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    CD/DVD Drive Noise on Inspiron 1520

    Discussion in 'Dell' started by The Tax Man, Aug 1, 2007.

  1. The Tax Man

    The Tax Man Newbie

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    Does anyone else get a loud humming noise when a disc is running? It is from the actual drive buzzing against the base of the notebook. If I place pressure on the drive, the buzzing softens considerably.

    Is this a faulty drive? Perhaps fixed too loosely? Or is it normal in everyones 1520?
     
    The Tax Man, Aug 1, 2007
    #1
  2. PhoenixFx

    PhoenixFx Notebook Virtuoso

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    I guess that is normal. When disks are spinning at maximum speed they can get very loud. You can lower the spinning speed by using a tool like Nero Drive Speed to make it run quieter. It will save your battery life and may also extend the lifetime of the drive.
     
    PhoenixFx, Aug 1, 2007
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  3. mxxl

    mxxl Notebook Geek

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    This happens to my drive quite often.
     
    mxxl, Aug 1, 2007
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  4. The Tax Man

    The Tax Man Newbie

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    Ah ok thanks.

    The noise could be avoided if the outside of the disc drive was rimmed in a softer material...because the hum is just a a vibration of plastic on plastic.
     
    The Tax Man, Aug 1, 2007
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  5. Giblet

    Giblet Notebook Enthusiast

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    I have installed several games on my 1520 in dvd format. Then I went to install BF2 and the vibration was so intense I opted not to install it. It was literally shaking the table my notebook was sitting on. Thinking I had damaged the drive somehow, i tried to install san andreas... and everything was completely fine.

    So kind of as a corollary to your original question... would a CD cause more vibration than a DVD... perhaps because of faster read speed? I'd like to trust that I could install BF2 without breaking anything!
     
    Giblet, Aug 5, 2007
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  6. chelet

    chelet Notebook Deity

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    Some discs are unbalanced and will make a big racket when you try to read them. CD or DVD doesn't matter; you can have unbalanced DVD discs too.

    If a disc is making too big a racket and you're worried, you can try a program to reduce drive speed, like the Nero Drive Speed linked to earlier in this thread.
     
    chelet, Aug 5, 2007
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  7. jbizzler

    jbizzler Notebook Consultant

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    It onyl happens to me with certain discs.
     
    jbizzler, Aug 5, 2007
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  8. Giblet

    Giblet Notebook Enthusiast

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    Thanks. Guess I will have to check out 2142 to get a BF fix.
     
    Giblet, Aug 5, 2007
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  9. The Tax Man

    The Tax Man Newbie

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    Thanks for the discussions.

    I have also recently found that it is only an issue that arises with particular discs.

    I am happy to put up with it as it only seems to occur when installing a game or during the initial loading of a game.
     
    The Tax Man, Aug 5, 2007
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  10. Cactapus

    Cactapus Notebook Geek

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    It's not going to burn out or anything will it? The first thing I plan on doing when I get my 1520 is installing some games, including BF2. If the shaking is violent enough to burn out the hard drive, I won't install it.
     
    Cactapus, Aug 5, 2007
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  11. chelet

    chelet Notebook Deity

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    I'd try to get the drive to slow down with Nero CDSpeed or CD Bremse. If it's really loud, I'd be afraid the disk could come apart.
    http://askbobrankin.com/exploding_cdroms.html

     
    chelet, Aug 5, 2007
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  12. XDViPeR

    XDViPeR Notebook Consultant

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    Yes this is also on my machine, While install Ubuntu, it is such a annoying sound that I had to move the laptop to the other room. It happens with my all my dvd movies and cds! even the new ones!!! it's annoying when i watch a dvd or something.
     
    XDViPeR, Jan 3, 2008
    #12