HDD makes sounds: what different HDD sounds can mean

In most cases, if the hard drive began to emit strange sounds, it indicates any of its faults. Which ones - let's talk below. The main thing I want to draw your attention to: as soon as these sounds appeared, you should take care to save backups of important data: in the cloud, on an external hard disk, DVD, in general, anywhere. The likelihood that soon after the hard drive began to make sounds unusual to him earlier, the data on it may become inaccessible very different from zero.

In most cases, sounds speak of a malfunction of an HDD component, but this is not always the case. On my own computer I ran into the fact that the hard drive began to click and disconnect, and after a while again, with a click, unwind. A little later, he began to disappear in the BIOS. Accordingly, initially I assumed that the problem was with the heads or the spindle, then with the firmware or the printed circuit board (or connections), but in fact it turned out that everything is in order with the hard disk and the power supply is to blame, which I did not even expect. And the last thing: if after clicks, squeaks and other things, the data become inaccessible, it is better not to try to restore the hard drive yourself - most data recovery programs are not designed for such situations, and, moreover, can be harmful.

Western Digital Hard Drive Sounds

Below are sounds typical for failing WD hard drives:

• Western Digital hard drives make a few clicks, and then slow down the rotation - problems with read heads.
• A spinning sound is heard, then it breaks off and starts again, the disk cannot spin up - a problem with the spindle.
• The WD hard drive in the laptop makes clicks or tapping (sometimes it looks like bongo drums) - a problem with the heads.
• Western Digital hard drives for laptops with a broken spindle "try" to unwind, give a beep.
• Samsung hard drives with problem heads emit multiple clicks, or one click, and then slow down the rotation.
• If there are bad sectors on magnetic disks, Samsung HDDs can make scratching sounds when they try to access them.
• When a spindle stuck on a Toshiba laptop hard drive, it makes sounds as if trying to unwind and pick up speed, but acceleration is interrupted.
• When bearings fail, a Toshiba hard drive may produce a scratching, grinding sound. Sometimes high frequency, similar to screeching.
• Clicking the hard drive when turned on may indicate that there is a problem with the magnetic heads.
• Seagate HDDs in a laptop with broken heads (for example, after a fall) can make clicking, knocking, or “drilling” sounds.
• A damaged Seagate hard drive for a desktop computer snaps and emits a short squeak when turned on and unwound.
• Repeated attempts to increase the speed of rotation of the disk can speak about problems with the spindle, which is clearly audible.

Sounds of Samsung hard drives

• Samsung hard drives with problem heads emit multiple clicks, or one click, and then slow down the rotation.
• If there are bad sectors on magnetic disks, Samsung HDDs can make scratching sounds when they try to access them.

Toshiba HDD Sounds

• When a spindle stuck on a Toshiba laptop hard drive, it makes sounds as if trying to unwind and pick up speed, but acceleration is interrupted.
• When bearings fail, a Toshiba hard drive may produce a scratching, grinding sound. Sometimes high frequency, similar to screeching.
• Clicking the hard drive when turned on may indicate that there is a problem with the magnetic heads.

Seagate hard drives and the sounds they make

• Seagate HDDs in a laptop with broken heads (for example, after a fall) can make clicking, knocking, or “drilling” sounds.
• A damaged Seagate hard drive for a desktop computer snaps and emits a short squeak when turned on and unwound.
• Repeated attempts to increase the speed of rotation of the disk can speak about problems with the spindle, which is clearly audible.

As you can see, most of the symptoms and their causes are very similar. If suddenly your hard drive began to make strange sounds that are in this list, the first thing to do is to create a backup of important files anywhere. If it is too late and you cannot read data from the disk, then the best option is to completely disconnect the hard drive from the computer to avoid additional damage and contact the data recovery specialists, unless of course there is such important information on it: since the service will be in this case not cheap.

Check HDD for errors. Programs to check the hard disk for bad sectors

How to check the hard drive for health? This guide shows how to effectively check the hard disk (HDD) for bad sectors. During the diagnostics will be used such utilities as:

1. standard disk check utility in Windows
2. chkdsk console utility
3. HDD Regenerator
4. Hddhealth
5. Scandisk
6. Testdisk
7. Hitachi Drive Fitness Test

All of these diagnostic tools have proven themselves on PCs or laptops running Windows 7, 8, 10. Programs are equally applicable to both SSD and HDD drives.

