Public figure and journalist Maxim Shevchenko. Shevchenko Maxim Leonardovich: biography, personal life of a journalist. Labor activity of Maxim Shevchenko

HDD, aka hard drive, makes noise, clicks and creaks. Why and what can be done.

Most of the HDD noise has sound waves in the range of 1 - 3 kHz and consists of noise from two different sources.

This is the noise of a hard drive generated by the rotation of its spindle and the friction of mechanical parts directly inside the hard drive. This noise can only be reduced by modifying the hard drive components.

The noise we hear most is caused by the vibration of the hard drive inside the computer case. It, in turn, consists of vibration from the rotation of the spindle, as well as vibration from the read/write heads, which accelerate and decelerate many times per second.

Clicks in the HDD, for example, are produced by the positioner when it hits the limiter. A working hard drive may make clicking noises due to so-called thermal calibration, when the hard drive, in response to an increase in the temperature of the case and its components, reinitializes the read/write head positioning system.

In addition, the hard drive also clicks due to a bad, “rattling” or unstable power supply, when the heads go into the parking area and the HDD electronics restart. Another reason why a working screw clicks may be the translation hard drive into sleep mode, and if such settings are explicitly specified in the system's power saving properties, then a similar effect can occur quite often. It makes sense to mention offline scanning of the disk surface as one of the reasons why the HDD clicks. True, in this case, extraneous sounds from the hard drive will be caused by bad sectors of the hard drive, which off-line scanning tries to replace or exclude from the broadcast.

What to do?

Simply put, you can reduce the volume of sounds emitted by a hard drive in two ways - fix them in the case using soft mounts that prevent the transfer of vibration from the hard drive to the case and use the Automatic Acoustic Management function.

Is “creaking” the rattling sound of the propeller during operation or a constant hum? If the latter, then most likely resonance. Tighten or tighten the hard drive mount. What if there are two of them? The screws work silently one at a time, but together in the same case there is a hum. We recommend turning one of the screws upside down so that the rotation is in different sides. They turned it over. The sound has decreased by 80%. That means it.

Not everyone knows that the user can change the characteristics of the hard drive using the acoustic control function, which allows you to modify data access profiles (access patterns) and change the default hard drive mode (fast) to quiet mode.

Launch a utility like HD Tune Pro, enable AAM (Automatic Acoustic Management) and set it to quiet mode.

Download the Victoria program and use it to adjust the noise level of the hard drive (the noise is reduced by reducing the spindle speed).

All UltraATA/100 and Serial ATA hard drives have Automatic Acoustic Management (AAM), but you need special software to access it and change its settings.

Sounds with frequencies from 1 kHz to 3 kHz are characterized by the greatest sensitivity, so noise reduction at these frequencies is more effective than at other frequencies. This is where acoustic control technology comes from.

Most sound waves in the 1 to 3 kHz range consist of noise from two different sources. Firstly, this is the noise of the hard drive, generated by the rotation of its spindle and the friction of the mechanical parts directly inside the hard drive. This noise can only be reduced by modifying the hard drive components. But the noise we hear most is caused by the vibration of the hard drive inside the computer case. It, in turn, consists of vibration from the rotation of the spindle, as well as vibration from the read/write heads, which accelerate and decelerate many times per second.

Most quick way The movement of the heads consists of their acceleration to the middle of the path towards the new track and their subsequent braking for the rest of the path (the so-called two-position search). There are many options to modify this operation, ranging from modification of acceleration and deceleration, as well as the required switching power supply. Adding Native Command Queuing, which analyzes and reorders all incoming commands to find the most efficient order of read and write requests, helps reduce the number of head moves, which can reduce access times and reduce noise.

Now let's move on to analyzing the situation when the hard drive is knocking due to a malfunction. As a rule, in this case, the positioning system, for one reason or another, is not able to receive signals from the hard disk heads indicating that the head “sees” the servo markings. In this case, the hard drive creaks, whistles, knocks or makes other sounds that excite the soul. The actuator moves the block of heads over the entire available amplitude, hence the entire set. The HDD also makes knocking noises if there is a failure during the firmware loading process and it freezes, preventing the processor from controlling the internals of the screw. In all cases when a hard drive is knocking, qualified diagnostics are needed to determine the causes and develop an action strategy to successfully recover data from a knocking hard drive.

