Noisy hard drive
IMPORTANT:
An SSD has no moving parts, so it does not make loud or clicking noise.
Depending on type and rotational speed, some hard drives will make more noise than others.
Not all noises are related to the fan or hard drive.
Symptoms
●
Loud noise from hard drive
●
Clicking noise from hard drive
●
Still boots to operating system
and operates normally
Possible causes
BIOS, hard drive firmware, driver, faulty drive, power supply (AC adapter).
Troubleshooting steps
1.
Update BIOS and hard drive firmware.
2.
Examine AC adapter to be sure that it is not faulty or overloaded. Disconnect all
peripherals (USB storages, dock, etc.).
3.
Remove hard drive to isolate the noise.
4.
Test the hard drive on a verified working computer if the noise continues. If the hard
drive makes the same noise or clicking sounds, the sounds are either normal sounds
for the hard drive or a fault with the hard drive.
5.
Verify original hard drive connection and flex cable. Reseat hard drive and connection.
6.
Run HP PC Hardware Diagnostics (UEFI). If failed, record failure code and have the hard
drive replaced.
7.
If no error with HP PC Hardware Diagnostics (UEFI), perform disk defragmentation
(some hard drives make a clicking noise when highly fragmented).
Tips & tricks
For optimal system performance, place your operating system and all of your most
commonly used applications and files on the fastest hard drive or solid-state drive and on
the fastest areas on the drive (primary partition of 200 GB max).
See
Improving System Performance
. Also, see
Routine Maintenance for Performance
Improvement on page 140
).
130 Chapter 7 Troubleshooting guide
