

[Bob O' Goobo]

Or try an SSD. No noise

 

[qmzapuvqrjmjecvyuihzxrt]

mechanical drive creates vibrations, those vibrations can be sent to your case, so you can hear it better

dismount your drive from hdd cage, hold in hand...see how it sounds...its should be making just some tiny amount of noice (clicks)
if you hear difference (much quiet in your hand), then you gonna need to use rubber/silicon mount to dampen you case noise

I will try that ASAP!

 

[qmzapuvqrjmjecvyuihzxrt]

Or try an SSD. No noise

No way Jose, I've already put all of my budget into this build. (Plus I already have a 250GB SSD as my boot drive). I'm fine with an HDD as long as it isn't making any UNNECESSARY noises that it SHOULDN'T be making or being on the brink of failure.

I had a 1TB HDD for three years on my Laptop and didn't have any problems with it whatsoever.

 

[Bob O' Goobo]

No way Jose, I've already put all of my budget into this build. (Plus I already have a 250GB SSD as my boot drive). I'm fine with an HDD as long as it isn't making any UNNECESSARY noises that it SHOULDN'T be making or being on the brink of failure.

I had a 1TB HDD for three years on my Laptop and didn't have any problems with it whatsoever.

I get it being on a budget and all. It's just a suggestion. I don't buy SSD's for longevity but for speed. Heck I have 20+ year old IDE and almost as old SATA HDD's in my collection that still work. I like to boot up my old PC's that they call "retro" PC's these days for nostalgia purposes

 

[qmzapuvqrjmjecvyuihzxrt]

I get it being on a budget and all. It's just a suggestion. I don't buy SSD's for longevity but for speed. Heck I have 20+ year old IDE and almost as old SATA HDD's in my collection that still work. I like to boot up my old PC's that they call "retro" PC's these days for nostalgia purposes

As long as my games run smoothly and beautifully, I don't care that much about loading & writing speeds. Nonetheless, I will upgrade to an SSD later down the line. Just not now.