Normal harddrive noise

What would be considered normal hard drive noise? I got a new macbook pro a couple of days ago with the 5400 rpm 160 gb drive. My hard drive spins constantly and I can here a soft "tick" noise from the head occasionally. The head seems to park itself every once in a while also and makes a soft "ping" like noise and when it starts moving again I can here the whir of the head moving back and forth. It also makes that soft scratching like noise when I open an application. Is this all normal? I don't remember if it did all this from the start but I noticed it yesterday and now its hard not to listen for it and its annoying. None of the noises are really loud, the room has to be pretty quiet to here them. I have no idea what to listen for in terms of good or bad hard drive noises so thats why I'm asking. My computer seems to be running fine right now its more of an annoyance than anything else. So are these sounds normal? Thanks for any input.
macbook pro Mac OS X (10.4.9)

Kwarp- my hearing is pretty good, probably about average, I here the harddrive spinning always (my fans are rarely on), the ticking or clicking (its very soft I dont know how to describe it) occurs randomly, I do get the scratching "thinking" noise when I open applications which im guessing is normal.
ultraneo- I have a fijitsu 160gb according to the disk utilities, I guess the ping could be described more as a "clink" sound and it happens only about once every 10 minutes or so but it always starts up again almost immediately, then sometimes it does the same thing a few seconds later. None of the noises are very loud, I can barely here them when my air conditioning comes on but they're still annoying.
Now that I think about it, the main sound I'm getting is the thinking/scratching noise but its happening frequently (but only in very short bursts or just one at a time which is why I called it a tick) even when I'm not opening applications or doing anything for that matter. It basically sounds like my hard drive is always working even when I'm doing almost nothing or am just on the internet.
..that 2nd reply was supposed to be marked as helpful, sorry...

Similar Messages

  • What is "normal' operation noise for MacBook Pro's

    Hi guys, could somebody inform me of what is considered "normal" operation noise when the MacBook Pro is in use? I purchased my first Mac 2wks ago & have already gone through 2!! The first one had battery issues so they just gave me a new one (very nice of them) & the second one had optical drive issues which again they issued me a new one. The third one now, which is only 3days old, keeps making some sort of slight static noise or sounds like optical drive is trying to read a disc or something every time I open an application & when surfing the net & switching through pages. It sounds like its coming from the middle right hand side. It's not that loud as it can only be heard when I'm in the library or when I'm in a moderate to quiet room. Now, rather than me going in again to the Apple Store & making a fool of myself just wanted some insight of how these machines run/sound? Any info would be great....Thanks

    Well, took it to Apple, they gave me now my fourth MacBook Pro.
    Apparently the noises weren't normal but the glass like sound is the SMS sensor - so thats normal. The new one now which I got yesterday sounds better except now every time I wake it from sleep or turn it on after shutdown the fans go on high speed & make a really loud noise which only lasts for a few seconds??
    The other 3 I had did not do this...so, am I just having bad luck or is every mac different when waking?

  • Harddrive-noise after security update

    My stock mac pro machine was dead quit, since August....
    Yesterday I did the security update and maybe it is coincidental , but can hear now , intermittently, the turning of the hard drive even while not doing anything labour intensive ( just reading this forum by example}...
    Do others experience this as well and what could be the cause of this???
    Thank you ..

    Thank you Michael for your quick response on this Christmasday: I could not find " smart analsys" in disk utility; but did " verify permissions for macintosh HD" ....It says:
    Permissions differ on ./Applications/ITunes.app/Contents/Frameworks/InternetUtilities.bundle/Contents /MacOS/InternetUtilities,should be-rw-rwr--' they are -rwxrwxr-x
    Permissions differ on ./private/var/log/secure.log, should be -rw-----, they are -rw-r-----
    Permissions verification complete
    the privileges have been verified or repaired on the selected volume
    It made harddrive noise retrieving this information...After looking at this info , should I take some other action... I am sort of new with computing...
    Thanks a lot and happy Hollydays

  • Harddrive noise on a week old 120 classic

    So I got the 120GB classic about a week ago, and noticed tonight the harddrive is making a kind of clicking noise when songs are being played. I noticed it when the iPod was connected to my computer and I was listening through itunes.
    Anyone have a definite answer as to weather or not this is normal? I find it a bit annoying when listening to quieter songs, but I suppose it does actually have moving parts, thus explaining the noise.
    One other thing I was wondering: is it bad to leave your ipod in the car during cold weather? I bought the ipod to use in the car, and with winter coming, I was wondering what the general view is on that.
    Thanks to anyone who can help with any of this!

