While working at the computer, many users have noticed noise. It can be created by both a cooler, a video card, and a hard drive. However, the noise from the hard drive is different from other sounds that come from system block or the bottom of the laptop. Noise hard drive more like crack. It appears when you copy large files or play a game. If earlier your PC worked stably and there were no extraneous noises, and now the hard drive is cracking, it is worth copying the entire important information and check.
Get rid of hard drive crash
If your hard drive is cracking, there are two ways to fix this problem:
- Reduced head positioning speed (since they crack);
- Reliable fixation of the hard drive inside the system unit.
Each hard drive has an option such as Automatic Acoustic Management. It is responsible for the speed of rotation of the magnetic heads of the hard drive. It is impossible to change its parameters and reduce the data reading speed with the usual settings. Required special program. You can find many of these on the Internet. QuietHDD software is popular. However, it is worth warning that by reducing the speed of rotation of the heads, the speed of reading information decreases. The disk starts to slow down. This is a negative factor. Here you have to choose: speed or working hard drive.
We remove the crackle of the hard drive using quietHDD in the following way. Download and run the utility as Administrator.
Open the "AAM Settings" tab. We move the sliders to the minimum position, reduce from 256 to 128 revolutions. Then click "Accept" and "OK".
In order not to run this utility every time before starting to use programs and applications, it is worth adding it to the system startup.
If you are the owner of a PC, not a laptop, the hard drive must be securely fixed in the system unit. You can do this in three ways:
- Bolt fastening. Often, the hard drive is mounted with just two bolts, although there are more connectors. In the "sled" the disk "feels" freely and because of this creates a crackle and noise. It is worth stretching the device and securely fasten the hard drive to all the bolts.
- Use of pads. Soft rubberized pads dampen noise and vibration. You can buy them or cut them yourself and install them at the point of contact between the disk and the system unit. However, the material should not be too large so as not to interfere with the ventilation of the disc.
- Mounting with twisted pair. Usually, 3-4 small pieces of wire are used for this purpose and fastened as if the disk were located in the sled. However, in this case, it will be difficult to move the body. There is a risk of damaging the device.
Using the above methods, you can fix the hard drive so that it does not make noise or crack.
Sometimes every PC user may encounter the problem of extraneous noise during the operation of the hard drive. Winchester is a mechanical structure, inside which are rotating disks. Reading information from a hard disk is carried out using magnetic heads, which, when moving, create some noise. Variety extraneous sounds depends on the model of the hard drive and on the case of the system unit. If the computer case is made of inexpensive materials, poorly assembled inside, 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. Since this is the first "bell" that it may break soon.
However, sometimes a simple working condition may be accompanied by noise. Here it is necessary to understand why it is cracking HDD.
- Replace the hard drive.
- Modify the acoustic level using the AAM option.
- Take measures regarding the soundproofing of the case or purchase a better one.
- Secure the hard drive with soundproof pads.
- Perform disk defragmentation.
Most likely, it is the second solution to the problem that raises the most questions. Let's consider what it is.
Reducing noise from the hard drive using AAM
Any HDD is characterized by the function of regulating the level of noise it creates through 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: by applying this option, the speed of the hard drive will automatically drop.
Which of these two options (speed or noise) will create more inconvenience, in whose favor to give preference - is up to you. You may not feel the reduction in speed. work hard disc, 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's available for download, and it's completely free. Owns 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 when getting rid of hard drive noise, so it's best 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 "Quiet/Standard (128)" option to set the silent AAM level. Its value can range from 0 to 255. It is noted that only extreme levels, that is, “quiet” or “loud”, have influential abilities. Most hard drives 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. Reopen it, select "Continue", then "Check".
A window will open showing random movement of the read head.
At this moment, you will have the opportunity to hear the process of the hard drive with the updated AAM option. The difference is huge. In order to compare with the previous state of the hard drive, click the "Loud (254)" option. This action will speed up the hard drive and return the previous noise volume.
Mechanical methods to get rid of HDD noise
When the application fails to get rid of the noise, you need to solve the problem manually.
- First, check the fixing quality of the hard drive. The hard drive must be firmly fixed and securely held on the grooves, all bolts must be sufficiently tightened.
- Consider which parts of the HDD mechanically touch the computer case. At the joints, it is necessary to install special gaskets with insulation function. You can slightly move the hard drive mounting basket so that the part does not come into contact with the computer case. These actions can help reduce noise.
- If it is possible to change the location of the hard drive, do it. It is necessary to strive to ensure that the vibration of the hard drive does not pass to the case.
If this does not reduce the noise, contact technical support.
