Remove hard disk noise. The hard drive is cracking, what should I do? Why does the hard drive make an excessive sound

HDD, it is also a hard drive - makes noise, clicks and creaks. Why and what can be done.

Most of the HDD noise has sound waves in the 1-3 kHz range and consists of noise from two different sources.

This is the noise of the hard drive generated by the rotation of its spindle and the friction of mechanical parts directly inside the hard drive. This noise can only be reduced by modifying the hard drive components.

The noise we hear most is caused by the vibration of the hard drive inside the computer case. It, in turn, consists of vibration from the rotation of the spindle, as well as vibration from the read / write heads, which accelerate and decelerate many times per second.

Clicks in the HDD, for example, are emitted by the positioner at the moment of hitting the limiter. A working hard can emit clicks due to the so-called thermal calibration, when HDD in response to an increase in the temperature of the case and component parts, it reinitializes the read / write head positioning system.

In addition, the hard drive clicks from a bad, "rattling" or unstable power supply, when the heads go to the parking area and the HDD electronics makes a restart. Another reason why a working screw clicks may be translation hard disk into sleep mode, and if such settings are explicitly specified in the power-saving properties of the system, then a similar effect can appear quite often. It makes sense to mention the offline scanning of the disk surface, as one of the reasons why the HDD clicks. True, in this case, extraneous sounds from the hard drive will be caused by bad sectors (bad blocks) of the hard disk, which offline scanning tries to replace or exclude from the broadcast.

What to do?

Simply put, there are two ways to reduce the volume of sounds emitted by a hard drive - to fix them in the case using soft mounts that prevent vibration transmission from the hard drive to the case, and to use the Automatic Acoustic Management function.

"Squeak" - is it the rattling of the propeller during operation or a constant hum? If the second, then most likely a resonance. Tighten or tighten the hard drive mount. And if there are two of them? The screws work silently one at a time, but together in the same case - there is a hum. We advise you to turn one of the screws upside down so that the rotation is in different directions. Turned over. The sound has decreased% by 80. That means it.

Not everyone knows that the user can change the characteristics of the hard drive using the acoustic control function, which allows you to modify the access patterns and change the default (fast) hard drive mode to quiet mode.

Launch a utility like HD Tune Pro, enable AAM (Automatic Acoustic Management) and put it in quiet mode.

Download the Victoria program and use it to adjust the noise level of the hard drive (the noise is reduced by reducing the spindle speed).

Everyone has hard drives based on UltraATA / 100 and Serial ATA interfaces, there is an automatic acoustic management (AAM) function, but to access it and be able to change its settings, you need special software tools.

Sounds with a frequency from 1 kHz to 3 kHz are characterized by the greatest susceptibility, therefore, noise reduction at these frequencies is more effective than at other frequencies. This is where acoustic control technology is based.

Most of the sound waves in the 1 to 3 kHz range are made up of noise from two different sources. Firstly, this is the noise of the hard drive generated by the rotation of its spindle and the friction of mechanical parts directly inside the hard drive. This noise can only be reduced by modifying the hard drive components. But most of all, we hear the noise caused by the vibration of the hard drive inside the computer case. It, in turn, consists of vibration from the rotation of the spindle, as well as vibration from the read / write heads, which accelerate and decelerate many times per second.

Most quick way the movement of the heads consists in their acceleration to the middle of the path towards the new track and in their subsequent deceleration for the rest of the path (the so-called two-position search). There are many options for changing this operation, ranging from modifying the acceleration and deceleration as well as the required pulse power supply... The addition of a Native Command Queuing that analyzes and reorders all incoming commands to find the most efficient order of read and write requests helps reduce head movements, which can reduce access times and reduce noise.

Now let's move on to analyzing the situation when the hard drive knocks due to a malfunction. As a rule, in this case, the positioning system, for one reason or another, is not able to receive signals from the hard disk heads indicating that the head "sees" the servo marking. In this case, the Winchester creaks, whistles, knocks or makes other sounds exciting the soul. The actuator moves the head block over the entire available range, hence the entire set. The HDD also knocks if a failure occurs during the firmware loading process and it hangs, preventing the processor from controlling the giblets of the screw. In all cases when a hard drive knocks, qualified diagnostics are needed to determine the causes and develop an action strategy for the implementation of successful data recovery from a knocking hard drive.

Winchester squeaks or HDD makes noise.