    Hi there, thanks for the quick answer.
    Although I am glad there is nothing wrong with my unit, I am disappointed about the noise. I had a 4th gen 20gb and I do not remember the noise being so noticeable. You would think with newer technology they would be able to do something about this.
    ***** about the car thing too lol, I really did not give that any thought at all before I bought it...guess I will just have to remember to put it in my pocket or something in the coming months.

  • Hard Drive on MBP 15" makes more than normal grinding noise?

    I have the new MBP 15" with a fujitsu 320GB hard drive, 5400 rpm. the other MBP that colleagues hhave are quite silent running. They have the 250 GB drives. This newly bought computer's hard drive makes a background noise, kind of a low grade grinding, that is loud enough for me to hear when playing itunes song on half way volume.
    Any suggestions? Isa this the norm for the larger hard drive, or should it be as quiet as the 250 GB. The brand is Fujitsu. Is that significant.

    Drives do vary in how much noise they make. I replaced a 30 GB Toshiba drive with a 120 GB Western Digital drive, and the WD did run a little warmer and makes a more audible whir, but has worked flawlessly since I installed it. I can barely hear my 250 GB Fujitsu if I put my ear next to the case.
    However, I would describe my hard drive noise as a low hum or whir and not as a grind.
    For your piece of mind, you might like to try running S.M.A.R.T. Utility:
    http://www.versiontracker.com/dyn/moreinfo/macosx/32454
    You can download the demo and run it several times for free.
    A new drive should show zero errors.
    If you can hear it over music, it may well be a grind and not a normal sound. If you are concerned, you might want to run it by Apple or an AASP. In the meantime, keep a good up to date backup.
    Good luck!

  • I just had my MBP replaced, and the new one buzzes when powered on aside from the normal mechanical noise its supposed to make.

    Is this normal? It seem to be coming from the hole next to the cd drive???

    Yes that is normal, it is just how they boot up these days.
    However, if you do think that the buzzing noise is exceptionally loud then you might want to take it to the nearest Apple store to get it checked out.
    Hope this helps,
    NWB1

  • Harddrive noise

    i have bought new hard drive because my older one was damaged. it was making noise like beeping sometimes. 
    my new hard drive also makes same sometimes beeping and in my task manager sometimes it shows full 100% disk usage, mostaly when i turn on the laptop. sometimes the mouse touchpad and also the laptop freezes freqently.
     hp 2000-2c25DX

    Hi @parth1994
    Welcome to the HP Community!
    I read your post and see that you are having a number of issues with your notebook. I will be happy to help you with this. Let me start by getting your operating system so I know what we are working with. I would also suggest that you do a virus and malware scan since you are having so many issues. You can also try doing a System File Checker to scan the operating system for corruptions.
    Please click “Accept as Solution ” if you feel my post solved your issue.
    Click the “Kudos Thumbs Up" on the right to say “Thanks” for helping!
    Thank you,
    BHK6
    I work on behalf of HP

  • How can i change my hard drive from time machine to a normal harddrive

    Hi guys I wrongly set my flash drive to my time machine drive but now i can not turn it back as the same it was at first . the main problem is PC are not able to identify my flash drive?

    First transfer any important information on the flash drive to your internal hard drive. Then open Disk Utility. You should see your flash drive in the list on the left, select it and then select the erase tab to the right. Name your flash drive and set format to MS-DOS (FAT). Hit the erase button and it will be ready for pc and mac.
    Message was edited by: Buda71

  • Changing APM/S.M.A.R.T setting for my harddrive

    Hello everyone,
    After 3 years I upgraded my internal harddrive to a Samsung HM160HC 160GB. It works like a charm but there seems to be a problem with read/write head changing from parked to ready (and vice versa). I've read some articles about this "clicking" sound the drives make... Under Linux you have tools such as hdparm or smartctl (available via fink) that help. I've tried them using a live cd of Ubuntu and those noises disappear.
    What do these programms do? You are able to set the APM value of your harddrive by hand (using hdparm) and/or set the SMART automatic offline test to enable (using smartctl). As I've said above smartctl is available for OSX but the operation is not supported under OSX
    Beside the noise the drive makes those useless head parkings reduce the lifetime of the drive drastically. My LoadCycleCount for my new drive (less than a month old) is already >18000 (normally harddrive do about 200.000 before their lifetime ends).
    So how can I change some APM/SMART settings under OSX (and eventually make them permanent) so my harddrive lives longer than 2 months?
    Here is a article which has a working solution for linux. http://www.thinkwiki.org/wiki/Problemwith_hard_driveclicking