The hard drive is creaking or the HDD is noisy.

Sometimes every PC user may encounter the problem of extraneous noise during hard drive operation. The hard drive is a mechanical structure containing rotating disks. Reading information from a hard drive is carried out using magnetic heads, which, when moving, create some noise. The type of extraneous sounds depends on the model of the hard drive and the case of the system unit. If the computer case is made of inexpensive materials and the inside is poorly assembled, then unpleasant sounds will be emitted throughout the system unit.

The hard drive stores all the information on the computer. Therefore, you need to take measures to save data as soon as you hear noise during the operation of the device. Because this is the first “bell” that it may soon break.

However, sometimes the simple operating condition may be accompanied by noise. Here you need to figure out why the hard drive is cracking.

1. Replace the hard drive.
2. Modify the acoustic level using the AAM option.
3. Take measures to soundproof the case or buy a better one.
4. Secure the hard drive with soundproofing pads.
5. Defragment the disk.

Apparently, the second option for solving the problem raises the most questions. Let's look at what it is.

Reducing noise from a hard drive using AAM

Any HDD has the function of regulating the level of noise it creates using the built-in Automatic Acoustic Management (AAM) option. Its task is to reduce the noise of the device by reducing the speed of movement of the heads. But there is one negative factor here: using this option will automatically reduce the speed of the hard drive.

Which of these two options (speed or noise) will create more inconvenience, in which favor to give your preference is up to you to decide. You may not feel a reduction in the speed of your hard drive, but the annoying noise volume will noticeably decrease. If you still decide to fix the noise problem using AAM, then you need to download the WinAAM application. It is available for download and is completely free. It has a Russian-language interface and works without mandatory installation. You can get this program by following the link: http://www.withopf.com/tools/aam/winaam-292.zip.

On the window that appears, click “Continue”. Correcting security settings is completely useless in getting rid of hard drive noise, so it is better not to touch it.

In the first line you can read that at this point in time the noise level control is not activated. Click on the “Silent/Standard (128)” option to adjust the silent AAM level. Its value can range from 0 to 255. It is noted that influential abilities are possessed exclusively by extreme levels, that is, “quiet” or “loud.” Large quantity Winchesters do not pay attention to intermediate levels. This is most likely the reason that the WinAAM application allows you to solve the noise problem with a click on one option.

After adjusting the noise level, the application will close. Re-open it, select “Continue”, then “Check”.

A window will open showing the random movement of the read head.

At this moment, you will have the opportunity to hear the operation of the hard drive with the updated AAM option. The difference is huge. In order to compare with previous state hard drive, click the “Loud (254)” option. This action will speed up the hard drive and return the previous noise volume.

Mechanical methods for getting rid of HDD noise

When the application fails to get rid of the noise, you need to solve the problem manually.

1. First, check the quality of the hard drive fixation. The hard drive must be firmly fixed and held securely in the grooves, all bolts must be sufficiently tightened.
2. Consider which parts of the HDD mechanically touch the computer case. At the joints it is necessary to install special gaskets with an insulating function. You can move the hard drive mounting basket a little so that the part does not come into contact with the computer case. Doing this can help reduce noise.
3. If it is possible to change the location of the hard drive, do so. It is necessary to ensure that the vibration of the hard drive does not transfer to the case.

If this fails to reduce the noise, contact technical support.

The hard drive remains one of the noisiest components in a computer. Moreover, one should distinguish between the noise due to the active operation of the hard drive during reading/writing and the noise of the motor, which comes from the disk almost constantly. Naturally, we should not forget about vibration noise, which is greatly amplified by the computer case. For example, often disks rigidly mounted in the metal case of the system unit transmit their low-frequency vibration (100-120 Hz) to it, and as a result, a noticeable unpleasant hum appears, which completely disappears with a non-rigid mounting.