If before he did not make noise, but now he makes noise - this is not normal. A properly working disk can emit a slight uniform noise / whistle and frequent, not too loud clicks during reading / writing (such a slight uneven rattling, this is the movement of the magnetic heads).

If the disc rattles, vibrates, this is very bad. Most likely, he will not last long. In theory, the reason could be that it is not properly secured (and then it rattles along with your drive bay, the walls of which (bay) are not strong enough to hold the drive while it is running). I have seen such a mention. But it's hard for me to imagine how fragile, "cardboard" the walls of the mountings must be for this to happen. Unless you installed a 3-inch hard drive in a 5-inch bay in a homemade way (a special adapter mount must be used for this, such a 3-inch bay that fits inside a 5-inch bay). In this case, bounce is just likely.

If it's not about the mount, then (discarding all the super-exotic options that happen once in a million) the disk is faulty. If it's under warranty, change it. If it clearly rattles (not evenly buzzing, namely rattling), this is a malfunction, so they must change. If the drive is out of warranty, then you can no longer count on it. Back up all your important data and be prepared for the fact that he could die at any time. When my hard drive began to make a suspicious noise, I immediately bought a new one, rewrote all important information, and put the old disk in the closet (in case you forgot to rewrite some important information).

You can also check the state ("health") of the disk (this information is collected by the disk itself during operation, the technology is called S.M.A.R.T. or SMART). It contains information about the number of different errors during the disk operation (a small number of errors is completely normal). To display this information, you will most likely need a special program. I cannot suggest a convenient program (if you know English, you can search for hdd health check). However, caution should be exercised. If the disk is out of order, prolonged active disk operation during an in-depth check (not just showing statistics collected by SMART, but testing disk performance) may turn out to be that drop that will lead to a sharp deterioration in the condition of the disk.

If the disk is just a little noisy, then this is the noise from the drive (motor) (or maybe the bearings). Considering that the disc spins at about 10,000 rpm, it is quite expected that it is slightly noisy.

I have an old computer at work. Several times today I have heard some kind of vibration. Toist something rattled in the system unit. Since the system is open, I looked in there, listened, something really buzzed, it looked like vibration, it buzzed a couple of times and then it works. What is this buzzing, I can't figure it out, but I have Vord turned on and during its operation the cooler buzzes very much, the sound seems to sound like a ringing. And in the morning, after turning on and loading the computer, for some reason, we rebooted ourselves. Moreover, I did not include anything on it. What could it be, I would like to know. I save everything that I type on the computer in the Word to a USB flash drive. But this is after the end of the working day. But now I will probably save everything on a USB flash drive after vibration of the hard drive. Since my work computer is likely to break down soon.

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Winchester is a storage device that is used in most modern computers and laptops as a store of information. However, users prefer to copy valuable data to other media or duplicate in the cloud in case the hard drive fails. One of the first signs of a breakdown is a bursting hard drive. What if this happens? The causes of vibration and how to eliminate them are described below.

What is noise level?

Noise level is a phenomenon that can be described as the sound emitted by a mechanical structure during operation. This vibration includes two components: spindle (aerodynamic) noise and positioning noise. In total, the sound level reproduced by the hard disk drive should be equal to twenty-six decibels. If the noise of a component is not blocked by the operation of coolers and is clearly audible, this is a reason to think whether everything is in order with the device.

How do I identify the source of the cod?

The hard drive does not always crack when it signals its deplorable state. A certain level of noise may well be the operating mode of the device, but if the situation with annoying sound becomes problematic, then you should still disassemble system unit... To get to the insides, you need to unscrew the mounting bolts and remove the housing cover.

At the time of repair work, you need to take care of your safety. Better be careful with electric wires... It will not be superfluous during disassembly of the computer complete shutdown devices and grounding.

What are the causes of excessive noise?

To determine the nature of the problem, you need to start the processor and listen for sounds. Perhaps the reason for the excessive noise level is not at all that the hard drive is bursting. It all depends on the features of the assembly of the computer and the quality of its components. The source of the reproduced sound can be powerful fan graphics card or cooler that is simply dirty. If this was the problem, then it is worth removing dust from the fan.

The likelihood of unwanted vibration also depends on the type of enclosure. If the system unit has sufficiently thick walls, it will not let any extraneous sounds and will provide the proper comfort, the thin-walled body, on the contrary, will resonate the noises emitted. But what if the hard drive in the computer is still cracking, and not other components?

Why does the hard drive make an excessive sound?

