New HDD running frequently

[jwazevedo]

Hi Folks,

I recently had to replace my HDD in my old Sony Vaio laptop computer. The new drive is a Seagate Momentus ST94811AB. I've reinstalled the operating system and programs as they were: WinXP Home SP3 with all updates. The problem I'm having is that with the computer sitting there inactive (as I'm typing now), the HDD will frequently make a sound like it is reading/writing. This happens about once every 30 secs to a minute or so (not regular). It lasts for about 10-15 seconds and then stops. It also stops if I do something that accesses the HDD intentionally (like a save).

Here's what I've done so far:

* I've run the Seagate disk utilities (thanks, Rick) and all checks out fine
* I've turned off the disk indexing service to see if that stopped it. It didn't, so I turned indexing back on.
* I've checked the system monitor. When the noise happens, the monitor doesn't show any disk activity.

I know this is not a critical issue, and I hate to bother you with it, but it's an annoying problem, and I'd like to either fix it or reconcile myself to the fact that it can't be fixed. Any thoughts on the matter would be appreciated.

Best,
Jerry

 

[shadowfox]

k buddy
first of all if the noies is not quite loud and it does not trouble you then its normal as the disk spins
but if the sound is too loud it means the drive is ageing and is about to give up on u
or
the Ram memory might b too low
but as u said it should b that ur hdd is ageing or its an software problem
try defragmenting ur hdd
this makes it easy for the os to acess the drive

 

[jwazevedo]

Thanks.

I should have mentioned that I defragged the disk.

This is a brand-new disk, so I don't think age is an issue. Also, it's not a constant sound, as would be heard from the disk simply spinning. It's more like a read/write sound but not as loud and without the clicks of the head moving back and forth.

Other thoughts out there?

Best,
Jerry

 

[shadowfox]

consult ur vendor to be more sure ..
im using seagates 500gb hdd
i keep my p.c on for almost 16 hrs everyday
i run numerous processes on it
i never hear that sound
consult it
A defect can occur even from a new stuff

 

[jwazevedo]

Just to follow up with the solution. It turned out that it was a HDD failure. All of the disk checks were fine, but I exchanged the disk for another one, and this new one does not make the odd noise.

Thanks to everyone who made suggestions.

Best,
Jerry