Hard Drive Clicking

[Number]

I just installed my OS on my new laptop that I got from eBay. However, I keep on hearing clicking sounds from the hard drive. Is this normal? It is fairly loud.

[Godlygamer23]

Do they correlate with hard drive activity?

[thatguyyouknow75]

thats a really bad thing

[DarkBlade2117]

thats a really bad thing

No it depends. Seagate Barracudas do this though it is find.

[KraftDinner]

That's generally bad, if it's out of the ordinary definitely bring it to BestBuy's the sellers attention before the warranty expires

[gilm0re3]

All hard drives make clicking noises. How loud and how frequently it clicks makes a difference. So, like @Godlygamer23 said, if it corresponds with hard drive activity, and if it's pretty faint sounding, it's just normal read/write head movement noises. If its very audible, and happens even when your computer is just sitting, there is definitely a problem.

[Godlygamer23]

That's generally bad, if it's out of the ordinary definitely bring it to BestBuy's attention before the warranty expires

Best Buy? They said eBay.

[iamdarkyoshi]

Let the laptop sit idle for a bit. Does the clicking get less frequent? Now open a bunch of programs. Does it click more? 

[Number]

No it depends. Seagate Barracudas do this though it is find.

It is Seagate, so it is normal? Doesn't say barracuda. 

[Number]

All hard drives make clicking noises. How loud and how frequently it clicks makes a difference. So, like @Godlygamer23 said, if it corresponds with hard drive activity, and if it's pretty faint sounding, it's just normal read/write head movement noises. If its very audible, and happens even when your computer is just sitting, there is definitely a problem.

It does correspond with hard drive activity but it is very audible. Even when its idle and no programs are open there is the clicking sound.

[Godlygamer23]

It does correspond with hard drive activity but it is very audible. Even when its idle and no programs are open there is the clicking sound.

Some hard drives are louder than others when there's activity. Download CrystalDiskInfo and see what it shows.

[MattTheMayor]

My hard drive has this clicking/rattling noise. Checked everything, hard drive is normal, intact, and running fine. just a noisy drive.

 

Here's the exact sound that my drive makes.

 

 

Use CrystalDiskInfo to see how your drive is doing

[xAcid9]

Install HDDTune and run health scan.

[LabRat]

the only time I ever had a HD make noise it was going bad or was bad. unless it was 2004 and it was a WD Raptor. which were always noisy.

 

do a scan disc and repair.

 

what kind of problems are you having with software.......... and are you using the machine a lot to see if the drive gets faulty?

[KraftDinner]

Best Buy? They said eBay.

Woops, read that wrong

[Captain_WD]

~snip~

 

Hey there Number,

 

This may be a sign of internal problems in the drive. I'd simply run a diagnostic check and see if the drive passes the manufacturer's tool tests. This should rule it out as either safe or non-safe to use. Getting the raw values of the S.M.A.R.T. status can further show you the condition of the drive and if there are things that you should be worried about. 

The small clicking can also be coming from the read/write head's parking motion.

 

Captain_WD.