Full Scan; noise problem

[Pat Willener]

Some online acquaintances of mine have experienced noises from the
computer chassis; they though that the HD was making "grinding" noises,
got scared, and uninstalled Windows Defender. I also have seen
references to "grinding noises" in this newsgroup.

So I decided to test it and ran a full scan while watching and
listening. Result:
- scan of the C: drive took 56 minutes
- at the end of this stage of the scan it started alternating between
files on the C:, E:, I:, and J: drives.
- then the noise started; looking at the computer chassis I could see
that the floppy disk LED was blinking during the time the noise occurred
(about 5 ~ 7 seconds)
- noise stopped, and scan continued on D: drive.

So it is clear to me now that the "grinding noise" is not coming from
the HD, but some attempted access to the floppy disk drive.

I don't know if this noise problem can be fixed. If I open Windows
Explorer, then click on the empty A: drive, only a very short noised is
heard. I don't know why it takes so long (5+ secs) for WD to recognize
that the A: drive is empty?

This is not a problem for me personally, as I now know that the noise
comes from the floppy drive. But other users may also become scared as
my acquaintances, hearing noises from inside the computer, and uninstall
Windows Defender.

 

[Drew T]

Pat,

Concerning the statement
"I don't know if this noise problem can be fixed. If I open Windows
Explorer, then click on the empty A: drive, only a very short noised is
heard. I don't know why it takes so long (5+ secs) for WD to recognize
that the A: drive is empty?"
This sound & time period is normal when clicking on an empty A: drive and
during the boot process.
Though I don't recommend it, I changed my boot sequence order in the BIOS to
stop the Floppy search during boot up by removing the Floppy from the boot
order. Not sure if Windows Defender bypasses the search though.
Here's how mine is set up if anyone is interested.

Stop the Floppy search on every Boot:
* Reboot computer. As it reboots hold down the 'Delete' key until BIOS
appears
* Using your arrow keys, use the right arrow to advance to the 'Boot' option
* Now use the down arrow and go to the Floppy Drive, click 'Enter'
* Disable the Floppy Drive
Note:
Make sure you still have your CD Drive & Hard Drive as #1 & #2. # 3 will be
empty
* Press F10 to Save & Exit

Drew

 

[Bill Sanderson MVP]

What Windows version? I've "heard" (quite literally--first hand) of this
symptom on Windows 2000 machines, but haven't experienced it on XP.

 

[Pat Willener]

Sorry for the delay in my reply; I have been busy for a while. Anyway,
all systems where it occurred (including mine) are Windows XP.