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    xps m1710 - clicking sound

    Discussion in 'Dell XPS and Studio XPS' started by 3NZ0, Sep 2, 2006.

  1. 3NZ0

    3NZ0 Notebook Evangelist

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    Hi there,

    Ive had my m1710 for about a month now, recently there has been a clicking noise comming from the laptop.
    After trying to pinpoint it, i realised it was comming from the hard drive area and clicked when it was being used (the very quick intermitant flashes from the hdd light)
    It doesnt click all the time, it does it every now and then, then is silent again.
    What should i do? Does this mean i need to rma the hdd?

    Hard drive is a seagate 120gig 5.4k rpm sata that came with the laptop.

    Thanks for any help. :)
     
    3NZ0, Sep 2, 2006
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  2. Percybut

    Percybut Notebook Consultant

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    Is the machine a refurbished one?

    Usually, only dying hard drives make clicking sounds.
     
    Percybut, Sep 2, 2006
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  3. shadow85

    shadow85 Notebook Evangelist

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    Its ALIVE!!!! No no no, this is perfectly normal. Many people who has that notebook experience that if you search.

    Remember. Its "clicking" and not "scratching" or "squeeking". If it is, then you hard drive is killing it self.
     
    shadow85, Sep 2, 2006
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  4. justsomeguy

    justsomeguy Notebook Enthusiast

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    As the fella above stated, a certain amount of noise is fairly normal in some hard drives.. Had some drives that have made quite loud clicking noises for years and never failed me.. Rather depends on the volume of the clicks, but I wouldnt be too alarmed.. Dell would most likely tell you the same if you contacted them.
     
    justsomeguy, Sep 2, 2006
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  5. 3NZ0

    3NZ0 Notebook Evangelist

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    Hi there,

    these do not sound like they are not normal operating sounds.
    Most of the time it is silent even during a defrag session but sometimes it can be very loud for no aparant reason.

    The machine is brand new, not a refurbished model.

    I have a 4 drive raid array in my desktop pc, even this, under heavy use doesn't make loud clicking noises during use.


    Thanks for the help so far everyone :)
     
    3NZ0, Sep 2, 2006
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  6. bgeo

    bgeo Notebook Geek

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    What's the model # of your hard disk? Find out and then call the manufacturer of the drive (not Dell) and describe the clicking noise. Ask them if this particular behavior is normal or not. If they say no, then you need to talk to Dell. Also, you can open up task manager to see if any particular appln or pgm is spiking in accordance with the clicking. Ocassional clicking noise is okay. But frequent onces can be VERY annoying.


    Also, if this is a recent behavior, then you need to ask Dell for a replacement disk. With the existing disk still with you, you can test out the new disk. if that too is causing the problem, you may not have anything to worry.

    Hope this helps

    BGeo
     
    bgeo, Sep 2, 2006
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  7. 3NZ0

    3NZ0 Notebook Evangelist

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    Hi there bgeo,

    thanks for the advice, i will contact both dell and seagate accordingly.
     
    3NZ0, Sep 2, 2006
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