    Just like to say thanks for this neat little app. I was experiencing the clunking sounds on my MBP. Tried Declunk first, but didn't think it was a very good solution. Further testing under WinXp with Smartmon and Hdparm and I was able to eliminate the issue (hdparm -B 255 /dev/sda). Problem was, that it doesn't update the firmware, so after a power cycle the HDD will go back to its aggressive power saving settings and clunk away. OSX alternatives to hdparm are pretty much non-existent, APM Tuner X is no longer supported. Thats when I found your post. Downloaded and installed (although I had to sudo mkdir /usr/local/bin and cp the hdapm there) CLUNK GONE! Wish I had have known about your app sooner as I think my cycles for a two year old Seagate are over 100,000!!!

  • Clicking noise from hard disk

    Hello forum,
    one more hard disk noise problem. My new MPB arrived two days ago and I immediately noticed a clicking noise that is presumably emitted by the hard disk. I've got the basic 250GB model, so it's unrelated to the 500GB noise. The sound occurs quite regularly every 20sec or so, but only when the disk is inactive. The system doesn't freeze. The noise appears regardless whether the disk power saving feature is enabled or not. Here is an amplified version of the sound without the normal background noise (fan, hard disk):
    http://www.filefactory.com/file/ah25f1h/n/ClickingNoise_wav
    I've learned that clicking noises are a certain sign of hard disk failure. So should I return it immediately and ask for a replacement?
    Regards

    MKG4 wrote:
    It sounds like you've got two clicking noises happening back to back, correct? I have the new 250GB drive as well (5400 RPM) and I'm hearing a periodic click similar to the second one in your clip.
    I can hear only the second click, too. Only if I mute the background noise and amplify my recording, I hear the first one. Could you perhaps take a record of the sound that your MBP makes so that we can compare the sounds?
    Haven't noticed any other problems with the drive, though. Is yours a Fujitsu? Mine is, and according to their web site, "if the drive is idle it will automatically move the heads periodically to prevent lubricant migration." I'm wondering if that's what the noise is.
    Interesting. Mine is a Fujitsu, too, and perhaps the two noises come from the disk head starting and parking.
    Actually, it sounds a lot like the 500GB noise, except without the beep. I've seen very few, if any, issues with the 250GB drive, but I'm holding out hope that a fix may come along at some point.
    I agree. Currently the sound doesn't seem to be harmful, but one never knows.

  • Suggestions for removing video noise from converted Hi8 footage

    I am about to start capturing Hi8 material into FCP 6 through a Sony D8 camcorder that does the analog to digital conversion. Even after cleaning the tape heads, I notice a very few lines of noise at the very bottom of the frames - like a dirty head. From the camcorder side everything looks normal - no noise. From the FCP side in VTR mode you can see the noise. I am not sure if this is an artifact from the analog to digital transfer or if the tape head is still dirty.
    Question: assuming I cannot eliminate the noise on transfer/input, is there an easy way to apply a universal filter or horizontal "clip" function to imported video to remove the bottom few lines of video? I guess I could always overlay a black canvas covering only a few lines on the bottom, but maybe there is a more elegant solution?
    Thanks in advance for any counsel!

    What you are seeing are timing errors that are an artifact of analog recording and generally are outside the viewable area of a CRT TV (i.e. in the overscan zone). If you are setting these up for digital presentation - web or computer play only, these items may be seen.
    You have a couple of options to deal with the tearing ..
    • Recapture the material using a Hi8 deck and a separate analog/DV converter with a full frame Time Base Corrector between the tape machine and the analog/DV converter. This will clean up the timing errors but is an expensive proposition.
    • Crop the image. This will leave a very slight letterbox effect and may not be noticeable unless you mix the material with non-cropped material.
    • Slightly enlarge the material so that the tearing falls outside of the 720x480 area. Expanding images much beyond 110% softens/pixelates the images noticeably and my not be acceptable.
    • Live with it.
    Good luck.
    x

  • External HardDrive Compatible? help!

    Hi guys i intend to get an external enclosure and a normal harddrive and convert it to an external harddrive myself. I want to know what harddrive should i get and what would i need to do to make it compatible with both mac and pc? how should i format it to be able to use freely on both windows and mac? thanks!!

