clicking noises from HD

M

M3TH

n00b
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Dec 17, 2003
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45
I just bought a 120 GB Western Digital Cavier SATA drive, and I noticed today that it's making clicking noises. The drive is barely 2 weeks old, and it seems to completely stop responding occasionally and then it'll start up again after a few seconds. I noticed it first when I was playing KOTOR today, and later on when I was watching TV my whole system just decided to restart itself. Should I send the drive back for a replacement, or is it just overworked from me playing 12 straight hours of KOTOR?
 
make sure the power connector is nice and tight.
sometimes the pins on the connector (the ones coming off of the power supply) will open up and not grab onto the pins on the drive. I've noticed that cheap power y-adaptors are notorious for having loose pins.
 
Tried that. I opened the case and double checked all the connections and everything seemed to be fine.
 
I'm not really sure what using another cable would solve. It's the drive itself that's making clicking noises. Either way, I called the store this morning, and when I said it was making clicking noises her reaction was "Oh yeah. Bring it in right away and we'll exchange it."
 
Originally posted by M3TH
I'm not really sure what using another cable would solve.
Click to expand...

if its an intermittent connection, the drive will reintialize
and the armeture move (click),
typically when you hear {click click click click) its the armeture (and head) trying to read and failing
(snapping back and forth looking)
so a single intermittent click, and a series of clicks are substantially different, you can even have the ckicks and have nothing wrong, if it has to access seriously fragmented files located all over the platter

review
SATA and the 7 Deadly Sins of Parallel ATA
ATA Not So Frequently Asked Questions

and study
SR Reference Guide (originally published in the PC Guide)
As the Hard Disc Spins @ Lost Circuits
when you have the chance

Id say defrag, swap the cable, and run the HDD diagnostic
before you RMA it

Most Reliable
Proper Handling
 
Thanks for the links to the resources. I'll read up on this thing. But the drive seems to be operating fine now.
 
Ive had about 4 WD1200JB drives that got the click of death in the past 2 years. I dont know if its the same problem as you got. Western Digital customer service is great though. A 5 min phone call and the replacement drive is on the way.
 
Yeah, I should put my old drive back in there. I do routine backups though. Maybe it's time to invest in a DVD-R drive.
 
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