*Very* sporadic "mechanical" noise from PC?

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Susan G
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2011/01/18 15:32:00 (permalink)

*Very* sporadic "mechanical" noise from PC?

Hi-

About once a day or sometimes every other day I'm hearing a strange noise from my PC (as I said, *very* sporadic!). It's hard to tell, but it seems to be happening a little more frequently.

It's like a grinding or very fast ratcheting noise and it only lasts a second or two. I've run tests on my hard drives, since that's what I suspect, but even the long read/write tests from Seagate come back fine.

Here's my drive list, in case it helps:

ASUS DRW-24B1LT ATA Device [CD-ROM drive]
Generic- Compact Flash USB Device [Hard drive] -- drive 3
Generic- MS/MS-Pro USB Device [Hard drive] -- drive 6
Generic- SD/MMC USB Device [Hard drive] -- drive 5
Generic- SM/xD-Picture USB Device [Hard drive] -- drive 4
OCZ ET1208AD USB Device [Hard drive] (2.09 GB) -- drive 7, s/n 
ST31000528AS ATA Device [Hard drive] (1000.20 GB) -- drive 1, s/n 9VP1BVJ9, SMART Status: Healthy
ST3160811AS [Hard drive] (160.04 GB) -- drive 2, s/n 6PT2N8BS, rev 3.AAE, SMART Status: Healthy
ST3320620AS [Hard drive] (320.07 GB) -- drive 0, s/n 3QF0BBQ3, rev 3.AAD, SMART Status: Healthy

That 1TB drive needed replacing twice in the past couple of years, BTW, and the latest they sent me is still under warranty in case it turns out to be that.

I'm not sure how to go about troubleshooting this, since I never know when it's going to happen. I don't have to be "doing" anything, and sometimes I hear it when I'm just sitting here -- it's startling!

Does this sound familiar to anyone? I wish I could describe it better -- it's not like a normal spinning drive noise, at least none I've ever heard.

Thanks-

-Susan

2.30 gigahertz Intel Core i7-3610QM; 16 GB RAM
Windows 10 x64; NI Komplete Audio 6.
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    Old55
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    Re:*Very* sporadic "mechanical" noise from PC? 2011/01/18 16:10:19 (permalink)
    Hi Susan,

    If possible, disconnect drives 1 & 2 and run just on your boot drive.  If you still get the sound, you'll need to look at the boot drive or something else.  "Something else" could possibly be a fan in the case or the power supply. 

    Good luck,
    Jan

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    slartabartfast
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    Re:*Very* sporadic "mechanical" noise from PC? 2011/01/19 03:03:37 (permalink)
    Fan noise (cpu cooler, case fans, card fans, power supply fans) is the most likely cause. A wire hitting the blades will produce a sound like that, but sometimes the cause is elusive. If it lasts long enough you may be able to locate it for certain. Pop the case and see if there is anything you can see, and leave it open to see if you can locate the sound the next time it occurs.
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    fireberd
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    Re:*Very* sporadic "mechanical" noise from PC? 2011/01/19 06:31:31 (permalink)
    It may just be some case mechanical vibration or even something near the PC.  If you have the PC sitting on a hard surface, place a rubber mat or something similar under the tower and then see if it does it.

    I have a Dell desktop (Dimensin E510) and it would intermittently make a buzzing sound.  Turned out to be a loose plastic bezel on the front that would vibrate.  A piece of tape, although doesn't look good, fixed the problem.

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    Susan G
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    Re:*Very* sporadic "mechanical" noise from PC? 2011/01/22 13:21:00 (permalink)
    Hi guys-

    Sorry for the late reply. I was sort of waiting to see if it happened again, and it hasn't. The only thing I did was take a CD I'd forgotten about out of the drive and that seems to have done it. I won't know for sure for a while... Maybe my PC was polling it for some reason.

    @fireberd - It's not that kind of sound (external vibration), more like a drive *really* laboring, but just for a second or two.

    Knock wood I won't hear it again to get a better description!

    Thanks-

    -Susan

    2.30 gigahertz Intel Core i7-3610QM; 16 GB RAM
    Windows 10 x64; NI Komplete Audio 6.
    SONAR Platinum (Lexington) x64
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