Hard drives 'crunch' every second?

[DeanB]

Hello all,

When I read a load of files off a drive sequentially, it wizzes
through fast, but I can hear the heads crunching (or moving
frantically) precisely once every second. I assume this is for some
kind of indexing or maintenance of some kind.

Is it possible to stop this? Its annoying only because it makes
scanning though pictures relatively unsmooth.

 

[Shenan Stanley]

When I read a load of files off a drive sequentially, it wizzes
through fast, but I can hear the heads crunching (or moving
frantically) precisely once every second. I assume this is for some
kind of indexing or maintenance of some kind.

Is it possible to stop this? Its annoying only because it makes
scanning though pictures relatively unsmooth.

Who made the hard disk drive (manufacturer)?
Have you ran their diagnostics to verify the drive is not experiencing
issues?
When was the last time you defragmented the drive? How often do you do
this?
What are the rest of the specifications on the machine?

 

[Xandros]

Hard drive "clicking" can be a sign of a dying drive. I suggest you backup
the important data on the drive now. You may want to get a diagnostic tool
from the manufacturer's site and test it but the best thing to do is ensure
your data is safe before you run such and application. Some diagnostic tools
put a lot of stress on a drive and if the head is about to fall off you end
up with a dead drive before you get it backed up.

 

[DeanB]

Hard drive "clicking" can be a sign of a dying drive. I suggest you backup
the important data on the drive now. You may want to get a diagnostic tool
from the manufacturer's site and test it but the best thing to do is ensure
your data is safe before you run such and application. Some diagnostic tools
put a lot of stress on a drive and if the head is about to fall off you end
up with a dead drive before you get it backed up.

--

Xandros








- Show quoted text -

1. New scsi 15K rpm Fujitsu 73GB on LSI U160 controller
2. WD Raptor 10K rpm 150GB sata

Machine is 1 month old - E6850 3GHz Core 2 Duo, Asus Maximus MB. I
don't think there is anything wrong. Both hard drives do exactly the
same thing - though of course the scsi is a real screamer.

 

[Shenan Stanley]

When I read a load of files off a drive sequentially, it wizzes
through fast, but I can hear the heads crunching (or moving
frantically) precisely once every second. I assume this is for some
kind of indexing or maintenance of some kind.

Is it possible to stop this? Its annoying only because it makes
scanning though pictures relatively unsmooth.

Who made the hard disk drive (manufacturer)?
Have you ran their diagnostics to verify the drive is not
experiencing issues?
When was the last time you defragmented the drive? How often do
you do this?
What are the rest of the specifications on the machine?

Hard drive "clicking" can be a sign of a dying drive. I suggest you
backup the important data on the drive now. You may want to get a
diagnostic tool from the manufacturer's site and test it but the
best thing to do is ensure your data is safe before you run such
and application. Some diagnostic tools put a lot of stress on a
drive and if the head is about to fall off you end up with a dead
drive before you get it backed up.

1. New scsi 15K rpm Fujitsu 73GB on LSI U160 controller
2. WD Raptor 10K rpm 150GB sata

Machine is 1 month old - E6850 3GHz Core 2 Duo, Asus Maximus MB. I
don't think there is anything wrong. Both hard drives do exactly the
same thing - though of course the scsi is a real screamer.

New does not mean 'functionally perfect' -> I'd still test them to be safe.
They also could just be noisy drives.

As for 'precisely once per second', that's pretty accurate timing on your
part - especially if two different drives in your system do it... How'd you
time it/seperate them for the test?

What about the defragmentation? Rest of the system specifications?

Latest drivers for the motherboard chipset, controller card, etc installed?
(from the manufacturer of each component.)

 

[DeanB]

New does not mean 'functionally perfect' -> I'd still test them to be safe.
They also could just be noisy drives.

As for 'precisely once per second', that's pretty accurate timing on your
part - especially if two different drives in your system do it... How'd you
time it/seperate them for the test?

What about the defragmentation? Rest of the system specifications?

Latest drivers for the motherboard chipset, controller card, etc installed?
(from the manufacturer of each component.)

I don't think there is a problem. The noise is typical hard drive head
movement. Its just like normal random access, except it occurs every
second. I can hear my clock ticking and they keep in time. So I
suspect its some kind of maintenance function. Again, both drives do
it, and both are working fine. Wish I could turn it off somehow.

All drivers are up to date on the MB and scsi controller.

 

[Ken Blake, MVP]

1. New scsi 15K rpm Fujitsu 73GB on LSI U160 controller
2. WD Raptor 10K rpm 150GB sata

Machine is 1 month old - E6850 3GHz Core 2 Duo, Asus Maximus MB. I
don't think there is anything wrong. Both hard drives do exactly the
same thing - though of course the scsi is a real screamer.

The machine being new isn't really pertinent. In fact, drives are most
likely to fail when they are either new or old.

But I agree that since both drives do the same thing it is unlikely
that there's a problem with the drives themselves.

 

[Sam Hobbs]

I would processes tab of the task manager; there is a good chance you can
catch the process that access the drives at the times they do whatever they
do every second. If you don't see a process executing at the relevant times,
then perhaps it is hardware or perhaps it is a device driver that is not
shown in the task manager. I would certainly try that in case it helps.

 

[Poprivet`]

1. New scsi 15K rpm Fujitsu 73GB on LSI U160 controller
2. WD Raptor 10K rpm 150GB sata

Machine is 1 month old - E6850 3GHz Core 2 Duo, Asus Maximus MB. I
don't think there is anything wrong. Both hard drives do exactly the
same thing - though of course the scsi is a real screamer.

Whoo, almost green with envy here! I'd LOVE that for my video
editing/rendering!

At that rpm, I'm sure the heads are ultra-busy and other than questions
already asked of you there is probably little you can do except some noise
cushioning materials or more the box farther away.

Pop`

 

[Sam Hobbs]

I meant of course that "I would look at the processes tab of the task
manager".

 

[Xandros]

1. New scsi 15K rpm Fujitsu 73GB on LSI U160 controller
2. WD Raptor 10K rpm 150GB sata

Machine is 1 month old - E6850 3GHz Core 2 Duo, Asus Maximus MB. I
don't think there is anything wrong. Both hard drives do exactly the
same thing - though of course the scsi is a real screamer.

You know Dean it is really annoying when people give minimal info in the
beginning. Why didn't you say there were 2 drives doing the same thing? Why
didn't you say the system was new? My advise is still valid as far as
backing up a drive before running diagnostics on it.