The hard drive remains one of the noisiest components in a computer. Moreover, one should distinguish between noise due to the active operation of the hard drive during reading / writing and motor noise, which comes from the disk almost constantly. Naturally, one should not forget about the vibration noise, which is greatly amplified by the computer case. For example, disks rigidly fixed in the metal case of the system unit often 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 mount.
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 oscillations of small amplitude, causes the elements of the case to oscillate. The large surface of the computer case becomes a kind of amplifier for the noise emitted hard drive. Note that 3-inch hard drive bays in modern cases are often made in the form of a non-rigidly 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 mounting sleds. There are several mounting methods to reduce the noise of a hard drive.
To prevent resonances, you can use elastic washers for the bolts of the disk to the computer case, vibration isolators or an elastic suspension. An interesting idea was suggested on the Internet by enthusiasts from Spode's Adobe website (http://www.spodesabode.com/) a rather original and very cheap way to reduce the noise associated with disk vibration. All you need to implement it is two pencils and some rubber rings with which you can secure a three-inch hard drive in a five-inch bay with guy lines (by the way, this will in a good way for quickly mounting a hard drive in a computer if all three-inch seats are occupied).
Perhaps this is one of the cheapest modifications, but it will force you to look inside your computer from time to time and change the rubber bands, as they become unusable over time. However, you can use wider and more reliable harnesses. However, do not forget that an insecurely fixed hard drive can slow down the performance of the system 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 the most modern models have significantly reduced power consumption, the risk of overheating with difficult heat dissipation still remains.
For such hard drives, you can use devices such as Mobile Rack (http://www.mobile-rack.ru/), which is a plastic container into which a hard drive is inserted on a sled. The container will also perform the role of a vibration isolator dampen some of the vibrations of the hard drive. Some cases have built-in fans for better heat dissipation.
A more radical method of reducing the noise of a hard drive is the use of special soundproof containers such as Silent Drive (http://www.quietps.com/) with a heat-removing circuit.
How to make a hard drive quieter using software
Many manufacturers provide for their products the ability to programmatically reduce the speed of head positioning. The owner of the hard drive can reduce the noise level with the help of special utilities that should be looked for on the website of a particular manufacturer. Naturally, the speed of access to data after reducing the 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 control), 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, cheap Maxtor drives and many modern Seagate drives that have AAM support but cannot be adjusted.
How does the hard drive regulate the noise it makes? Some people believe that noise reduction is achieved by reducing the speed of rotation of the disk, but this is not true, since the speed of rotation of the spindle is a constant value for specific model maintained to the nearest fraction of a percent. But the speed of movement of the drive of the block of magnetic heads (BMG) can be controlled. If you dismantled a modern hard drive, you would see that the HMG is driven by a coil located in the field of action of a strong permanent magnet. When a current is passed through the coil in one direction, 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 acoustic. 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 is reduced to smoothing the fronts of the current pulse supplied to the coil, which, in addition to reducing noise, leads to a decrease in the acceleration of the movement of the head unit. And this means that the operation of searching for a specific location on the disk will be slower.
According to the ATA/ATAPI specification, adjustment can be made in 126 discrete levels (values in hex 0x80-0xFE), but in practice only two levels of adjustment are often supported AAM ON (noise reduction enabled values hex 0x80-0xA0) and AAM OFF (respectively, maximum performance hex values 0xA1-0xFE). The principle of operation of utilities that control the noise level of hard drives is to change the contents of the special Acoustic Management register.
As a rule, this function does not provide for a smooth decrease in speed, but only switches modes from "fast" to "quiet", 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 available on it.
On hard drives from different manufacturers factory setting may be different and vary from batch to batch. For example, some Samsung models are produced either with AAM 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 drive manufacturer. If you don’t find such a program on the manufacturer’s website, then you can use one of the many free utilities for disk management. For example, there is a special AAMTOOL program by Mikhail Mavritsin and a universal MHDD by Dmitry Postrigan. Programs can be taken from our CD. The possibilities of MHDD can be found on the website (http://mhddsoftware.com/index.ru.php). AAM is easy to adjust run MHDD from a floppy and in command line programs to dial AAM. The hard drive will begin to crack its heads, and the program will offer you a choice of several options: M (minimum noise level), L (medium), P (maximum), and the D key turns off Automatic Acoustic Management, thereby putting the hard drive into 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 almost inaudible even when copying a large number of small files.
However, in home appliances ah, the speed characteristics of the drive are less important than the noise it produces, 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 for the user. Realizing this, many hard drive companies are investing heavily in Scientific research and the development of quieter drives and improvements in system design to minimize their specific noise.
However, one should not forget that even such simple generic methods, like regular disk defragmentation, timely archiving, garbage removal and keeping your data in order, also reduce the noise level of the hard drive when searching for information.
