Why does the hard drive crunch? What sounds does a faulty hard drive make?

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Hello, friends! What to do, if hard drive is noisy (crackling)? If there was no cod before, but now it has appeared, then it is better to immediately save important data, since this is not a good sign. Then, diagnose the HDD with a special program from the manufacturer. I tell and show how to do this. If the crackling or noise was there before, you just didn’t pay attention to it, then it’s normal. For example, when I calmed down, at the beginning, I couldn’t hear the hard drive. But, over time, as there were 2 fans left in the system (in and in the standard cooling system), these sounds became more distinct and began to irritate. We'll look at how to reduce them in this article.

As we already said in the article, there are two sources of noise from the HDD:

From rotation of magnetic disks
From the impact of the block with heads on the travel stop

We can't do anything about the noise from disk rotation. Maybe just buy it. But the impacts of the head block, as the source of the main noise, can and should be combated. Vibrations also arise from the impact, and if they are not dampened, the situation will worsen.

There are several options for solving our problem.

Secure your hard drive firmly in
Make vibration-damping HDD mounts in the case

The first option is perfect for those who have high-quality cases made of good, thick steel. The second option should suit everyone. In my case, with a cheap case, hanging the hard drive on 4 pieces worked great. It was necessary to remove the slide in which the HDD was mounted in the basket and free up space for hanging. Who doesn't have a place, i.e. The hard drive is attached to the case with bolts, you can try placing it vertically and hanging it in the same way. Some people hang the hard drive underneath the optical disc drive. There is more space there and it is more convenient to hang it, but there is not much cooling there. Therefore, I recommend hanging it directly in the hard drive cage.

Those. The main task is to prevent vibrations from the hard drive from reaching the . If you chose the first option (rigidly screw the HDD to the case), then it would be appropriate to calculate the places where the resonance occurs and use electrical tape to glue them. I didn’t get to this point myself, but I read a lot and it didn’t seem to turn out bad. These are usually where the side covers are attached.

The third option, which we will consider in detail, is the use of AAM

Using Automatic Acoustic Management to reduce HDD noise

Automatic Acoustic Management—automatic drive noise control.

In addition to this function, hard drive manufacturers use special shock-absorbing pads that effectively suppress cracking. This is not always enough for everyone. And if there is not enough, you need to use AAM. This function controls the speed of positioning of the head block. You can set a numerical value from 128 to 254. The larger the number, the higher the speed and, accordingly, more vibration and, as a result, noise.

There are a lot of programs for managing AAM. Of the simplest ones, I can recommend WinAAM. There you can set only two positions: 128 or 254. That is, either quietly and slowly, or loudly and quickly.

We will use the HDDScan program, which allows you to set any value from 128 to 254, and thus you can flexibly adjust the noise level from your .

You can download the program from the official website

Run HDDScan.exe

The main program window looks like this:

The button in the center opens the main menu of the program. Select Features > IDE Features (if you have a hard drive with a SCSI interface - SCSI Features)

In the window that opens, we are interested in the Automatic Acoustic Management section. Here you see the current value Current - 128 and recommended - Recommended - 254. That is. It is recommended to set it to maximum performance.

You can set the desired value by entering a number in the Current field or setting it using the slider. For the settings to take effect, click Set.

All. Now you can select any value for the optimal ratio of speed and silence.

Automatic Acoustic Management is not supported on some hard drives

There is also an Advanced Power Management function that allows you to save energy by reducing the engine speed or stopping completely when idle. It turns out that you can still control the speed of movement of the magnetic plates, at least when idle. But this is not verified information. If anyone has used it, please post the results. Everyone will be interested.

Conclusion

To reduce noise and crackling noise from a hard drive, manufacturers use special shock-absorbing pads. They certainly help, but I want more. Therefore there are two ways:

Don’t let vibrations from the hard drive jump to , (and if they get there anyway, don’t let them resonate)
Use Automatic Acoustic Management

I feel like the effectiveness of the first method is colossal. It feels like the hard drive is working in a pillow and the crackling noise from it can only be heard if you listen very hard. Naturally, the greatest effect can be achieved using both methods. In my case, I will gladly sacrifice performance for the sake of silence.

