HD has constant (on and off) buzzing noise - sounds like

[steve]

it is reading/writing in a rythmic constant manner. Not
a normal sound. It just sounds like it is accessing the
harddrive on and on, every second. Just upgraded to xp
pro. Added more ram - now 384mb. There was no such
noise prior to upgrading. Defrag done. Chkdsk done.
Still the same noise. Is this a sign that the HD is
going bad or is it some other problem. I've had the
computer for 3 years. Any suggestion would be
appreciated. In "plain english" please - not an IT pro!

Steve

[Ron]

Hmm. Steve how do you know that the noise you're hearing is the HDD? I ask
because you say you recently added RAM. I'll wager that whoever opened the
case to add the RAM disturbed something slightly, and/or did not retighten
one or more screws. Possibly the PS, or one of the many cables inside...and
it is a mechanical (read: fan/vibration) noise you're hearing; not the HDD.
A quick test is to tilt the case at a 45 degree angle (left or right) and
see if noise changes.

Please post a follow-up.
Ron

[Steve]

Ron,
Thanks for the reply. I wish it was that easy. See, the
noise was there first. Initially I thought the problem
was that I didn't have enough ram (after upgrading to xp)
so I added some more. But the same noise is there. It's
definately the hard drive. The hard drive light comes on
in the same intermittent rythmic manner as the noise.
Could it be some software capatibility issue with xp? I
didn't have this noise problem with Win98.

Also, I installed xp and then unistalled it and then
reinstalled it. Reason for this was that I forgot to
uninstall the Norton antivirus before the upgrade. I
don't remember if the noise was there after the first
install. I doubt it but I wonder if I somehow "abused"
the HD by doing this. Your thoughts?

Steve
>-----Original Message-----
>Hmm. Steve how do you know that the noise you're
hearing is the HDD? I ask
>because you say you recently added RAM. I'll wager that
whoever opened the
>case to add the RAM disturbed something slightly, and/or
did not retighten
>one or more screws. Possibly the PS, or one of the many
cables inside...and
>it is a mechanical (read: fan/vibration) noise you're
hearing; not the HDD.
>A quick test is to tilt the case at a 45 degree angle
(left or right) and
>see if noise changes.
>
>Please post a follow-up.
>Ron
>
>
>.
>

[Wislu Plethora]

>-----Original Message-----
>Ron,
>Thanks for the reply. I wish it was that easy. See, the
>noise was there first. Initially I thought the problem
>was that I didn't have enough ram (after upgrading to xp)
>so I added some more. But the same noise is there. It's
>definately the hard drive. The hard drive light comes on
>in the same intermittent rythmic manner as the noise.
>Could it be some software capatibility issue with xp? I
>didn't have this noise problem with Win98.
>
>Also, I installed xp and then unistalled it and then
>reinstalled it. Reason for this was that I forgot to
>uninstall the Norton antivirus before the upgrade. I
>don't remember if the noise was there after the first
>install. I doubt it but I wonder if I somehow "abused"
>the HD by doing this. Your thoughts?
>
>Steve

You need to make up your mind--in the original post, you
clearly said that the noise began *after* the RAM upgrade.
It sounds like your HD is failing. Do a good backup and
replace the drive.

[David Shorthouse]

Steve,

When XP is first installed, the Indexing Service can be a real pain in
the ass. It's supposed to speed up file searching, but only if you are
perpetually searching for files. If find it to be quite useless and actually
slows down one's system as you describe. Try disabling it by first opening
up your Services console by right-clicking 'My Computer', selecting
'Manage', expanding 'Services and Applications'.

HTH,

Dave

"steve" > wrote in message
...
> it is reading/writing in a rythmic constant manner. Not
> a normal sound. It just sounds like it is accessing the
> harddrive on and on, every second. Just upgraded to xp
> pro. Added more ram - now 384mb. There was no such
> noise prior to upgrading. Defrag done. Chkdsk done.
> Still the same noise. Is this a sign that the HD is
> going bad or is it some other problem. I've had the
> computer for 3 years. Any suggestion would be
> appreciated. In "plain english" please - not an IT pro!
>
> Steve

[Steve]

You're right. I wasn't clear in my original post. The
add'l ram was after the xp upgrade and after the noise.
Thanks for your suggestion. The consensus seems to be
that the HD is on it's last leg. Thanks again.

Steve
>-----Original Message-----
>
>>-----Original Message-----
>>Ron,
>>Thanks for the reply. I wish it was that easy. See,
the
>>noise was there first. Initially I thought the problem
>>was that I didn't have enough ram (after upgrading to
xp)
>>so I added some more. But the same noise is there.
It's
>>definately the hard drive. The hard drive light comes
on
>>in the same intermittent rythmic manner as the noise.
>>Could it be some software capatibility issue with xp?
I
>>didn't have this noise problem with Win98.
>>
>>Also, I installed xp and then unistalled it and then
>>reinstalled it. Reason for this was that I forgot to
>>uninstall the Norton antivirus before the upgrade. I
>>don't remember if the noise was there after the first
>>install. I doubt it but I wonder if I somehow "abused"
>>the HD by doing this. Your thoughts?
>>
>>Steve
>
>You need to make up your mind--in the original post, you
>clearly said that the noise began *after* the RAM
upgrade.
>It sounds like your HD is failing. Do a good backup and
>replna" the drive.
>.
>

[Ron]

Hmm. Steve: Before you do anything expensive, (aside from performing a good
backup of your important data) try downloading and running the diag utility
from your drive manufacturer's site. It runs from a floppy, and may reveal
the problem here.

On another note; I'm quite certain that you did not bring this upon yourself
simply by installing software. (Although I am mystified as to why you
thought that adding RAM would stop this noise). With that said, I still
think that it could be [non-sinister] mechanical noise, as opposed to
imminent HDD failure noise. Unfortunately, I could be wrong. In any case,
once you've saved copies of your hate-to-lose-it stuff, run the diag utility
and see what it comes up with!

Back to you.
Ron