And one more thing: get 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 drive failures and not only increase their noise, but also damage them.
Modern drives are noisier
Drive manufacturers do not stand still, and when designing new models, they apply 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 when the hard drive heads are actively moving).
The rotation speed of a disk pack in a modern hard drive is 5400, 7200, 10,000 or 15,000 rpm (rpm). And the higher the speed of disk rotation, the greater the speed of access to information recorded on the hard drive. True, the most common hard drives at present have a speed of 5400-7200 rpm, since this is cheaper, simpler and more reliable. It affects the fact that there is air at atmospheric pressure inside the hard drive case, therefore, if the disk rotation speed is too high, the rotating parts heat up significantly, and this leads to problems in 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 working with a computer. For example, the noise level when reading data in random order is so high that the operation of a hard drive sometimes resembles the roar of a tractor. For slower drives, the noise level can be significantly lower, but now that hard drives are equipped with household appliances (digital audio and video recorders, satellite receivers, Internet set-top boxes, etc.), the requirements for their noise level are noticeably tougher.
Indeed, in the area consumer electronics there are practically no devices containing fans, and hard drives become the only source of noise in them. Moreover, the requirements for the silence of the operation of household devices are much more stringent than for desktop computers, a low level noise is often associated with high quality product.
Therefore, hard drive manufacturers are now aiming to achieve 15-20dB noise levels (quiet room background level at night) in passive mode and 2-3dB higher in read/write mode. Of course, such a level would satisfy even the most demanding user, but today there are practically no such drives, and noise reduction from existing drives has to be achieved by additional means.
The easiest solution to get rid of motor noise is to get 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 case that also muffles sounds . However, in the data search mode, the noise increases by 4-6 dB or more, which cannot remain invisible to the user. And for consumer electronics (for example, for the same digital video recorders), such a noise level is generally unacceptable.
Therefore, the noise level of hard drives is steadily decreasing. Spindle now good disk It is almost silent, and makes a characteristic sound only when starting or stopping. In addition, a characteristic crackle is emitted by the head positioning mechanism, which is especially noticeable when copying many small files scattered over 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 disks of the latest generations provides a more radical reduction in noise than all the methods described above, including when the positioning mechanism is intensively working.
Modern drives use soundproofing gaskets, SeaShield protective covers, fluid dynamic bearings (Fluid Dynamics Bearing, FDB), as well as couplers between the body and the engine, special materials and designs are selected that allow you to achieve 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 the most important parameters modern hard drives.
sample question
Hello.
I recently bought a laptop and only after some time I noticed that when I download a file, turn on the laptop, or copy information from disk to disk, the disk starts to crack. The sound is not strong, but extremely unpleasant.
The store said that everything was in order with the disk, as it should be, but doubts remained in my soul ...
If I knew that this model is so noisy, I would have chosen another one ... Tell me, what can be done to reduce noise when the disk is loaded?
Hello.
Crack cod strife. In general, a hard disk drive (HDD) is a mechanical device, and any HDD makes noise during operation. True, on one disc it is barely perceptible and almost inaudible, while on the other it can be somewhat annoying. In addition, in addition to the "working" noise (which should be), an outsider may appear (indicating the appearance of a problem): knocking, strong rattle, clicks, etc.
Particular attention to the noise from the disk should be paid in cases where:
- if it starts making noise old disk , which used to work without noise (this is an alarming symptom - first of all, immediately make all important files from disk);
- noise appeared in the form of: knocking, strong clicks, rattle, etc. (this all also indicates a problem with the mechanics);
- if, when a cod appears, the computer starts to freeze, Windows does not respond to your clicks;
- you periodically do not open and read files, the disk is noisy at the same time.
All of the above symptoms point to possible hardware problems with the drive (in most cases), and without replacing it with new disk, the noise cannot be eliminated. Therefore, I recommend that after backup, look at the SMART readings, check the disk for bad blocks, etc. About checking the disk, I have one small instruction on my blog, the link is below.
How to check hard drive for errors and bad sectors(bad blocks). How to work with the Victoria program in DOS and Windows -
If your new drive is noisy - then most likely everything is fine with him, and this is his working noise (although no one excludes marriage or failure of a new disk either). Most often, the problem is that when a user bought a disk (laptop, computer) - then in a store (where there is a lot of extraneous noise, music plays, etc.), he simply did not pay attention to the noise of the disk (and in the store, the disk, like As a rule, do not load much). And in the house, in the silence of the night, he appreciated all the characteristics of his device.
