New Dell E6400 makes little scratching sound noises.

did your new dell e6400 make little scratching sound noises. Its really getting to me. New computers shouldn't do this right?

should i exchange it for a new one? its a small scratching sound near the fan but it isn't the fan.

 

Is it a high pitch noise or a mechanical noise? My M4400 has a high pitch noise that I think is attributed to the ambient light sensor. I only hear it if it's really quiet around me or if I stick my ear right up to it. It also had a mechanical noise that came from the Seagate hard-drive. I changed it to a Western Digital and that sound went away.

 

mechanical noise. should i exchange it for a new one?

 

It could be slight vibration caused by the hard drive.

If so, it shouldn't cause any problems. There are "do-it" yourself fixes. Such as putting a layer pf electrical tape between the HDD caddy and the chassis.

 

actually now that i'm in a quiet place its both a high pitch and that scratching noise.

 

the hard drive led keeps flickering and is insync with the sound, is this normal?

 

Ok, lets clear everything up.
- If you hear a high pitch sound when your computer is idle, that is the Intel CPU. All Intel mobile CPU starting with the Core 2 Duo and up (and some Pentium M), have this problem. OEMs says it's the power management of the CPU, and Intel denies all problem (probably because they lost their hearing).

- If you ear a tic or scratching sound when you move your mouse, minimize/restore a windows, scroll a page. That is a common issue with integrated sound cards, the only real fix is a dedicated sound card. The issue is due to interference between components and the sound. Remember that sound is analogue so basically anything in the computer can interfere with it.There is a work around, thus. Lower the volume to 0 and Mute the sound of the Microphone for PLAYBACK (not record). And any other sources that you don't use.

To do this in Vista and Win7: Open the control Panel, then open the sound control panel (NOT the IDT sound panel), then double click on the output source (speakers/headphones). A new panel should appear, from there go to the "Levels" tab, and set the volume to 0 and Mute all source that you don't use (PC Speaker, Digital Output Device, Microphone (this is not the recording microphone)).

Then on your way, increase the default output sound in share mode, by setting it to max quality. To do this, on the same panel as the last one where you adjusted the volumes, go under the "Advance" tab, and select the drop down box to 24-bit, 192 000 Hz (should be the max one). Click on OK on the panel to close it. If you play music while you do this, it may stop playing and restarting the program may be needed.

Hope this helps.

 

Hi Sleepy515

The high-pitched sound is probably the CPU, as GoodBytes said. I haven't personally had this problem, but I have read others who blame the CPU. It could also be the PSU, as my old HP power brick used to make a high-pitched sound when charging, but I don't experience this with my Dell.

As for the scratching sound, it might be hard-disk write head. If it only occurs every so often, I wouldn't worry too much. However, if you're hearing it all the time, then I'd make a backup of your data in case the drive fails (I'm not saying it will, some drives are louder than others, but generally hearing mechanical scratching sounds isn't a good thing).

 

It's your hard drive that is making that sound: a constant hum from the drive motor, and the scratching noise from the head seeking. There is a lot of drive activity when you have a new Vista OS installed, from indexing.

You can try swapping for a 5400 rpm hard drive. Or, best, get a SSD.

 

is this a bad thing or a normal thing?
will this sound get louder and louder.