The essence of the problem lies in the very fact that it is the special magnetic components that produce noise during rotation. In a sense, this is a perfectly normal workflow. But why does the hard drive crack if no unusual noises have been observed before? It is an uncharacteristic sound that may indicate a malfunction in the hard drive.

In addition, any device has its own lifespan. With prolonged use of the part, the hard drive wears out, which is accompanied by a characteristic crackle. In this case, it is necessary to copy all data from the computer as soon as possible and replace the broken part. However, there are also less drastic measures.

How to test a hard drive?

One of the first aid methods broken sectors hard disk is to block them with special programs... If your hard drive is cracking, then, firstly, you can try to use two types of complexes:

1. Acronis. The most common of this kind of program, which has a number of necessary functions. The main one is creation backup from damaged media.
2. Victoria. Using the program, you can check the hard drive. If problem areas are found during testing, Victoria will remember them and automatically block them.

How to reduce the noise level using programs?

You can try to reduce the noise level of the hard drive programmatic methods... In this case, AAM or HDDscan programs come in handy.

The first program, the essence of which is speed control work hard disc will automatically required settings... It is quite possible that if the hard drive is cracking, then you just need to slow down the mode of its speeds, because the faster the magnetic elements rotate, the louder the device works. A noticeable disadvantage of this program is that it may not recognize the storage medium.

The second program - HDDscan - gets rid of this drawback. The principle of operation of HDDscan is absolutely the same as that of AAM, but an additional advantage is the ability to test the hard drive and select SMART parameters.

How to manually reduce the noise level?

Mechanical noise reduction is only advisable for stationary computer, only the software method should be used with laptops.

There are quite a few options for manually fixing the problem. Often a hard drive cracks during operation, not only because of its malfunction, but the reason may be that its case is poorly attached. Make sure that all the elements of the fastening structure are in the grooves, and the bolts are not loosened. For additional sealing of the connections between the parts of the hard drive and the computer, insulating gaskets are used, that is, the joints can simply be glued with insulating tape, which will contribute to the fact that the mounting basket of the hard drive will not have direct contact. This method quite effective in combating excessive cracking.

Another way to deal with intrusive sound is to change the location of the structural elements or the hard drive itself. This can only be done if this movement allows the volume of the body. The main goal in this case is to achieve the least contact between the hard drive and the case. So, you should ensure the most reliable static position of the hard disk.

There are craftsmen who achieve the location of the hard drive, even for which strong and thick wires or wires are used. With the help of such improvised materials, it is possible to achieve a complete absence of vibration transmission to metal parts.

The design and technological methods to reduce vibrations include the use of noise-absorbing devices that help eliminate the consequences, but not the cause of the hard drive crackling. These measures are in any case only temporary. If the problem is really critical, it is better to secure the information and produce full replacement hard drive.

Like any other pet, the computer publishes its own. The squeak at boot, the hum of the coolers of the power supply, processor and video card, the crackling of the hard disk - everything lets you know that this "organism" is alive. When everything is normal, the level of these noises does not cause discomfort, but there is probably nothing more annoying when bursting hard drive, creaks, squeaks - few people have enough patience to survive this.

In principle, it is impossible to completely get rid of the sounds emitted by the hard drive, since this device contains mechanical components that move in contact with each other, which means they make noise. Unlike silent solid state drives, the hard drive consists of magnetic disks, on which the information read by the magnetic heads is stored. Most of the noise occurs during the movement of the magnetic head over the surface of the plate.

The level and nature of the noise emitted by the hard drive depends on the case material, assembly features and the quality of components, and of course - the age of the hard drive itself. An important component in the overall noise level of a computer is the case of the system unit. Made of ample metal, the precision-fit and well-assembled case is unlikely to be irritated by the constant noise, especially if the hard drive and other mechanical parts are mounted on sound-absorbing pads. Conversely, a poorly assembled lightweight and thin-walled case with poorly fitted elements will serve as a resonator and only amplify the sounds made by the hard drive.

Also, with age, the noise level from the hard drive tends to increase due to increasing wear and tear and physical depletion of parts in motion.

Considering all the factors described above, you can outline a list of possible measures to reduce the noise level of a hard drive:

• Make additional noise and vibration isolation of the hard drive, install it on sound-absorbing pads.
• Carry out (this will reduce the number of movements of the magnetic head for a certain period of time, but this measure is temporary and will need to be repeated periodically).
• Adjust AAM to the minimum noise level.
• Replace the hard drive with a new one with obviously more low level noise. Read on.

