Hard drive spindle noise is driving me up the wall

I have 2 WD 40gb hard drives 7200rpm in my computer and the spindle noise from both drives ends up sounding like a high pitched whine. Is there any sort of low cost solution to reduce this sound short of replacing both drives with something quieter? I've tried several things so far including a different case and it still seems to be just as loud.

P.S. It's not the seek noise, it's solely from the drive spinning.

 

If it's really making that much noise that is usually a sign the drive is dieing. Which means you'll have to replace it quite soon anyways.

The only real solution is replacing the drive. You could put like sound proofing into the case, but this would most likely cause the temperature inside the case to rise too much and cause other problems.

 

Hi There,
If your drives are not loose, meaning that they are secured to the unit,,,
and there are no wires inside the unit touching the case, which could cause a speaker effect on the case...then
the units are going bad, but it is hard to figure both drives going bad at the same time, so there is a possiblity that your power supply is going bad and killing the drives!!!
Is the fan for the unit or on the back of power supply running???

Sincerely,
Tinkertoy

 

The power supply fan is running and the internal speaker is disconnected. As for the power supply it's brand new, I had to purchase one when I upgraded to my athlon 64. As for soundproofing the case I'm willing to give it a shot, but what materials would be needed? As for a case fan the case I am using does not have one...

I would love to do this the right way and replace the 2 drives with a single quieter one and to use a better sound insulated case, but I definitely lack the funds.

 

Soundproofing a case isn't really something that is done a lot. So I guess you'd just use normal sound proof materials. The biggest problem with doing it is goign to be heat. Make sure you leave vent holes or you'll over heat the computer.

Normally for people who want quite computers they do it by buying quite pieces. So besides from a few special mods I doubt you'll find much refrence material for such a design.

I'm really more worried the drives will stop working soon. An HD making that much noise is never a good sign.

 

They've always sounded this way though, maybe I should record the sound and host it so you can hear it. Prolly won't be tonight though.

 

Just some questions and some hints!!!

Do you have the PC Tower right on the desk next to you???
If so, yes you will here it and maybe resonating on you desk...
Try putting it on a pad or put in on the floor,,, carpet or pad!!!

As the other members have hinted,,,insulating it is not a good option
for many reasons!!!

Again,,,look for things that are loose or wires touching the inside of case...

Good Luck,
Sincerely,
Howie

 

I would backup your vital data, docs, pics, music, asap. Just in case. Can you fit each hard drive,separately, into another PC to see if the same noise occurs? Just as another check. There may be bad harmonics in your PC case, but I doubt it. Trying another PC would eliminate one possibility, at least. Baz

 

someone correct me if I'm wrong here ... but my understanding was that a HDD only spins when it is seeking otherwise, it is still

and I would definitely back up my stuff immediately even if they've always sounded like that

 

Unnamed is correct...
The HD Master Drive is going to run almost continuously if you are on the computer...
There are settings for when to put your drive to sleep or how long before shutting it
down,,,but,,,if you are on the net, in a word processor, it keeps running!!!
If the computer is idle for a time it will shut off the cycling ay the time specified to sleep or shut down...you should find this in your system under Power Management!!!
Same place you set how long your monitor stays on before it sleeps!!!

Hope this helps someone???
By The way,,,that leads to a question,,,if I remember right both your drives where making noise??? Only Master should be running, until you need the second drive, then that drive should start up...Kinda like your CD ROM does not start up until it is needed,
then you hear it crank up, just like if you use the A Drive!!!

Sincerely,
Tinkertoy