Read in the article, Examples of sounds from a failed hard drive and how to identify them. Sounds of clicking or rustling, vibration or whistling that were not there before. A working hard drive is a fairly quiet device that can only be heard by a soft click when accessing it or turning on/off the computer. But if, over time, clicking or rustling sounds are heard from the hard drive, as well as vibration or whistling that were not heard before, then the hard drive may have failed.

Western Digital

The dull sound of faulty hard drive heads.

Faulty disk heads click slowly several times, after which the disk spins slower.

Slowdown of the rotation of the hard disk platters after the failed heads produce several clicking sounds.

A hard drive with a jammed spindle cannot spin up.

Clicking sounds of a hard drive with a failed preamp chip.

A disk with unstable heads that stops after several clicks.

A laptop hard drive with a jammed spindle that tries to spin up, making a sound similar to a siren.

The computer hard drive cannot spin up due to faulty bearings.

Seagate

Rustling and clicking sounds made by a disk with inoperative heads.

The sounds that a disk with damaged heads makes during startup (plate spinning).

Clicks of faulty laptop hard drive heads.

A disk with a jammed spindle is trying to unwind.

The drilling sound of broken disk heads.

Maxtor

A computer hard drive with a non-working or broken head unit.

Clicks of inoperative heads.

The sound made by a disk with a jammed spindle.

Samsung

A fast clicking sound indicates the failure of the hard drive heads.

Same as with the previous disc.

The sound of damaged hard drive heads.

A worn-out computer disk that makes a scratching sound when accessing bad sectors.

Hitachi/IBM

A laptop hard drive with damaged heads clicks during startup and then beeps.

A worn-out computer drive that makes a scratching sound when accessing an area with bad sectors.

A disk with worn plates and head block makes wheezing and howling sounds.

The whirring of a laptop disk with a jammed spindle that is trying to unwind.

Toshiba

The sound of failed laptop hard drive bearings.

The sound of worn-out laptop hard drive bearings.

The sound of the laptop hard drive bearings seizing.

Fujitsu

Worn laptop hard drive heads.

Faulty laptop hard drive heads.

The sound of worn-out computer hard drive platters.

Quantum

Faulty head block.

What to do if your hard drive starts making strange sounds

First of all, make sure that the hard drive is the source of the sound.
Once you are sure that it is the hard drive that is making the sounds that are bothering you, run the hard drive diagnostic utility. You can use both those supplied by manufacturers with the device, and from third-party manufacturers. Just keep in mind that in the best case scenario, the diagnostic utility will detect and limit the use of bad sectors on the hard drive that may be causing the drive to malfunction or become unstable. If there is mechanical damage or wear on the hard drive, it cannot be corrected using software.
If, after using the diagnostic software, nothing has changed in the operation of the disk, it is recommended to immediately create a copy of the data on such a hard disk or its image for further recovery.
How to create an image of a failed or damaged disk using Hetman Partition Recovery.
If, as a result of using diagnostic or recovery software, the sounds of the hard drive have partially or completely disappeared, then there may be bad sectors on it. In this case, it is still recommended to create a backup of all data on the hard drive and think about replacing it, since bad sectors may continue to appear on the disk and this will eventually lead to data loss or failure.

Other sounds your computer may make

The hard drive is not the only device on the computer that can produce sound. It could also be a power supply, cooler, CD/DVD drive, or other devices connected to it. SSD drives do not make any sounds because they have no moving parts. Therefore, before taking any action, it is important to correctly determine the source of the sound.

If the computer is performing some complex tasks or running a resource-intensive game, then it will be normal if the computer becomes louder - the computer cooler will spin faster to cool it. Sometimes, a dirty or broken cooler makes more noise than other devices.

It is also normal for a CD/DVD drive to make noise when reading or copying data from it.

I think that users, especially those who have been using the computer for several days, pay attention to suspicious noises from the computer (laptop). The noise of a hard drive is usually different from other noises (resembles a crackling sound) and occurs when it is loaded intensively - for example, you are copying a large file or downloading information from a torrent. Many people find this noise annoying, and in this article I would like to tell you how you can reduce the level of this noise.