Since everything is more or less clear with the first two positions of this list, and the last point involves significant financial costs due to problems with the hard drive, we will consider the third point in more detail.

Reducing the crackle of the hard drive using WinAAM

Everything hard drives with ATA and even more so SATA interfaces, they have in their settings a tool for controlling the level of noise emitted - Automatic Acoustic Management (abbreviated AAM). The principle of operation of this option is based on reducing the speed of movement of the magnetic heads, and, accordingly, the level of noise produced is reduced. It will not be difficult to guess that this also reduces the performance of the hard disk, but here everything is very individual for each user, everyone has a different arrangement of priorities. But you should not set yourself up too critically to this tool in advance, you may not even pay attention to changes in the speed of the hard drive, but you will definitely get rid of annoying crackling.

Since the AAM option is disabled by default and for greater ease of operation, we will resort to using a small, specially written utility WinAAM. I must say right away that this tool is completely free and does not require installation, it can work directly from the archive, which is available on. After starting this program, in the very first dialog, do not touch the security settings and click "Continue".

In the next window on top, we see a message about the disabled noise control and therefore click on the "Quiet / Standard (128)" button.

The utility will configure the hard drive accordingly and shut down automatically. By running it again and clicking on the "Continue" button, and then on "Check", we can observe a window with information about the movements of the magnetic head of the hard drive and draw a conclusion about the noise level with new parameters - indeed, the work of the hard disk has become much quieter.

I think that users, especially those who are not the first day at the computer, pay attention to suspicious noises from the computer (laptop). Hard disk noise is usually different from other noise (similar to crackling) and occurs when it is heavily loaded - for example, you copy large file or download information from a torrent. This noise is annoying to many, and in this article I would like to tell you how you can reduce the level of such crackling.

By the way, right at the beginning I would like to say the following. Not all hard drive models make noise.

If your device was not noisy before, but now it's the beginning - I recommend it to you. In addition, when noise appears that has never existed before - first of all, do not forget to copy all important information to other media, this can be a bad sign.

If you have always had such a noise in the form of a crack- then this is the normal work of your hard disk, because it is all the same mechanical device and in it the magnetic disks are constantly rotating. There are two methods of dealing with such noise: fixing or fixing the hard disk in the device case so that there is no vibration and resonance; the second method is to decrease the speed of positioning of the readheads (they just crack).

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

By the way, if you have a laptop, you can skip straight to the second part of the article. The fact is that in a laptop, as a rule, nothing can be invented, tk. the devices inside the case are very compact 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 case of the system unit. Sometimes, the hard drive is not even bolted to the mount, it just sits on a "slide", because of this, noise is emitted during operation. Check if it is well fixed, stretch the bolts, often, if it is attached, then not on all the bolts.

2) Special soft pads can be used to dampen vibration and thereby suppress noise. By the way, such gaskets can be made by yourself, from some piece of rubber. The only thing is, do not make them too large - they should not interfere with the ventilation around the hard drive enclosure. It is enough that these gaskets will be at the points of contact between the hard drive and the case of the system unit.

3) You can hang the hard disk inside the case, for example, on a network cable (twisted pair). Usually, small 4 pieces of wire are used and fastened with them so that the hard drive is located in the same way as if it was fixed on a slide. The only thing, with such a mount, you need to be very careful: move the system unit carefully and without sharp movements- otherwise you run the risk of hitting the hard drive, and the blows for it end in failure (especially when the device is turned on).

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

There is one option in hard disk, which does not appear anywhere by default - you can change it only with the help of special utilities. It is o Automatic Acoustic Management (or AAM for short).

If you do not go into complex technical details, then the point is to reduce the speed of movement of the heads, thereby reducing crackling and noise. But at the same time, the speed of the hard disk is also reduced. But, in this case, you will extend the life of the hard disk by an order of magnitude! Therefore, the choice is yours - either noise and high speed, or lower noise levels and longer operation of your disk.

By the way, I want to say that by reducing the noise on my laptop Acer- I could not estimate the speed of work "by eye" - it works the same way as before!

So. For regulation and adjustment of AAM - there is special utilities(I talked about one of them in). This is a simple and convenient utility - quietHDD ().

You need to run it as administrator. Then 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 that, you should immediately notice a decrease in cod.

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

This is actually all. Good luck to everyone, and, most importantly, quiet operation. 😛