Hard Drive "Clicks" and Whole Computer "Hiccups"

6620 Views 12 Replies 5 Participants Last post by Rob7777, Sep 29, 2011

I'mThatGuy

Discussion Starter · May 29, 2008

Please excuse the anomatopeia and personification, but that's the best way I can describe it...

Yesterday as I was using my computer as normal, I heard a clicking sound, singular, from my computer, presumabely the hard drive. I can't think of any other device that could produce such a noise besides a fan, and it wasn't a fan. Nor was it from the mobo speaker or normal speaker...

Now that I think about it... It's the same sound that the HDD makes when it powers down...

Anyways, if that wasn't bad enough, my whole computer would "hiccup" or "skip" for the next 15 or so seconds... No more clicking, though. It basically sounded (and looked) like a skipping CD... The music I was listening to would skip/repeat, and the mouse would not report movement, and the game I was playing would stop updating the visual, all for about a half second... With a second between skips... It's done it four of five time while I've been using the computer since...

And one time it didn't stop, so I had to manually reboot the computer. >.<

I'm thinking there could be a problem with the Hard Drive, but when I checked the BIOS temperatures, they were all in line... I clean the fans once a month, and the whole tower sits on little "feet"... It does sit on a carpet, though... Could I have a static problem? I don't move it around much, so I'm not sure if that's plausable... It hasn't sustained any trauma recently, I'm pretty careful about people messin' around with it.

It's a relatively new WD HDD, ordered off newegg in October of '06... Link here: Western Digital Caviar SE WD3200JB 320GB 7200 RPM 8MB Cache IDE Ultra ATA100 Hard Drive - OEM

Anyways, if anyone has any idea what's going on, or any possibly solutions (besides getting a new HDD, which I'm prepared to do if it is, in fact, the HDD and ther is nothing i can do about it)

Sorry for the long post... I appreciate anyone who takes the time to read and understand it.

If you have any question I'll check my e-mail when I get the chance, and respond to said questions in the thread ASAP.

Thanks again,
ThatGuy

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koala

· #2 · May 29, 2008

Run the hard drive manufacturer's diagnostic utility to find and possibly fix any errors.

Is the drive a master on its own channel or slaved with another drive?

You bought it in Oct '06. I wouldn't call that new. I replace my hard drives every 2-3 years, whether they're faulty or not, but you probably don't put your drives through as much stress as mine. Even so, 2 years is plenty of time for problems to develop, heat damage, wear & tear, etc.

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I'mThatGuy

Discussion Starter · #3 · May 29, 2008

koala said:
Run the hard drive manufacturer's diagnostic utility to find and possibly fix any errors.

Is the drive a master on its own channel or slaved with another drive?

You bought it in Oct '06. I wouldn't call that new. I replace my hard drives every 2-3 years, whether they're faulty or not, but you probably don't put your drives through as much stress as mine. Even so, 2 years is plenty of time for problems to develop, heat damage, wear & tear, etc.

Really? Didn't know they should be replaced so often... Never had a problem with any of mine, and I keep 'em around for a while... Well, until now, anyways. :4-dontkno

Also, it's a master, and I'm not at home right now so I can't run the utility...

But for when that time comes, which one should I use?
These are the options, as you may or may not be aware of:
http://i27.tinypic.com/2j1l7xg.jpg
The first?
Just figured I'd ask. =)

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koala

· #4 · May 29, 2008

When to replace a hard drive is a matter of personal preference, there's no expiry date on them. You can happily run a hard drive every day for 5 years with no problems, then one day it will start clicking and by the end of the week it's dead and you've lost all your data.

Do you have a backup or cloning plan for your important data? Do you have SMART enabled in BIOS?

Data Lifeguard Diagnostic for DOS (CD). Burn to CD following their instructions, then insert the CD, change boot order in BIOS to 'CD first', then reboot to run the diagnostic. If there's an Advanced option, select it. The Basic option won't attempt to fix any errors it finds.

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I'mThatGuy

Discussion Starter · #5 · May 29, 2008

Seeing as I was planning on doing a clean reinstall of windows in the near future, my backup "plan" was to just copy all my important stuff to another hard drive and reinstall, which I guess I may end up doing soon, anyways...

then one day it will start clicking and by the end of the week it's dead and you've lost all your data.