Symptoms of various hard disk errors

Of course, the disease must be treated, but for this you need to deal with the symptoms of the disease, carefully check the computer and the storage device - HDD - first of all. With long-term hard disk operation, the following defects may occur, requiring correction:

• Errors when reading, copying, moving or deleting files and folders on the computer
• Extremely slow work of the PC as a whole or of the hard disk in particular (provided that you are able to determine the error on the HDD yourself)
• The operating system cannot be loaded or is loaded with errors
• The computer suddenly reboots and you don’t know for sure if the hard drive is working
• Other random errors

When errors appear on the hard disk, the reasons for their appearance

There are several standard reasons that cause serious problems with reading data on the HDD, slowing down the computer and, consequently, the user.

• Improper shutdown of the OS as a result of a system failure, a sudden power outage
• Physical damage to the disc, causing him "serious injuries"
• Incorrect operation of the storage device
• Long-term operation, deterioration of computer equipment

As can be seen from the list, there are a lot of reasons for incorrect reading of information due to disk errors. The severity of the problem for each situation varies. The first mandatory step to correcting the incorrect operation of the system is to check the HDD for various bugs, violation of the structure and other aspects - with system and third-party programs. So let's start in order: checking for errors in Windows OS using traditional methods.

Checking for errors in Windows using regular diagnostic tools

Now I will tell you how to use the HDD check tool for errors in Windows. Verification is possible both on an external drive and on an internal HDD or SSD. This step-by-step method is relevant for Microsoft Windows 8/7 / Vista, as well as for earlier versions of Windows - XP / 2000. The hard disk check utility is called "CheckDisk". Despite the fact that it does not fix bad-blocks and is not designed to find all types of errors on the HDD, CheckDisk is still useful for correcting some of the most basic erroneous entries.

How to check your computer for errors using CheckDisk utility

In Windows 8: Press the Windows key (Win) + X. For Windows 7 / Vista / XP: right-click on the "My Computer" icon and select "Manage". Next, go to "Disk Management". In the lower window, right-click on the partition rectangle to the right of the box containing the disk number (i.e. Disk 1). In the drop-down menu, select "Properties."

Check your hard disk for errors in the Windows Disk Management Panel

In the "Properties" menu, go to the "Tools" tab (or "Tools"). Select the "Check" command. It is run as administrator.

Check computer using the operating system

At the end of the test, the "Disk successfully verified" window appears. Clicking on the "Show Details" button will take you to the "Event Viewer". In the "General" tab contains useful information.

• If there are no errors on the selected hard disk partition - great.
• If errors are found, Windows will automatically correct them during the HDD check.
• If the disk is occupied by the system, the operating system will prompt you to fix it after a reboot.

Using command line (chkdsk) for HDD test and computer check

How to repair a damaged file or fix an error on the HDD via the console? Although some users are afraid of the command line, we advise you not to disdain it: it saves the situation in extreme situations when the Windows operating system does not load at all. The chkdsk console utility is another utility that can be run from the Windows command line, useful for hdd testing, checking the hard disk for read errors.

Council If you cannot boot into Windows, log in to the console from the Windows CD, then open the recovery console and run the chkdsk /f command. In some cases, this will fix the errors or even repair the damaged file (but it is better to use the BadCopy program).

To run the CHKDSK utility and then search for read errors and structure, follow these steps:

• Windows 8: Press the Windows (Win) + x key, and then select "Command Prompt (Administrator)". Windows 7 or Vista: Click on the Start menu. In the find programs and files box, type: cmd and press Enter .
• Windows XP: Click on the "Start" menu. Select Run ... In the Run window, type cmd and press Enter . In the window, enter: chkdsk x: /f where x is the drive letter of the HDD partition that you want to check.

Check disk partition using console utility chkdsk

If you need to diagnose section F :. To do this, you need to run the command:

chkdsk f: /f /r

Next, you need to press Y to confirm the operation.

Check HDD using the console program chkdsk

In turn, you can open the command line through the “Start” menu (Windows) or the Win + R keyboard shortcut.

This is not all the chkdsk utility features. You can explore other features by typing /? in team building.

Programs for checking the hard disk for errors

Checking the status of HDD is not always effective by the methods offered by Windows. Therefore, I have prepared for you a selection of programs that perform the same tasks, but in some situations more effectively than chkdsk.

HDD Regenerator - utility for testing and checking the status of the hard disk

HDD Regenerator - perhaps one of the few professional tools to check the disk for errors and improve its condition. The word "regenerator" says that the program is not only able to detect possible malfunctions, structure and bad-sector errors, but is also quite suitable for correcting them.

