Weird hard drive noise with Vista - Toshiba u305

I have a brand-new Toshiba U-305-S7467. I partitioned the hard drive, so I'm running both XP and Vista. When running XP, hard drive is quiet as a mouse. When loading Vista, it runs quiet while loading, then gets an ANNOYING buzzing, static-like sound whenever the hard drive is working. Coordinates with the hard drive light coming on.

The buzzing isn't always consistent. There are times when I reboot Vista and the buzzing isn't there at all. (Remember: the buzzing is NEVER there with XP).

It's not the fan. I've disabled the Aero look, and Toshiba flashcards (which wasn't working all the time anyway - a different problem).

 

That is really strange. I am wondering if doing a clean install would help. My U305-S7467 that is running on XP is extremely quiet too. Don't remember any extreme noise when it was running Vista earlier. It could be a laptop specific issue.

On a related note, how did you partition your drive? Did you use "partition magic" or something?

 

Some makes and models of hard drives do run louder with constant seeking than others.

 

Yes, I used "Partition Magic" (the free demo version, which worked really well). I had to do some fancy footwork to get a dual-boot Vista/XP, but it's working fine... except for the static/buzzing sound.

Because of the dual boot, uninstalling Vista isn't really an option for me.

 

Meekus: That's true, but if the problem was a noisy hard drive, it would be noisy with everything. When I run XP, it's as silent as a mouse (I mean REALLY quiet -- only way I know the hard drive is working is to look for the light). Same is true when I'm loading Vista -- I only get noise when Vista is almost completed loading.

To further confuse matters: if I put the computer to "sleep", it will wake up quiet... or noisy.

 

Hi have exactly the same problem, weird, kinda static noise, coordinated with HD light. I have no partition whatsoever, Toshiba Satellite U300 brand new, Windows Vista home premium on it. Noise started after reeboot.
Did you get any answers?
Thanks
Guille.

 

Nope, no answers posted. By trial and error, I discovered that it's associated with certain programs loading (like Skype, which I use alot). Right now, my drive is silent -- but if I turn on Skype, the static starts. I re-installed the latest Skype, but not any better.

There has to be an answer to this! Somewhere between Toshiba and Windows Vista, there's a problem. (My "Toshiba Flashcards" works only every other boot -- do you have the same problem?)

 

I think the flashcards are really laggy. I disable mine, I don't want them to show up like 10secs later.

 

Hello,

I also have a new Toshiba U305, and the hard drive is making a weird noise.. Also i have detected that the noise begins when you are running programs like Skype or Limewire.. I don't know it's weird..

Has anyone figure out this problem on Toshiba U300 models???

 

Unfortunately, no solutions posted (that I know of). This is really too bad, since the only way to silence the totally annoying noise is to dump Skype, which I used alot.

Where are the experts in this forum?

 

Sharif,

just curious...

and your Toshiba U305 is working fine? no problems with the hard disk?

because i bought mine 1 month ago.. and the weird noise makes me worried..

 

Nope, no problems at all except for the noise that makes you think there's a problem! (For those who haven't heard it, it really is scary.)

The fact that I have a dual boot hard drive, and the noise NEVER happens on the XP side makes me think that this is (yet another) Vista compatibility problem.

 

A POSSIBLE SOLUTION!!

After months of being aggravated, I noticed something interesting... during an episode of "high static noise", I had to unplug my external speakers for some reason... the static disappeared! Even when I plugged them back in, the static sound stayed away!

I purposefully turned on a static-sound producing application (either Skype or Dragon) and got the static. Then, unhooked the external speakers again and the noise went away again.

It still doesn't explain what causes the noise. My guess is some kind of internal feedback. Doesn't matter if the "cure" works.

I'm interested to see if this is something that solves problems for others, or is it particular to my system.

Peace...

 

I have the same problem with my satellite p200. The sound corresponds with the harddrive light. It is really annoying and I am not sure if it is causing performance issues. Other forums told me my harddrive is going to die. Have you found a way to fix this???

 

Howdy -- Look directly above your post to my "solution". It's been holding for the past several days.

If the sound doesn't come and go, but is always on, it could be your hard drive dying. CLONE YOUR DRIVE, QUICK! Save yourself the $1,200 I had to spend on forensic reconstruction.

If you don't have external speakers attached, try attaching some and then detaching... see what happens.

Good luck.