Silent mount

The main source of noise in passive mode is the spindle bearing assembly. Being rigidly fixed in the computer case, the hard drive, with its low-frequency vibrations of small amplitude, causes the elements of the case to vibrate. The large surface of the computer case becomes a kind of amplifier for the noise produced by the hard drive. Note that three-inch bays for installing hard drives in modern cases are often made in the form of a loosely fixed basket, which is a good oscillating system. In this case, it is better to completely remove the basket from the case and install the drive in a 5.25-inch bay in a container or using a mounting slide. Several mounting methods are offered to reduce the noise of a hard drive.

To prevent resonances, you can use elastic washers for the bolts securing the disk to the computer case, vibration isolators, or an elastic suspension. Interesting idea suggested on the Internet by enthusiasts from Spode’s Adobe website (http://www.spodesabode.com/) a rather original and very cheap way to reduce noise associated with disk vibration. All you need to implement it are two pencils and a few rubber rings, with which you can secure a three-inch hard drive in a five-inch bay using guy wires (by the way, this will in a good way for quickly mounting a hard drive in a computer, if all are three-inch seats busy).

This is perhaps one of the cheapest modifications, but it will force you to look inside your computer from time to time and change the rubber bands, since over time they become unusable. However, you can use wider and more reliable harnesses. However, do not forget that an insecurely fixed hard drive can reduce system performance or even fail.

In addition, some hard drives get very hot during operation, so good thermal contact with the computer case is an indispensable condition for their reliable operation, and suspension or insulation from the case disrupts heat transfer. So, although in the most modern models energy consumption is significantly reduced, the danger of overheating due to difficult heat dissipation still remains.

For such hard drives, you can use devices like Mobile Rack (http://www.mobile-rack.ru/), which is a plastic container into which a hard drive is inserted on a slide. The container will also act as a vibration isolator and dampen some of the vibrations of the hard drive. Some cases are equipped with built-in fans for better heat dissipation.

A more radical method of reducing hard drive noise is to use special soundproofing containers such as Silent Drive (http://www.quietps.com/) with a heat-dissipating circuit.

How to make a hard drive quieter using software

Many manufacturers provide their products with the ability to programmatically reduce the head positioning speed. The owner of a hard drive can reduce the noise level using special utilities that should be searched on the website of a specific manufacturer. Naturally, the speed of data access after reducing noise may decrease somewhat, but the level of comfort when working with a personal computer will increase.

The fact is that many modern hard drives have a noise control function (Automatic Acoustic Management, AAM, which in Russian means noise level management), and therefore some hard drive manufacturers have developed utilities for managing various disk parameters, including AMM. Almost any modern hard drive that complies with the ATA/ATAPI-6 standard or higher supports this function. The only exceptions are thin, cheaper Maxtor drives and many modern Seagate drives, which have AAM support, but cannot be adjusted.

How does a hard drive regulate the noise it makes? Some believe that reducing the noise level is achieved by reducing the disk rotation speed, but this is incorrect, since the spindle rotation speed is a constant value and for a particular model is maintained with an accuracy of a fraction of a percent. But the speed of movement of the magnetic head unit (MMG) drive can be controlled. If you were to disassemble a modern hard drive, you would see that the BMG is driven by a coil located in the field of action of a strong permanent magnet. When a current of one direction is passed through the coil, the block begins to move in one direction, and when the sign of the current changes in the other. This whole design strongly resembles the design of a conventional acoustic speaker, which is why this coil is called an acoustic coil. The greater the amplitude of the current pulse passed through the coil, and the steeper its front, the greater the acceleration imparted to the block of magnetic heads, and, accordingly, the stronger the noise emitted by the BMG design, because it acts as a diffuser in this “dynamics”. The essence of the noise reduction method in this case comes down to smoothing the edges of the current pulse supplied to the coil, which, in addition to reducing noise, leads to a decrease in the acceleration of the head unit. This means that the search operation for a specific location on the disk will be slower.