But since a computer is a technically complex product, it’s easy to change it in a store for another one (as can be done with other goods). In many cases, you may be denied (there must be a more compelling reason, such as a malfunction). Further in the article I will give recommendations on how to eliminate such "working" noise.
Addition!
When buying a new HDD: Please note that the specifications of the device usually always indicate the noise level of the disk. This parameter is measured in dB.
Of course, the lower it is, the quieter the disc. Comparative plate (to find out how and what) with the noise level cited below.
To help!
How to choose a hard disk drive (HDD): 6 points to pay attention to -
1) Swap your old HDD for an SSD (or another HDD)
The first advice is associated with material costs. Ideally, to completely eliminate noise - you need to change the disk. Now SSD drives are gaining popularity - they do not have mechanics, as in HDDs, and therefore, during operation, they are a priori silent (completely silent!).
In addition, they have several other advantages:
- several times faster speed (this is the main advantage!), Thanks to this, your applications, games, Windows will load an order of magnitude faster;
- consume less energy (for example, a laptop will work 10-15% longer without recharging);
- not so much afraid of shaking and vibration (again, a plus for laptops);
- they don't get hot like HDDs.
True, these discs have one drawback: more high price. But it pays off with a vengeance! You can find out the difference in speed between SSD and HDD from one of my articles, the link to it is below.
How to check disk speed: HDD, SSD. Test, determining the difference in speed between SSD and HDD, is it worth switching to solid state drive -
2) Check if there is an application that loads the disk up to 100%!
If the disk does not always annoy you with noise, but only at times of heavy loading (this may be indicated, for example, by the hard disk activity LED), then try to find out which application is loading it, and then turn it off.
Very often, the disk can be loaded with applications that you do not need. For example, when Windows boot downloading uTorrent with several hundred torrents: it may take 5-10 minutes before they are all checked! And all this time the disk will be heavily loaded.
The simplest and fast way to find out about applications that load the disk is to open the task manager (for Windows 8, 10), and open the resource monitor (this is for Windows 7). If you recognize an application that is actively working with the disk, try closing it.
To call the task manager- press the key combination Ctrl+Shift+Esc .
In Windows 8, 10 - open a tab "Performance" and see if the disc is loaded. If loaded, then in the tab "Processes" you can find the program (that loads it) and close it.
Windows 8-10 - performance (disk usage 0%)
In Windows 7, in the task manager, you need to open the tab "Performance" , then click on the button "Resource Monitor" .
In the resource monitor, open the tab "Disk": pay attention to sections "Processes with disk activity" and "Disk Operation" .
3) Reduce the positioning speed of the block with heads (Automatic Acoustic Management)
AT hard drives there are certain options that are usually not mentioned anywhere (we are now talking about Automatic Acoustic Management, often written in abbreviated form AAM). This option allows you to reduce the speed of moving the heads, and this, in turn, has a positive effect on the noise level (although, besides this, the speed of the disk is slightly reduced, but "by eye" imperceptibly).
You can change this setting in special utilities, I recommend the following: quietHDD, HDDScan. I will consider the work in both utilities.
quietHDD
A very small utility designed to reduce AAM acoustic noise and APM hard drive power consumption mode. Working with it is simple and fast, an example is below:
Multifunctional program for working with SSD and HDD drives. It will allow you to view SMART, check the disk for bad sectors, find out the temperature of the media, manage acoustic noise, energy, etc.
In our case, you need to run the program, then select the hard drive (if you have more than one in the system), and open the "Features / IDE Features" option.
HDDScan - IDE Features
Further in the section Automatic Acoustic Management- set the value between 128 and 254 (by the way, the program recommends 254, but it is not always optimal). In general, for the minimum noise level - set the value to 128 and press the button SET(install). Thus, you can adjust and find your best option.
Note: Please note that not all drives support this option. In some cases, HDDScan will not allow you to change the values in Automatic Acoustic Management.
Automatic Acoustic Management
4) Securely fix the disk in the block, eliminate vibrations, put soft pads
This advice applies to a regular PC, but if you have a laptop, then almost certainly your hard drive is securely and tightly fixed in the case by the manufacturer (and you can not read this advice).
5) Check for errors and defragment
Well, the last thing I wanted to advise is to check for errors and defragment the disk. Crack - this, of course, will not directly reduce, but it will make your disk more responsive, the speed will increase (which will positively, albeit not much, affect the noise level).
To check the disk for errors and defragment, open "My computer" ("This computer", "Computer" - depending on the Windows versions ) . Then select desired disk and open it properties(see screenshot below).
By the way, defragmenting and cleaning the disk from garbage can be done in auto mode, for this there is special utilities. Link to the utilities recommended by me - see below.
To help!
The best programs for Windows optimizations -