Clunking noise?

Hi, I got my Mac Pro a few days ago, and when it started up I was very happy with how little noise it generated, other that the usual HD clicking noise, which is pretty standard.
About 5 minutes in, it started making a loud clunking noise, even though I wasn't putting it through any stress at all. It sounded like someone was using a jack hammer on the road outside, and then about 30 seconds later, it went away again.
I'd hoped this was a one off thing, but it seems to happen intermittently for short periods of time and is very noticeable.
I have three hard disks installed, one I have yet to put anything on (bay 3), one that has my music sample library on (bay 2), and one running the OS (bay 1). Activity monitor doesn't list any unusual amount of disk activity when the noise occurs, though.
The noise does appear to be coming from the front/top area of the MP, leading me to suspect it's either the main fan or the disk in bay 1/2, which is more likely.
Anyone got any ideas?
Thanks, Ed

Check and see if the drive manufacturers list a STIR (Seek To Increase Reliability) function for their drives. You migh be hearing that. This little gem of hard drive behaviour is designed to keep the heads moving around inside the unit so as to prevent a heat build up.
Seagates have this, I think a lot of the drive manufacturers do, but it can be right noisy at times. It can be a ticking, a clunking or a soft chattering sound. You wouldn't see any disk activity during a STIR time, since it's a hardware function of the drive being idle and has nothing to do with the OS.
Does this noise stop when you go into the drive and poke around some files? If so, that's what it is.
Message was edited by: Deborah Terreson

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Clunking noise?

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