According to the ATA/ATAPI specification, regulation can be carried out at 126 discrete levels (values ​​in hex 0x80-0xFE), but in practice only two adjustment levels are often supported AAM ON (noise reduction enabled hex values ​​0x80-0xA0) and AAM OFF (respectively maximum performance hex values ​​0xA1-0xFE). The operating principle of utilities that control the noise level of hard drives is to change the contents of a special Acoustic Management register.

As a rule, this function does not provide a smooth reduction in speed, but only switches between “fast” and “quiet” modes, but expansion of its capabilities is planned in future implementations. Moreover, the noise level of the disk can be changed at any time without losing the integrity of the disk, that is, without destroying the information on it.

On hard drives from different manufacturers, the factory setting may be different and vary from batch to batch. For example, some Samsung models are produced either with AAM mode enabled or disabled (that is, in maximum performance mode).

In order to adjust the noise level on your hard drive, you need, as we have already mentioned, to use a special utility from the disk manufacturer. If you don’t find such a program on the manufacturer’s website, you can use one of the many free disk management utilities. For example, there are special program AAMTOOL by Mikhail Mavritsin and universal MHDD by Dmitry Postrigan. The programs can be taken from our CD. The capabilities of MHDD can be found on the website (http://mhddsoftware.com/index.ru.php). AAM is easy to adjust: run MHDD from a floppy disk and type AAM in the program command line. The hard drive will begin to crack its heads, and the program will offer you a choice of several options: M ( minimum level noise), L (medium), P (maximum), and the D key turns off Automatic Acoustic Management, thereby placing the hard drive in maximum performance mode.

Switching the hard drive to low-noise mode, although it leads to a decrease in performance by an average of 5-10% (in some search tasks the decrease can be up to 30%), but the hard drive in this mode is practically inaudible even when copying large quantity small files.

However, in household devices, the speed characteristics of the drive are less important than the noise it produces, when modern technologies The performance of hard drives is more than enough and the acoustic background created by the drive in the system is of particular importance to the user. Realizing this, many hard drive companies invest a lot of money in Scientific research and developing quieter drives and improving system design to minimize their specific noise.

However, we should not forget that such simple universal methods as regularly defragmenting the disk, timely archiving, removing garbage and keeping your data in order also reduce the noise level of the hard drive when searching for information.

And one more thing: buy devices for your computers uninterruptible power supply and cases with high-quality power supplies unstable voltage (not to mention the overvoltage of cheap power supplies) can also lead to malfunctions of the drives and not only increase their noise, but also damage them.

Modern drives are becoming less and less noisy

Drive manufacturers do not stand still and, when designing new models, they are using more and more new noise reduction technologies, including the use of shock-absorbing materials inside and outside the drive.

In principle, now for most hard drives a noise level of about 30-35 dB is considered acceptable (noise increases with active movement of the hard drive heads).

The rotation speed of a package of disks on a modern hard drive is 5400, 7200, 10,000 or 15,000 rpm. And the higher the disk rotation speed, the greater the access speed to information recorded on the hard drive. True, the most common hard drives nowadays have a speed of 5400-7200 rpm, since it is cheaper, simpler and more reliable. This is due to the fact that inside the hard drive case there is air at atmospheric pressure, therefore, when the disk rotation speed is too high, the rotating parts become significantly heated, and this leads to problems with the reliability of structural elements. In addition, high-speed hard drives create a significant level of noise during operation, which does not contribute to comfortable work with the computer. For example, the noise level when reading data arranged in a random order can be so high that the operation of a hard drive sometimes resembles the roar of a tractor. For slower hard drives, the noise level can be significantly lower, but now that household appliances (digital audio and video recorders, satellite receivers, Internet set-top boxes, etc.) are equipped with hard drives, the requirements for their noise level are becoming noticeably more stringent.

Indeed, in the field consumer electronics There are practically no devices containing fans, and the only source of noise in them is hard drives. Moreover, the requirements for the quiet operation of household devices are much more stringent than for desktop computers, and low noise levels are often associated with high quality products.

