Very Hot Hard disk.

[sal72]

Hi guys!
Piriform Speccy shows my 2Tb Western Digital Caviar Black operating at 55 °C or more about half an hour after starting the computer. Please tell me if this is normal for this disk.
Also, Speccy shows the CPU temp constantly fluctuating between 57 °C and 62 °C. Is this normal?
The CPU and PSU fans are fine but my only cabinet fan is not working. I'll get it replaced today. Could this be a contributing factor?

My specs:
Operating System
Windows 7 Ultimate 64-bit SP1
CPU
Intel Core i7 3770 @ 3.40GHz 58 °C
Ivy Bridge 22nm Technology
RAM
8.00GB Dual-Channel DDR3 @ 665MHz (9-9-9-24)
Motherboard
Gigabyte Technology Co., Ltd. H61M-D2H (Socket 1155) 46 °C
Graphics
2795E (1920x1080@60Hz)
2047MB NVIDIA GeForce GTX 660 Ti (ASUStek Computer Inc) 43 °C
Hard Drives
233GB Samsung SSD 840 Series ATA Device (SSD) 42 °C
1863GB Western Digital WDC WD2002FAEX-007BA0 ATA Device (SATA) 55 °C
Optical Drives
DTSOFT Virtual CdRom Device
MOSER BAER DH-20A6S ATA Device
Audio
Realtek High Definition Audio

 

[MNebi]

Yes this is normal anything below 70C is very, very normal.
However if you are getting 70C or over 80C it certainly is not normal.
However, if you feel like your computer is too hot you can always turn your fans up with BIOS or speedfan.

 

[dudio]

Those are reasonable temps, especially considering you've lost some ventilation with that cabinet fan, and ambient temperatures are higher in the summer.
I wouldn't worry too much, and replace the cabinet fan if you think it helps (and always try to picture fan placement and effectiveness

 

[D_Know_WD]

Hi there sal72,

This is around the upper temperature limit according to the HDD spec sheet. Check this out: http://products.wdc.com/support/kb.ashx?id=KUrWL7
I guess you can try attaching the drive to a different port with different cables and retest it.

Also, it will not hurt to test it with WD's Data Lifeguard Diagnostic tool: http://products.wdc.com/support/kb.ashx?id=A09qsC
In case there is something wrong with the drive, it may be a good idea to back up the data stored on it.
In case the results show that the HDD is healthy, and the cables/port thing didn't work, you could consider improving your cooling system.

Cheers,
D_Know_WD

 

[sal72]

Thanks D_Know_WD and Dudio and MNebi. D_Know_WD, I've downloaded WD's tool and will use it as soon as I finish backing up my data, which might take a few hours. Also, I cleaned the cabinet today and when I started the PC, Windows identified the WDC hdd as 'bgbgbgbgbgbgbgbgbgbg'! Then it prompted me to format this drive before I could use it! So I opened the rig again, fixed all the cables firmly, started the computer, and to my great relief, everything was back to normal. After that huge scare, I'm a bit jittery about changing ports and cables, especially since all four SATA ports are same, but I'll do it if you insist. I'll get back to you in a few hours.

 

[sal72]

Hi D_Know_WD, I installed a new exhaust fan and it fixed everything.
After running the PC for two hours, this is what Speccy shows -
1863GB Western Digital WDC WD2002FAEX-007BA0 ATA Device (SATA) 48 °C
I ran the WD tool and it says the disk is good.
Thanks for pointing me in the right direction!