By the way, right at the beginning I would like to say this. Not all hard drive models are noisy.

If your device did not make noise before, but now it does, I recommend it to you. In addition, if noises appear that have never existed before, the first thing to do is remember to copy all important information to other media, this could be a bad sign.

If you have always had such a noise in the form of a crackling sound- this means this is the normal operation of your hard drive, because it is still a mechanical device and magnetic disks are constantly rotating in it. There are two methods to combat such noise: fixing or mounting the hard drive in the device case so that there is no vibration or resonance; the second method is to reduce the speed of positioning of the read heads (they just make noise).

1. How can you secure a hard drive in the system unit?

By the way, if you have a laptop, then you can immediately proceed to the second part of the article. The fact is that, as a rule, nothing can be invented in a laptop, because... The devices inside the case are located very compactly and you can’t put any gaskets.

If you have a regular system unit, there are three main options that are used in such cases.

1) Firmly fix the hard drive in the system unit case. Sometimes, the hard drive is not even screwed to the mount, it is simply located on the “slide”, because of this it makes noise during operation. Check whether it is well secured, tighten the bolts, often, if it is attached, it is not on all the bolts.

2) You can use special soft pads that dampen vibration and thereby suppress noise. By the way, you can make such gaskets yourself, from some piece of rubber. The only thing is not to make them too large - they should not interfere with the ventilation around the hard drive case. It is enough that these gaskets will be in the places where the hard drive comes into contact with the system unit case.

3) You can hang the hard drive inside the case, for example, on a network cable (twisted pair). Usually they use small 4 pieces of wire and fasten them with them so that the hard drive is positioned in the same way as if it were mounted on a slide. The only thing is that with such a mount, you need to be very careful: move the system unit carefully and without sudden movements - otherwise you risk hitting the hard drive, and impacts for it will end in failure (especially when the device is turned on).

2. Reducing crackling and noise due to the speed of positioning of the block with heads (Automatic Acoustic Management)

There is one option in hard drives that does not appear anywhere by default - it can only be changed using special utilities. We are talking about Automatic Acoustic Management (or AAM for short).

Without going into complex technical details, the point is to reduce the speed of movement of the heads, thereby reducing crackling and noise. But this also reduces the speed of the hard drive. But, in this case, you will extend the life of your hard drive by an order of magnitude! Therefore, you choose - either noise and high speed, or lower noise levels and longer operation of your disk.

By the way, I want to say that having reduced the noise on my Acer laptop - I couldn’t estimate the speed of operation by eye - it works the same as before!

So. To regulate and configure AAM, there are special utilities (I talked about one of them in). We are talking about a simple and convenient utility - quietHDD().

You need to run it as an administrator. Next, go to the AAM Settings section and move the sliders from 256 to 128. After that, click Apply for the settings to take effect. Actually, after this you should immediately notice a decrease in codling.

By the way, so as not to run this utility again every time you turn on the computer, add it to startup. For Windows 2000, XP, 7, Vista - you can simply copy the utility shortcut to the Start menu in the Startup folder.

That's all. Good luck with your hard drive, and, most importantly, quiet. 😛

Model question

Hello.

I recently bought a laptop and only after some time I noticed that when I download a file, turn on the laptop, or copy information from disk to disk, the disk starts to crack. The sound is not strong, but extremely unpleasant.

The store said that everything was fine with the disc, that’s how it should be, but doubts remained in my heart...

If I had known that this model was so noisy, I would have chosen another one... Tell me, what can be done to reduce the noise when the disk is loaded?

Hello.

Crack, crack, discord. In general, a hard drive (HDD) is a mechanical device, and any HDD makes noise when operating. True, with one disc it is subtle and practically inaudible, while with another it can be somewhat annoying. In addition, in addition to the “working” noise (which should be there), extraneous noise may appear (indicating a problem): knocking, strong grinding, clicking, etc.

