Hard disk

[brenda43]

My Pc is rather noisy : do you think my hard disc is going and what should do? Do I do a back up or change my hard disc?

[Buenchico]

When is it 'rather noisy'?

If it's only when there's disk activity (which, on many computers, is indicated by a flashing light), your hard drive is probably terminally sick. It should be backed up (and then replaced) a.s.a.p. (Typical cost around �35 - that's what I paid at a local shop for an 80Gb drive a couple of weeks ago).

However, if it's noisy all of the time, it's just the fan. They're dirt cheap and easy to replace. (Typical cost: Not much more than a fiver).

Chris

[brenda43]

Thank you Chris, my disc is going bad it looks like I will take your advice! Brenda43

[ACtheTROLL]

before you replace anything .... look inside ... if the fan looks like a fluff ball ... give it a clean.

as bu asks
is it "hunting" or whining ?...
hunting tends to be a harsh mechanical clicking
if it's bearings ... the easiest way is to touch the disc with a screwdriver and get your ear on the handle
fans sound like vacuum cleaners

let
http://www.hdtune.com/
have a look ... look at the health tab
if SMART shows errors ... it's backup time.

get the good stuff first ... if it fails ... switch off ... wait a while ... try again

[umustbejokin]

i had a noise problem i tookit back to the spplier and they changed the fan �10.00 they said that i should remove the side of the pc every couple of moths and give it a hoovering, it is a pain but i have had no more problems with noise

[brenda43]

Thanks every one for the advices I will try and make sure that it is the disk not the fan. I have not opened the side of the tower since I got the PC 5 years ago! But I think the disk is also sick. Thanks again for the advices.
Brenda

[ACtheTROLL]

5 years !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

make sure you have a shotgun handy .... there could be anything in there!! ;-)

[Jenga]

I am sorry this is nearly a week old and maybe you might not go back this far but I read your problem and thought to myself that my PC was noisy. It kept reminding me to back it up and I did not bother and I decided to back it up 1/2 hour ago when I read your problem and my computer has gone quiet now. It must of been desperate for me to back it up.

[brenda43]

Thank you Jenga, I do back up every week. And it was my hard disk. Thanks all the same Also I have a program called Ashampoo: does all the backups and defrag every now and then. Got the ashampoo from Computeractive, a very good PC mag.