normal hard drive ?

Hi every one !

I just bought myself a Hp 6730s and i have 2 little questions on it.

First, the hard drive always seems to be doing something even if there is nothing going on with the computer. I close everything and the hard drive is always active and makes a 'thick' sound every seconde or so. This issue is present with vista and XP. I wanted to know if i should do something about it or is this normal ?

Second, i find the lightscribe drive makes alot of noise when it is in use. It makes the normal noise of a cd that is turning fast, but it makes alot of noise of ''searching''.

My first questions bother me more then my second one. I might seem paranoid with sounds, but i really not , lol. I just dont want something is is broken from the start lol.

Thanks for your help !

 

1. how much ram do you have?

2. notebook cd trays make a lot of noise... period

 

Checkout the Vista Tweak Sticky in the OS forum.

It could be that indexes are being built, or a defrag is running. But these are low priority tasks.

You can disable Superfetch, Indexing (WSearch), disable the windows background defragger in task scheduler and assign a fixed page file size. (Make a Restore Point first if you do this)

Temps ? Also view the SMART data.

 

jcovelli:
1: I have 3 gig of ram
2: yah, that what i tough for the reader, no problem there then.


Andy:
I presently have XP installed and will keep XP installed (but i noticed this issue on vista that was preloaded). IS there still stuff that i can use from the vista sticky ?

I will go trough the list and try to find how to disable them. Also, when u say temps?, you want the temperature of the hard drive ?

 

AFAIK, you can still disable the Indexing Service (Run > Services.msc) and Assign a fixed page file size (1.5x of RAM installed - same initial and max size).

The Vista Sticky was to mainly reduce memory usage in Vista.

You can monitor the HDD temps with HWMonitor, and view the SMART data and benchmark the drive for performance in HD Tune.

Also run a Drive Defrag and also defrag the page file.

(Set Restore Point first )

 

with HHD health, i got
temp = 39 C
health = 100

With HD tune :
Temp = 40C
Ran benchmark : only got info on transfer rate `: min : 7MB∕s and max 57,2MB∕sec.

Indexing was already stopped and im searching the forum how to assign a fixed page file size and i will give news soon on that

 

Andy, your names pops up often in my searchs, you seem to know alot of stuff and very helpful !

 

http://www.petri.co.il/pagefile_optimization.htm

EDIT: Temps are good. Possible to upload a screenshot of the benchmark ?

 

My ram = 3 gig

The setting were :
initial : 2046
Maximum = 4092

Changed both to 3 *1024 * 1,5 = 4608

No difference for now, i am restarting computer now.

Also, is it bad if the hard drive always seems to be doing something if i dont see performance issue ? Could it cause problem?

 

No.

The main concern for HDDs are high temps (above 55*C).

 

Ok, restarted, no difference, so i put back the initial values.

Since you say there no problem for this issue since i have no heat problem. Should i keep the computer or should i return it and see if another laptop (of the same model) does not show this issue ?

 

No no, there is nothing serious. Keep the notebook. You can upgrade the HDD later for a faster one.

 

Thanks alot for your help and opinion ! Then i will enjoy my new computer in peace ! Ill just try not to hear to noise when its silent !

 

Yeah, some HDD models are just noisier than others.

(Hitachi 5K320 and Seagate 5400.5 are super quiet)

 

The 5K320 is the quietest 5400rpm 320gb drive their is. Many people on here like rtdogs have reviewed the 5K320 and it is really quiet. a guy on here had teh wd 320gb drive and it was loud, and he replaced it with the 5k320 and he said it was quieter.

Go for the 5k320, its a great drive, and can be had for less than $100.

I have the 7K320's from Hitachi and they are also really quiet. Ihave the single platter 160 gb model, and it is very quiet.

K-TRON

 

I dont really have a problem with the noise of the HD when it is supposed to being used. I just found it weird that the HD is constantly being used∕accessed. I find it annoying when im reading a word document and i hear a rythmic tic or click (how do you write that noise , lol ) , thats how i realised it happened all the time.

 

You may want to go to the start orb, go to the run command. Than type in MSCONFIG.
That will bring up a window.
Than go to the startup and services tabs.
Than shut off any software, programs, services or whatever you are not using. That will free up system resources, and put less of a strain on your harddrive.
Which will decrease the noise from your drive.
You may want to check your antivirus settings. If the drive is running a antivirus scan when you are typing, well that could explain why the drive is making noise.

Just modify the MSCONFIG startup and services menu's and your antivirus scanning settings and you can quiet your drive down, by reducing its usage.

K-TRON

 

To add, some users also experienced clicking issues on their HDD.

Download Notebook Hardware Control, and in the HDD section, look for AAM Value selection, and move the slider to maximum value (255). See if that solves it.

HD Tune Pro will also allow you to modify the AAM Value.

If you have a Seagate drive, Seagate offers a tool to modify the AAM, check out their support site.

 

For the anti-virus, i tried shutting it down, and the HD still made a rythmic noise. I am looking in services tab in msconfig, and there is alot of services enabled (estimate: 70-80ish services). I just disable anything i dont think is ufesull ? I will try to find a list explaining services.

I just downloaded Notebook hardware control and in the HDD section i do not find anything talking about AAM (which means ? )

Also i have a Hitachi HD

 

dont disable everything, only software you are not using. So say adobe acrobat comes on at startup, just disable that and whatever is running in the background you do not use.
Only shut off what you can figure out from msconfig. You dont want to shut off everything.

K-TRON