Therefore, hard drive manufacturers today strive to bring their products to a noise level of 15-20 dB (at the background level of a quiet room at night) in passive mode and 2-3 dB higher in read/write mode. Of course, this level would satisfy even the most demanding user, but today there are practically no such disks, and noise reduction from existing disks must be achieved by additional means.

The simplest solution to get rid of motor noise is to take a hard drive with a speed of 5400 rpm. Such a disk drive when idling has a noise level of 28-30 dB and will not be heard during the day (at this time the background noise of a quiet room is at the level of 30 dB), especially if it is enclosed in a well-insulated system housing, which also muffles sounds . However, in the data search mode, the noise increases by 4-6 dB or more, which cannot remain unnoticeable to the user. But for consumer electronics (for example, digital video recorders), such a noise level is generally unacceptable.

Therefore, the noise level of hard drives is steadily decreasing. Now the spindle of a good disk is almost silent, and makes a characteristic sound only when starting or stopping. In addition, a characteristic crackling noise is produced by the head positioning mechanism, which is especially noticeable when copying many small files scattered across the disk (to reduce noise when positioning heads, regular disk defragmentation can be recommended). However, for some models the head positioning time is deliberately increased by the developers in order to reduce the noise level when reading/writing small or highly fragmented files.

Thus, the use of the latest generation of disks provides a more radical reduction in noise than all the methods described above, including during intensive operation of the positioning mechanism.

Modern drives use noise-insulating gaskets, SeaShield protective covers, Fluid Dynamics Bearings (FDB), and also use ties between the body and the engine; special materials and designs are selected that allow achieving 20 dB at idle and up to 28 dB when silently searching for data.

Thus, acoustics (that is, the noise that the drive produces during operation) becomes one of the most important parameters of modern hard drives.

I think that users, especially those who have been using the computer for several days, pay attention to suspicious noises from the computer (laptop). The noise of a hard drive is usually different from other noises (resembles a crackling sound) and occurs when it is loaded intensively - for example, you are copying a large file or downloading information from a torrent. Many people find this noise annoying, and in this article I would like to tell you how you can reduce the level of this noise.

By the way, right at the beginning I would like to say this. Not all hard drive models are noisy.

If your device did not make noise before, but now it does, I recommend it to you. In addition, if noises appear that have never existed before, the first thing to do is remember to copy all important information to other media, this could be a bad sign.

If you have always had such a noise in the form of a crackling sound- this means this is the normal operation of your hard drive, because it is still a mechanical device and magnetic disks are constantly rotating in it. There are two methods to combat such noise: fixing or mounting the hard drive in the device case so that there is no vibration or resonance; the second method is to reduce the speed of positioning of the read heads (they just make noise).

1. How can you fix the hard drive in system unit?

By the way, if you have a laptop, then you can immediately proceed to the second part of the article. The fact is that, as a rule, nothing can be invented in a laptop, because... The devices inside the case are located very compactly and you can’t put any gaskets.

If you have a regular system unit, there are three main options that are used in such cases.

1) Firmly fix the hard drive in the system unit case. Sometimes, the hard drive is not even screwed to the mount, it is simply located on the “slide”, because of this it makes noise during operation. Check whether it is well secured, tighten the bolts, often, if it is attached, it is not on all the bolts.

2) You can use special soft pads that dampen vibration and thereby suppress noise. By the way, you can make such gaskets yourself, from some piece of rubber. The only thing is not to make them too large - they should not interfere with the ventilation around the hard drive case. It is enough that these gaskets will be in the places where the hard drive comes into contact with the system unit case.

3) You can hang the hard drive inside the case, for example, on a network cable (twisted pair). Usually they use small 4 pieces of wire and fasten them with them so that the hard drive is positioned in the same way as if it were mounted on a slide. The only thing is that with such a mount, you need to be very careful: move the system unit carefully and without sudden movements - otherwise you risk hitting the hard drive, and impacts for it will end in failure (especially when the device is turned on).

