[Ranger_]

I am not sure if this could be a virus, malware, etc or a hardware issue. The first thing I noticed was WMP 11 hanging for about 4-5 seconds upon opening up a music file. Another thing I noticed is initiating downloads through Firefox makes the browser hang for about 4 seconds. My HDD is constantly making noise as if a program or something is loading or running in the background. I check the processes in the task manager and nothing seems to be out of the ordinary. I have done system scans with my security software and nothing was found other than tracking cookies in Firefox. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

 

[McNinja]

Does WMP 11 hang for every song you play not just starting up WMP11?

What kind of noise is the HDD making, a screeching noise?

 

[Ranger_]

Does WMP 11 hang for every song you play not just starting up WMP11?

What kind of noise is the HDD making, a screeching noise?

Yes, it only hangs when I try to play music. It doesn't do this for video files however. The HDD noise is like the one you hear when you first boot up your PC or load a game for example.

 

[McNinja]

I think your HDD may be failing. I don't know if you want to take the chance and its constantly making this noise right?

I think its best you buy a new HDD. Here's a HDD you should consider getting.

Seagate Barracuda 7200.12 ST3500418AS 500GB 7200 RPM 16MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive
$60
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822148395

You can use DriveImgXML to create a copy of your current HDD and load it onto the HDD
http://www.runtime.org/driveimage-xml.htm
(its Free)