    Hello,
    Hi thanks for the fantastic replies !! that is all
    the info that i will be needing.
    You're welcome. Glad you found our answers helpful.
    One last question
    mates ! i purchased my Imac G5 just weeks before they
    introduced the intel duo processor Imac G5
    (Grrrrrrrr) and i was wondering if it is possible to
    change the processer to the intel processor?
    Unfortunately, no.
    The processor is not the only part that is different. Basically, they are two entirely different computers. The processor you use, determines the rest of the components used in a computer.
    So, to use an Intel processor, you also need supporting hardware that recognizes that processor and can work with it. The supporting hardware must be familiar with, and know how to handle, that processors method of moving information around. And, the supporting hardware has to deliver information in a method that is expected by that processor. So, there are a lot of custom chips inside the computer that are specific to the processor being used.
    The same is true even in the PC world. If you use an Intel processor, then you pick a chipset and other support chips that work with the Intel processor. If you use an AMD processor, then you pick a chipset and other supporting hardware that will work with the AMD processor.
    So, even there you cannot usually swap processors of different brands.
    Now, there have been exceptions among 3rd-party main board manufacturers. Some have specifically chosen components that will support any processor in previous years. So, there have been main boards that would support using your choice of AMD, Intel, IBM, Cyrix, etc. processors.
    But, those processors all used the same socket style at the time, and were of similar technology.
    These days each processor manufacturer is using their own socket type, and their designs are significantly different.
    And, in your particular case, the difference between a PowerPC processor and an Intel processor is so significant that you simply cannot make that substitution. The rest of the supporting hardware would have to be changed as well. And, that just isn't possible on your system without starting at the beginning and redesigning the whole logic board again.
    So, in your case, you do need to purchase a new computer if you want to move to the Intel processor.
    My work requires me to use both windows and Mac so i
    intend to upgrade to intel core and install bootcamp.
    Any advises for me? will it be extremely expensive??
    You could use Virtual PC on your current Mac. But, because it works through emulating the entire PC (including emulating an Intel processor) it works very slowly. It's still quite usable. But, more intensive tasks can take a while to complete. Simple tasks are executed almost as fast as a real PC.
    But, if you want to run Windows at full speed, then you'll want a real Intel processor. In that case, it's not necessarily going to be too expensive. It all depends on your budget.
    At the base-line, you can get a Mac Mini CoreSolo for around $600 (before upgrades are accounted for). And, the CoreDuo model starts around $800.
    But, those will probably "feel" slower than your current system. So, you'll probably want either an iMac CoreDuo or a Mac Pro.
    If you want a iMac CoreDuo, I'd wait a little bit for the upcoming improvement in processors and possibly other specs. Apple tends to keep the price pretty consistent. So, you can usually get them starting around $1300 before upgrades (such as memory).
    And, if you are on a really tight budget, watch Apple's refurbished site. You can get refurbished Macs a lot cheaper than the new ones. They come with the same warranty, and you can save several hundred dollars.
    I saved about $600 on my last refurb purchase. Of course, actual savings will depend on the model you choose, the timing of the purchase, and the specs you need.
    I timed my refurb purchase with the introduction of a new model, so I got it a bit cheaper because it was a refurb version of a prior model instead of a refurb of a current model. That will affect the price a little bit.
    You can find the refurb site by going to Apple's online store. Then, once it loads, you'll see a red tag in the lower-right of the page that says "Save".
    You can also try this link:
    http://store.apple.com/1-800-MY-APPLE/WebObjects/AppleStore.woa/6294000/wo/7C4xZ 73Fpc983ZulJQOjoQ5aF0F/3.0.0.19.1.0.8.7.1.0.1.1
    The machines available change by the hour (or minute sometimes). So, if the machine you want isn't there when you look, check back frequently and watch for it to become available. Remember, these are limited to actual supply, so the models available will change as they are sold.
    I hope this helps.
    Let us know if you have other questions.
    P.S., if you'd like, go ahead and click the "Helpful" or "Solved" buttons on any of the posts / replies above if you feel they were helpful or adequately answered your question.

  • Latest airport extreme noise issues

    Just received the latest Airport Extreme.  Worked perfectly for 2 days and still does.  But, started emitting the noise that others have described, sort of like the static or popping from an old radio.  However, continued to work normally. Noise lasted for about an hour and nobody was using the network. It has been quiet now for about a day.  The unit continues to perform normally. Are there any other recent updates on this issue?

