About hard disk noise of E6400

I just got my e6400 today, but the hard disk noise is kind of annoying. Even if I do nothing with the OS, the hard disk light keeps shining and the noise comes along. Though the sound is little, but it seems to never stop. Is anyone else meets with the same problem like me? Should it be an issue?
Sorry I've made a mistake on the title

 

If you had an SSD it wouldn't be making any noise

At any rate, it's probably just Vista indexing your drive away. Wait a day or two and it should stop, if not sooner. You can try disabling the indexing and fetching services and whatnot as well.

 

Thread title is fixed.

Which model HDD do you have? Device Manager will give you the model number. Some brands are noisier than others and 7200rpm tends to be noisier than 5400rpm. If the HDD is Seagate 7200rpm then Dell have released a firmware update to reduce the clicking noise.

Also, if you are running Vista, then the initial housekeeping can cause a lot of disk activity for the first day or two.

John

 

Hi, John,

MY HDD is a Seagate with 7200rpm and somehow noisy. Do you have any idea how can I get that firmware to reduce the noise?

thank you.

eddy

 

I do hope it's just the reason. The body also gets hot easily, which is far from my expection. Maybe it's also for the hard disk's keeping working.

 

The model name is ST9250421ASG. Have no idea about it.

 

Actually, some SSDs whistle.

 

That's actually very true. My Samsung SSD whistles a bit. It's a bit like CPU whine, but much, much softer. At any rate, it's still much quieter than an HDD, though if you have low tolerance for higher-pitched sounds, it may be more annoying, than the wooshing sound of an HDD.

 

The firmware update is here. Fixes and Enhancements
Firmware DE17 fixes clicking noise on Seagate 2.5" 7200RPM HDD's Model #'s:

80G - ST980411ASG DP/N N528F
120G - ST9120411ASG DP/N M412F
160G - ST9160411ASG DP/N G970F
200G - ST9200423ASG DP/N J587F
250G - ST9250421ASG DP/N K850F
320G - ST9320421ASG DP/N N530F

Important Information
PLEASE MAKE SURE A/C POWER IS BEING USED WHILE UPDATING YOUR HARD DRIVE)
PLEASE IGNORE INVALID PARTITION TABLE MESSAGES REPORTED BY FREE DOS.

Additional Information
Dell Online Instructions:
* PLEASE PRINT THE FOLLOWING INSTRUCTIONS *

***NOTE: PLEASE IGNORE INVALID PARTITION TABLE MESSAGES REPORTED BY FREE DOS WHEN BOOTING TO DISKETTE OR CD.

For Bootable Diskette:


1. Click on the (BR211337.EXE) file and select "RUN" then "RUN" again.
2. Choose "Continue" in the next window to create a bootable
floppy.
3. Close all applications, and re-boot from the floppy image just created.
4. The Seagate Firmware Update will start automatically.
5. The utility will autoscan and update the appropiate Seagate ST980411ASG, ST9120411ASG, ST9160411ASG, ST9200423ASG, ST9250421ASG, or, ST9320421ASG.
6. Once completed, a message detailing drive model, serial number and updated DE17 firware will appear.
7. Remove the floppy diskette and power off your system.
8. Power on your system to continue normal operation.

For Bootable CD option

(PLEASE MAKE SURE A/C POWER IS BEING USED WHILE UPDATING YOUR HARD DRIVE)

1. Click on the (R211337.EXE) file and select "RUN" then "RUN" again.
2. Press "Continue" then "OK" to extract the files to the provided location.
3. If you have CD imaging software that supports the .ISO image format the file "C:\DELL\Drivers\R211337\Seagate Utility.ISO" is an image for a bootable CD that will automatically run the application.
4. Boot to the CD.
5. The Seagate utility will start automatically.
6. The utility will autoscan and update the appropiate Seagate ST980411ASG, ST9120411ASG, ST9160411ASG, ST9200423ASG, ST9250421ASG, or, ST9320421ASG.
7. Once completed, a message detailing drive model, serial number and updated DE17 firware will appear.
8. Remove the CD and power off your PC.
9. Power on your PC to continue normal operation.



For Other Bootable option (IE. USB key, etc.)

(PLEASE MAKE SURE A/C POWER IS BEING USED WHILE UPDATING YOUR HARD DRIVE)

1. Click on the (R211337.EXE) file and select "RUN" then "RUN" again.
2. Press "Continue" then "OK" to extract the files to the provided location.
3. The files are located in "C:\DELL\Drivers\R211337\Files" directory.
4. Add the files to your bootable media and run the "DE17.bat".
5. The Seagate utility will start automatically.
6. The utility will autoscan and update the appropiate Seagate ST980411ASG, ST9120411ASG, ST9160411ASG, ST9200423ASG, ST9250421ASG, or, ST9320421ASG.
7. Once completed, a message detailing drive model, serial number and updated DE17 firware will appear.
8. Remove the Bootable Media and power off your system.

The download should be listed for you if you enter your service tag into the Dell download system.

Also note that there is an acoustic management setting option on the BIOS.

John

 

Thanks John for the info.

eddy