Clicking noise...

[Malc]

Ahh I had a feeling it was one of the "features" of Vista, I checked the performance and reliability monitor and the graph shows its doing something with .log files and $mft stuff all the time

[k2theman]

Has anyone experienced the loud click which is *not* accompanied by the HDD light flashing? It'll just be a random CLICK out of the blue. The thing is, it can actually cause the computer to freeze up momentarily. I've noticed it a number of times while gaming (WoW), where the click will cause the entire game screen to freeze for less than half a second. It's extremely annoying... one thing is that I'm not 100% convinced that it's coming from the HDD, but it definitely sounds like it. Note that the issue occurs anywhere (in Windows, in a game, etc.).

[Ultimate1]

Has anyone experienced the loud click which is *not* accompanied by the HDD light flashing? It'll just be a random CLICK out of the blue. The thing is, it can actually cause the computer to freeze up momentarily. I've noticed it a number of times while gaming (WoW), where the click will cause the entire game screen to freeze for less than half a second. It's extremely annoying... one thing is that I'm not 100% convinced that it's coming from the HDD, but it definitely sounds like it. Note that the issue occurs anywhere (in Windows, in a game, etc.).

Your hard drive is limping you should get a new one.

[farelli09]

my 1520 is very noisy as well (with the hdd clicking). I mean it's constant...even when there isn't anything major running.

[sca]

I have a Dell Inspiron 1720. Purchased late July 07. The clicking noise is on the left side. I have chatted with Dell and they had me "reseat" the hard drive. The clicking continues. I had an HP 17" Dimension and there were no clicking sounds. Of course, the mother board went in 18 months so that's why I tried a Dell. The clicking is annoying but I am more concerned if it is an issue or just an annoyance. I appreciate the posts.

[Tobi1982]

Hi,

on mine, I set the acoustic mode in the bios back to the default value "bypass" and until now, looks like the click noise got less frequent than in "performance" with no noticeable or even "benchmarkable" performance decrease..

Maybe you have a look what your setting is.

Greets

[rppelfr]

I have a 1720 and have the same noise. It only happens once in awhile but it is under the keyboard on the left side. I have the Samsung 250GB drive. I have run diags on it and everything passes. At first the sound seemed like there was something momentarily caught in the fan or something. But now I feel it is coming from the HDD. I hope it is normal. I would truly hate to have to get a new drive and re-install everything. I got my laptop late July 07.

[Racy]

well I actually have a D630 with this problem, my first WD 120GB drive made these metallic clicking noises every 5-10 mins or so when the computer was idle, called up Dell and they sent me a replacement, now im on a Fujitsu Refurbished HD that is making a similar more prominent metallic click, (why dell would send me a refurb drive is beyond me) but I will call dell today and ask them to send me another and im prolly going to send the Fujitsu back.

[pencils]

Guys, this click has got nothing to do with Vista.

I got a D830 with a Seagate 160 GB 7200 RPM hdd, and the first thing I did was wipe off windows and install linux.

If I listed very carefully, it clicks, like you all described. It is not the same click as a normal hard drive read, actually it sounds like the drive is powering down very briefly or something. Playing around with the settings in the BIOS made no difference to the frequency of the clicks or the sound level.

How I solved the problem: I play music.

I know clicking is normally the sound of a drive about to go dead, but I don't think that is it. I have a three year warranty, and all my data is on a separate sever at home, so worst case scenario is I have to ask for a new drive.

[enjoi17]

Alright, I'm having this problem now on my Vostro 1400 which I got about 2 weeks ago. It only became noticeable to me when playing 'Dream of Mirror Online' and the noise has continued ever since.

I have had a few issues with crashing at windows startup but otherwise my performance doesn't seem to be suffering. It's just that while running the game I get this really annoying clicking from the left side of the notebook, it's pretty much constant and continues after I shut the game. And the strange thing is sometimes it disappears completely! HD tune shows no signs of any trouble and I've tried changing the BIOS settings as well to no avail.

I am hesitant to return the notebook as I have already installed and moved lots of files over to it, but if this is possibly the sign of a failing hard drive I want to deal with it before it's too late.

What would you all suggest I do?