Particular attention should be paid to disk noise in cases where:

if the old disk starts making noise, which previously worked without noise (this is an alarming symptom - first of all, immediately remove all important files from the disk);
noise appeared in the form of: knocking, strong clicks, grinding, etc. (all this also indicates a problem with the mechanics);
if when a crackling sound appears, the computer starts to freeze, Windows does not respond to your clicks;
your files periodically cannot be opened or read, and the disk is noisy.

All of the above symptoms indicate possible hardware problems with the disk (in most cases), and without replacing it with a new disk, the noise cannot be eliminated. Therefore, I recommend that after the backup, look at the SMART readings, check the disk for bad blocks, etc. I have one small instruction on disk checking on my blog, link below.

How to check a hard drive for errors and bad sectors (bad blocks). How to work with the Victoria program in DOS and Windows -

If your new drive is noisy - then most likely everything is fine with him, and this is his operating noise (although no one rules out defective or failure of the new disk either). Most often, the problem is that when the user bought a disk (laptop, computer) in a store (where there is a lot of extraneous noise, music is playing, etc.), he simply did not pay attention to the noise of the disk (and even in the store, the disk, like As a rule, you don’t load it too much). And in the house, in the silence of the night, I appreciated all the characteristics of my device.

But since a computer is a technically complex product, it is easy to exchange it in the store for another (as can be done with other products). In many cases you may be refused (there must be a more compelling reason, for example, a malfunction). Later in the article I will give recommendations on how to eliminate such “working” noise.

Addition!

When purchasing a new HDD: please note that the device specifications usually always indicate the noise level of the drive. This parameter is measured in dB.

Of course, the lower it is, the quieter the disk. Comparison plate (to find out how and what) with the noise level given below.

To help!

How to choose a hard drive (HDD): 6 points worth paying attention to -

1) Change your old HDD to an SSD drive (or another HDD)

The first tip involves material costs. Ideally, to completely eliminate the noise, you need to change the disk. Now SSD drives are gaining popularity - they do not have mechanics, like HDDs, and therefore they are a priori silent during operation (completely silent!).

In addition, they have several more advantages:

the operating speed is several times higher (this is the main advantage!), thanks to this, your applications, games, Windows will load an order of magnitude faster;
consume less energy (for example, a laptop will work 10-15% longer without recharging);
they are not so afraid of shaking and vibration (again, a plus for laptops);
They don't get hot like HDDs.

However, these discs have one drawback: higher cost. But it pays off with interest! You can find out the difference in operating speed between an SSD and a HDD drive from one of my articles, the link to it is below.

How to check disk speed: HDD, SSD. Test to determine the difference in speed between SSD and HDD, is it worth switching to a solid-state drive? -

2) Check if there is an application that loads the disk to 100%!

If the disk does not always annoy you with noise, but only at times of heavy load (this can be indicated, for example, by the LED indicator of the hard disk’s operation), then try to find out which application is loading it, and then disable it.

Very often, the disk can be loaded with applications that you don’t need. For example, when Windows boots, uTorrent is loaded with several hundred torrents: it may take 5-10 minutes for them all to be checked! And all this time the disk will be heavily loaded.

The easiest and fastest way to find out about applications that load the disk is to open the task manager (for Windows 8, 10), and open the resource monitor (this is for Windows 7). Once you recognize an application that is actively working with the disk, try closing it.

To call the task manager- press the button combination Ctrl+Shift+Esc.

In Windows 8, 10 - open the tab "Performance" and see if the disk is loaded. If loaded, then in the tab "Processes" you can find the program (which loads it) and close it.

Windows 8-10 - performance (disk load 0%)

In Windows 7, in the task manager you need to open the tab "Performance" , then click on the button "Resource Monitor" .

In Resource Monitor, open the tab "Disk": pay attention to the sections "Processes with disk activity" And "Disk Operation" .

3) Reduce the speed of positioning the block with heads (Automatic Acoustic Management)

Hard drives have certain options that are usually not mentioned anywhere (we are talking about Automatic Acoustic Management now, often abbreviated A.A.M.). This option allows you to reduce the speed of movement of the heads, and this in turn has a positive effect on the noise level (although, in addition, the speed of the disk decreases somewhat, but it is not noticeable to the eye).