    No, it is not common.. but anything with internal power supply will occasionally have a loose inductor.. with your 50 or 60hz mains buzzing through it.. a loose winding can make strange noises.. some caps can also make noises.. the incoming AC is rectified to 300-400v DC is a lot of volts and stresses a poor component. There is also a mechanical fan.. and fans are also a source of all kinds of noises. I would say this is entirely a hardware fault and has nothing to do with firmware.. so it is not going to be updated. It is simply going to need replacement.
    If it starts again.. in fact I would power off the AE overnight.. and power up cold the next morning.. and do that every night for the next week.. if it ever does it again.. return immediately to apple for replacement.. The build quality of the AE and TC is less than spectacular.. my first new AC model Time Capsule lasted less than a week. Replacement is fine.

  • Horrible buzzing and clicking noise from the fan - DV6 3046eo

    Hello!
    Two weeks ago the fan on my DV6 3046eo laptop began to make almost continueosly buzzing and clicking noise. My laptop is less than an year old (bought in December 2010) and such noise has never occurred before. I have done some "research" to find the reason, but without luck. I have read on Internet that the fan may be broken or loose. I am just using the web and listening the music. I have to admit I played some demanding games on the computer, like BBC2 and Dirt3. But the problem occured later. I can't imagine what will happen if I play games on my laptop now...
    The fan seems to cool down the laptop, but it is like something is hitting it every third second or soand preventing it from running silently. The noise is strange and irritating because the frequency changes rapidly. Sometimes when I move the laptop or hit it a bit gently, the loud noise suddenly disappears and the normal continueosly noise takes over (I am ok with the latter one, though). After some while it appears again. The noise come and go. Reboot doesn't help much. I have also used an airspray can, but to no avail. I am thinking about getting the fan replaced by HP before the 1 year warranty runs out. I am not too comfortable to do so myself. What's the reason for this noise and what should I do?
    Thanks in advance!
    Sandip

    Still no comments?
    I am getting sick of this noise. I can't bring my laptop to school because it makes too much noise. Please help me.

  • HD making sizzling or crackling noise?....

    I have been working on a new out of the box G5 Quad and it sounds as if the HD is sizzling and/or crackling. It is not constant but kicks in as I work. Has anybody else had this experience?

    Even when Disk Utility doesn't find any errors and the SMART status seems to be ok, your HD might be dying. The HD in my three weeks old PM also broke down without any SMART failures or errors showing up in DU.
    But maybe you can have look in the system log (console utility) - maybe there are some lines indication I/O errors on the drive (I had these lines).
    Are you also getting Kernel Panics or other unusual things from Mac OS X?
    However, before you start to worry you should check whether this sounds are really a sign of a problem or just the normal HD noise. Normally the sound of a dying hard drive is quite unique and very different from the normal sound and if you have heard it once you will always identify a defective HD.
    So if you're not sure maybe you can ask someone who is a little bit more experienced and had some HD errors. Doesn't need to be an Apple user, HD sound the same on every system, whether Apple, PC or X-BOX.
    BTW: Normally the "dying sound" is only audible when the drive really is dying - at that moment it normally also does not even work anymore. So I have some doubts that what you are hearing is a sign of a problem when everything else is working normally.
    Hope this helps,
    Carsten
    Powermac G5 DC 2.0   Mac OS X (10.4.3)   2.5GB - internal: 10k 74GB, 120GB, 160GB - external: 250GB FW

Maybe you are looking for

  • Event tracking of Google analatic is not working in Firefox 37

    Hi I am working on event tracking with Google analatics of a site. I can able to track the event in IE and Chrome. But its not working in Firefox 37. I have tried in safe mode. But problem still existing. Please help me

  • Aperture 3 --- Facebook

    Tonight, I went ahead and added some additional images to an existing Facebook album. When I went into Facebook to update the caption I noticed the footer says "Uploaded via Facebook Mobile". I wondered why it says that? I don't update Facebook via m

  • Business objects doubt

    hi to all, i have doubt business objects whether is it datawarehouse or business intelligence or both of them,i am sorry i relly dont know whether iam posting in correct page

  • A question about bitrate settings

    I'm operating under an assumption that may be false.. if i set the bitrate to 600 for video + 96 for audio.. am I actually encoding to and pushing out 696k?  It seems anytime I push more than this, I have more customers claiming to get stuttering.. a

  • Stop listener

    Hi Expert , oracle 11g ASM RAC under OEL 5.6 today we have an operation to add more disks to asm disks from san storage , so i want to stop all the request that came to database , vie stopping the listener , i have one scan ip and one scan listener i