Hard drive clicking/making noises when _off_

Dear Community,

I have a Hitachi 160gb notebook hard drive (that came with my Lenovo T61).

I have been using this drive via USB cable for external storage. (SATA to USB cable)

Previously I have have noticed that the Hitachi notebook hard drive made clicking noises while plugged into my current laptop. I have noticed this about two or three times. The clicking noise is intermittent, and goes away after a while.

However, while handling the Hitachi hard drive a few days ago with no power running through it, the hard drive made a noise that sounded like clicking but also like something was loose inside. I repeat, the hard drive had no power running through it.

I have read the forums concerning hard drive clicking, but these all concerned hard drives that had power running through it. I.e.,
http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=191167

I have been unable to find any talk of a situation like mine.

I have never encountered this noise in a laptop hard drive while it was off before. Any thoughts on this situation? Is the hard drive about to die? I suspect that the plates might be loose, but this is only a guess and I am not too familiar with laptop hard drives.

Thank you in advance for your help.

Sincerely,
Joe

 

Run Hitachi DFT to be sure.

 

Just to understand correctly, your battery was removed and the ac adapter was not plugged in this case (no power)?

cheers ...

 

You both have been repped. I will run the utility.

qhn,

battery was indeed removed and ac adapter was not plugged in. basically I am holding this laptop hard drive in my hand, and when I move it, it makes the described noise.

 

If it is producing a "loose" sound as if there are loose parts inside the drive, then it's likely that you're shaking or moving it; this sound is normal. In fact, it likely says so on the drive.