You can change this setting in special utilities, I recommend the following: quietHDD, HDDScan. I will consider working in both utilities.

quietHDD

A very small utility designed to reduce the acoustic noise of AAM and the power consumption mode of APM hard drive. Working with it is simple and fast, an example is below:

Multifunctional program for working with SSD and HDD drives. Allows you to view SMART, check the disk for bad sectors, find out the operating temperature of the media, manage acoustic noise, energy, etc.

In our case, you need to run the program, then select the hard drive (if you have several of them in the system), and open the "Features/IDE Features" option.

HDDScan - IDE Features

Further in the section Automatic Acoustic Management- set the value between 128 and 254 (by the way, the program recommends 254, but it is not always optimal). In general, for the minimum noise level - set the value to 128 and press the button SET(install). Thus, you can adjust and find your optimal option.

Note: Please note that not all drives support this option. In some cases, HDDScan will not allow you to change values in Automatic Acoustic Management.

Automatic Acoustic Management

4) Securely fix the disk in the block, eliminate vibrations, use soft gaskets

This advice applies to a regular PC, but if you have a laptop, then your hard drive is almost certainly securely and tightly fixed in the case by the manufacturer (and you don’t have to read this advice).

5) Check for errors and defragment

Well, the last thing I wanted to advise is to check for errors and defragment the disk. Cracking - this, of course, will not directly reduce it, but it will make your disk more responsive, and the operating speed will increase (which will have a positive, albeit small, effect on the noise level).

To check your disk for errors and defragment it, open "My computer" ("This computer", "Computer" - depending on Windows version) . Then select the desired drive and open it properties(see screenshot below).

By the way, defragmentation and cleaning the disk of debris can be done in auto mode; there are special utilities for this. See below for a link to the utilities I recommend.

To help!

The Best Programs to Optimize Windows -

A hard drive, also known as a “hard drive,” is an important component of any computer. It not only installs the operating system, but also stores important documents and files (music, videos, photos). Like any other component, it wears out and breaks down over time. And the main symptom of this is the appearance of noise and humming of the hard drive. In this case, the first thing to do is to help avoid sudden breakdown.

However, this may not always be the reason. Increased noise levels also occur in new drives of some brands and models, and this is their normal operating condition.

Below we will look at several options for reducing hard drive noise: manually and programmatically.

A.A.M.

Newer HDDs support a special function " Automatic Acoustic Management", with its help you can adjust the speed of movement of the read heads, thereby reducing the noise of the laptop hard drive.

By default this feature is disabled, so to enable it we use a utility called “WinAAM”, it is free and very lightweight. You can find and download it on the Internet.

I would like to draw your attention to the fact that after setting the quiet mode, the speed of the drive also decreases. However, this is very difficult to notice by eye.

CrystalDiskInfo

If for some reason the previous program did not suit you or did not help, the hard drive is still noisy under load and because of this, then I recommend using this utility. With its help, we will configure the AAM function more flexibly. But it also has other useful features, for example, you can view detailed HDD parameters, current status and check for errors.

So what to do:

After which the hard drive will start working with the new settings in quiet mode.

There may be several reasons why CrystalDiskInfo may appear:
The HDD is old and the utility simply does not support it
Physical or logical malfunction

How to diagnose the HDD was discussed at the beginning of the article.

Defragmentation

Another method that can help you if the hard drive of a laptop or computer makes a lot of noise or buzzes during operation. As mentioned above, this is due to the moving mechanical heads, or rather their speed.

To do this, we will reduce the distance they need to travel to get to the desired section of the disk and read information from it. This is done quite simply, using regular defragmentation. It will arrange clusters with information in order, reduce the distance between them, thereby increasing the speed of access to them. Simply put, it will be easier for the hard drive to read the necessary information, the load on it will decrease, and subsequently the noise and hum of the hard drive will decrease.

But you can also use the utility built into the system:

This way we will get rid of the humming and buzzing of the drive.

Manual method

If you have a desktop computer and not a laptop, you can use one of the methods suggested below.

Now you know what to do when the hard drive starts making foreign sounds during operation (noise, buzzing and humming) and you can solve this problem yourself using the methods discussed above.