Do you mean to say that what I've described is a known occurance and my drive may die in the near future.. or are you just .. using my words as to help me understand?

And as far as fixing the drive via CD, should I back up beforehand? I'm assuming I should back everything up ASAP, regardless, but does running this fix carry the possibility of killing it/wiping it?

Thanks, again!
-ThatGuy

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koala

· #6 · May 29, 2008

Whenever the hard drive is suspected to be failing, it's a good idea to backup anything important just in case.

The clicking sound you describe is sometimes the first sign of a failing drive, but it's not usually just one click, it tends to be constant and is known as the 'click of death'. Running the diagnostic will tell us if it's faulty, then we can start looking at other possibilities if necessary.

Also, if you have SMART enabled it will warn you at the start of the boot process about any problems with the drive, before Windows loads.

From http://ezinearticles.com/?The-Click-of-Death---Hard-Drive-Failure&id=582664

When a hard disk drive starts to click, it's a sign of impending doom. It can happen at the most inconvenient times. During a save operation, while opening a file, or when you start the computer. It happens, for the most part, without warning and unless you are sensitive to the noises that emanate from your computer it will take you by surprise. In the majority of cases it means the drive has failed completely and that click might as well be the sound of a lock engaging. Your data is now locked in the dungeon of failed hardware. Permanently encased in a dead hard drive.

On the semi-bright side, a click from a hard drive can sometimes be a warning. Taken to heart and should it occur while the OS is still up, you might still have a chance to backup your data. Miss the opportunity and you might just kiss your data goodbye. Once it happens, a data recovery service can usually recover data from the Click of Death. This type of hard drive failure is usually beyond the capabilities of a typical end-user to recover.

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I'mThatGuy

Discussion Starter · #7 · May 29, 2008

koala said:
Whenever the hard drive is suspected to be failing, it's a good idea to backup anything important just in case.

The clicking sound you describe is sometimes the first sign of a failing drive, but it's not usually just one click, it tends to be constant and is known as the 'click of death'. Running the diagnostic will tell us if it's faulty, then we can start looking at other possibilities if necessary.

Also, if you have SMART enabled it will warn you at the start of the boot process about any problems with the drive, before Windows loads.

From http://ezinearticles.com/?The-Click-of-Death---Hard-Drive-Failure&id=582664

Hmm.. Very pessimistic..

Anyways, this only tends to happen when the computer is under stress...
ie: playing a game and watching a movie at the same time, or playing a really intense game..

Anyways, I'll see if I can't burn that utility to a disk and check it out.
Will update.

And...
thanks. =)

-ThatGuy

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I'mThatGuy

Discussion Starter · #8 · May 29, 2008

Quick test came back with no errors... Error code: 0000...

Extended Test said to back up first, and I haven't had time.. Once I'm done backing up, I'll do an extended test...

No errors?
Something's wrong. =\

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Rob7777

· #9 · Sep 28, 2011

i'v got exacly the same problem any solutions? i just bought a new hdd 1tb sagate barracuda and the same problem occured i have no idea what is the problem of that. my old hdd failed also new one start clicking when playing games or when watching movies pls any solutions?

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Networks

· #10 · Sep 28, 2011

Rob you should start a new thread ! Run the Seagate Diagnostics DOS version on the drive and post the results in a NEW thread

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Rob7777

· #11 · Sep 29, 2011 (Edited)

i test my hard drive segeate sea tools and no errors found all tests passed im not sure what is wrong if its a power suply graphic card or hdd ... i have hdd 1 tb 1 week and it start clicking.
i tried a furmark test and i saw that problem only happening when a graphic card is in use i have that problem also before with my old hdd so i bought new one but same problem start after 1 week of useing new hdd and im not sure what is wrong mabe power suply is damaged? or mabe a graphic card making some conflict that consume a whole power and disk not get enough and start clicking? i got 580w power suply.i have just no idea what to do and what to buy new that do my computer working i think i sell my whole computer and find myself another hobby

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greenbrucelee

· #12 · Sep 29, 2011

Rob please start your own thread and not hijack someone elses BTW in the new thread post your full specs. We need to know make and models of power supplies and other equipment yu cant just say I have 580w psu or i have a graphics card we need to know what they are.

please start a new thread about your issue.

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Rob7777

· #13 · Sep 29, 2011

<<<<ok>>>>

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