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Spark_plug
4 Posts
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1706
May 9th, 2004 13:00
HD Clicking when Idle
Hi All,
I have read all of the previous posts about drives clicking and found no solution so I thought I would post my question for an updated answer.
I have a new Inspiron 8600 with a Hitachi Travelstar 5K80, HTS548080M9AT00, 80G drive. When the system is idle the drive clicks rapidly (3-5 clicks/second). When I first got it I didn't notice it had this problem/symptom, but after about 3 months I noticed and it is driving me crazy. I have tried killing each one of the processes of known applications that load themselves at startup to no avail. I look at the Hitachi website and there is no mention of this symptom. However they do have an acoustic utility for download, but I'm apprehensive to use because the drive didn't do this when I first got it.
Can anyone explain what's happening, why do I all of a sudden have this noise and how to I remove it?
Thanks
Spark_plug
839
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Posted May 10th, 2004 12:00
I checked and the indexing service was already off. I didn't have this issue when I first got the computer it just started a few weeks ago. I removed all of the services that I could to eliminate something running in the background. It is clicking as I type this, but when I change the focus to another window it will stop for a minute or so then begin again. Very odd.
Spark_plug
839
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Posted May 10th, 2004 14:00
you should run the hitachi drive fitness test and download feature tool to check if your sound dampening has been turned on.. if the disposition code is 0x00 it should be fine.. and run dell diagnostic too on your harddisk.. if you're still worried about the clicking, then call dell up and ask them what they can do..839
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Posted May 11th, 2004 00:00
Run the diags as suggested, but it could also be spyware or a virus.839
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Posted May 11th, 2004 23:00
or... it can just be the same problem everyone on this forum including me. I am getting the small once every 30 second, and im worried ill end up replacing it. What is the indexing service and how do i turn it off? Also how do i get to runthat hitachi fitness test if i dont have a floppy, i ran the dell diagnostic and it came out fine. No viruses and no spyware for sure, so whats the deal839
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Posted May 14th, 2004 05:00
I have the same problem on both of my Inspirons. Though the 8500 starts clicking at idle and stops when I highlight and copy something, but it starts again after some while. On the 8600 there is a sound every 30 secs or so. First I thought it is an electronic message sound so I turned off all the sound to find out it is probably the head drive of the harddisk going to the parking position and coming down for no (?) reason...(while reading web pages).
In power settings the hard drive is set to stop after 20 minutes.
Drives
me crazy....
839
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Posted May 14th, 2004 17:00
I can`t find the hard disc diagnostics program on my laptop or tools cd... ??839
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Posted May 15th, 2004 02:00
I'm not sure if it helps but don't turn on the turn off hard disk feature in your power scheme, i just find it more of a problem bearer personally. And as for the hard disk tools, you have to download them yourself from your hard disk manufacturer's website, i.e. hitachi, then www.hitachigst.com
johnallg
2 Intern
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7280 Posts
839
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Posted May 10th, 2004 01:00