2. Reducing crackling and noise due to the speed of positioning of the block with heads (Automatic Acoustic Management)

There is one option in hard drives that does not appear anywhere by default - it can only be changed using special utilities. We are talking about Automatic Acoustic Management (or AAM for short).

Without going into complex technical details, the point is to reduce the speed of movement of the heads, thereby reducing crackling and noise. But this also reduces the speed of the hard drive. But, in this case, you will extend the life of your hard drive by an order of magnitude! Therefore, you choose - either noise and high speed, or lower noise levels and longer operation of your disk.

By the way, I want to say that having reduced the noise on my Acer laptop - I couldn’t estimate the speed of operation by eye - it works the same as before!

So. To regulate and configure AAM, there are special utilities (I talked about one of them in). We are talking about a simple and convenient utility - quietHDD().

You need to run it as an administrator. Next, go to the AAM Settings section and move the sliders from 256 to 128. After that, click Apply for the settings to take effect. Actually, after this you should immediately notice a decrease in codling.

By the way, so as not to run this utility again every time you turn on the computer, add it to startup. For Windows 2000, XP, 7, Vista - you can simply copy the utility shortcut to the Start menu in the Startup folder.

That's all. Good luck with your hard drive, and, most importantly, quiet. 😛

If it didn’t make noise before, but now it makes noise, this is not normal. A properly functioning disk can emit a slight, uniform noise/whistle and frequent, not too loud clicks during reading/writing (this is a slight uneven rattling, this is the magnetic heads moving).

If the disk rattles or vibrates, this is very bad. Most likely, he won't last long. Theoretically, the reason could be that it is poorly secured (and then it rattles along with your drive bay, the walls of which (the bay) are not strong enough to hold the drive while it is running). I've seen this reference. But it’s hard for me to imagine how fragile, “cardboard” the walls of the fastenings must be for this to happen. Except for the case when you manually installed a 3-inch hard drive into a 5-inch bay (for this you must use a special adapter mount, such a 3-inch bay inserted inside a 5-inch one). In this case, rattling is likely.

If the problem is not in the fastening, then (discarding all the super-exotic options that happen once in a million) the disk is faulty. If it's under warranty, replace it. If it is clearly rattling (not humming evenly, but rattling), this is a malfunction, so it must be replaced. If a disc is without warranty, then you can no longer count on it. Make a backup copy of all important data and prepare for the fact that it could die at any moment. When my hard drive started making suspicious noise, I immediately bought a new one, copied all the important information onto it, and put the old drive in the closet (in case I forgot to copy some important information).

You can also check the status (“health”) of the disk (this information is collected by the disk itself during operation, the technology is called S.M.A.R.T. or SMART). It contains information about the number of different errors during the operation of the disk (a small number of errors is completely normal). To display this information, you will most likely need a special program. I can’t suggest a convenient program (if you know English, you can search for hdd health check). However, caution should be exercised. If the disk is not in order, a long active work of the disk during an in-depth check (not just displaying statistics collected by SMART, but testing the operation of the disk) may be the straw that will lead to a sharp deterioration in the condition of the disk.

If the disk is just slightly noisy, then this is noise from the drive (motor) (or perhaps bearings). Considering that the disc rotates at a speed of under 10,000 rpm, it is quite expected that it is slightly noisy.

I have an old computer at work. Today I heard some kind of vibration several times. That is, something was rattling in the system unit. Since the system one was open, I looked there, listened, there was indeed something buzzing, it sounded like vibration, it buzzed a couple of times and then it continued to work. I can’t figure out what this buzzing is, but I have Word turned on and during its operation the cooler buzzes very loudly, the sound is like a ringing. And in the morning, after turning on and loading the computer, for some reason we rebooted ourselves. Moreover, I didn’t turn anything on it. I would like to know what this could be. I save everything I type on the computer in Word to a flash drive. But this is after the end of the working day. But now I’ll probably save everything on a flash drive after the hard drive vibrates. Since my work computer will most likely break down soon.

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