HDD Regenerator program interface

Since most of the hard drives contain erroneous recordings and violations, we recommend running the HDD test in this program in order to understand the current state of the hard drive. HDD Regenerator certainly provides the user with SMART information for the selected hard disk.

Some key features of the HDD Regenerator program:

• Security (work in read-only mode)
• Friendly interface in Russian, no complicated options.
• FAT and NTFS file systems are supported.
• The output statistics of the hard disk - this will objectively assess its condition
• Creating a bootable regenerating usb-stick or CD / DVD-ROM
• The mode of quick pre-scan the surface of the hard disk
• HDD monitoring (check disk status) in real time

In general, the program HDD Regenerator is not very difficult to understand and safe (works in read mode!). Available in Russian edition, PRO version costs $ 89.99. HDD Regenerator can be downloaded for the following platforms: XP / Vista / 7/8/10.

Download HDD Regenerator here

Scandisk - a program to check the computer and further correct errors on the disk

Scandisk is designed for Windows users who can still log in to Windows and use an already installed program to check the HDD disk. Thus, scandisk is a regular tool for finding and fixing errors on the hard disk in Windows OS of all versions and editions.

It should, however, be noted that in the NT editions of Windows, the HDD Scandisk verification program has been replaced by the above-mentioned CHKDSK utility.

TestDisk - test the hard disk and check the computer for errors

TestDisk is a good representative of a computer program for checking a hard disk for errors - with free and open source code and from a third party. The TestDisk program, in addition to the actual hard disk test, allows you to fix various errors on the problematic HDD, to detect bad sectors. We have repeatedly considered the possibilities of this utility for checking the disk, we recall the main functions again, with an emphasis on the review topic:

• Repair partition table and recover deleted partitions on disk
• Fix all boot sectors of FAT and NTFS file systems
• MFT fix
• Check disk for bad sectors
• Analysis of the general condition of the hard disk
• Check ssd disk for potential problems
• Finding file structure errors and fixing them
• Many features associated with recovering deleted files

The console for working with HDD in TestDisk allows you to quickly check your computer for possible bugs, errors

How to use Testdisk

Hitachi Drive Fitness Test (DFT) - hard drive status check

Hitachi Drive Fitness Test is an excellent third-party program for checking the status of a hard disk and various errors on it. The utility can be used on most disks. DFT supports the ability to create a bootable CD image. WinDFT is a utility that allows you to quickly check the internal and external hard drives of your computer for errors, as well as hard drives with support for G-Technology technology. In addition, hitachi drive fitness test performs read testing without overwriting customer data. The complex also includes additional utilities for cleaning the disk from unnecessary data.

Hitachi Drive Fitness Test utility interface

Seagate Seatools for Windows: Disk Performance Testing

The Seatools utility from Seagate is a free diagnostic resuscitator that is used for testing, troubleshooting / error checking for all computer hard drives for crashes, bad sectors and HDD file structure errors. As the developers explain, the utility helps to solve the problem with the HDD from Seagate on its own, instead of immediately contacting the warranty service for repair. Here are some bugs that Seatools can fix:

• HDD file system violation
• Driver Errors and Similar System Problems
• Equipment incompatibility
• Damage to the Windows bootloader (MBR) on the disk
• Viruses and other malicious elements that infect the file system of the media

In general, the Seagate Seatools program for Windows is quite effective in fixing simple disk errors with your own hands or, say, if you need to check the laptop's SSD. If something is not clear, you can download the Russian-language guide for the program SeaTools.

HDD Health: Disk Check and SMART Read

HDD Health is another interesting and free program for testing hard drives. The utility will help check the hard disk for errors (SSD / HDD) and improve the state of the hard drive. HDD Health actively uses SMART technology to display hard drive statistics, including:

• disk spin temperature
• general state of the structure
• deep check hdd for bad sectors
• reading other smart attributes
• hdd testing on various parameters

In general, the HDD health toolkit will be useful to those who actively use SMART to check the status of the hard disk and diagnose HDD on a computer. By the way, this technology works initially in most new SSD disks.

Preliminary check of the disk for errors on basic indicators SMART. The interface of the program HDD Health

HDD Health 4.2 supports both HDDs and SSDs. In addition to actually checking the SSD, searching for errors (broken sectors) on the HDD disk, the utility can predict the future crash of hard drives, system failure in Windows 7, 8, 10 and later. As already mentioned, this mechanism is implemented thanks to the function of monitoring disk status and SMART reporting.

HDD Health 4.2: ssd disk check

Download HDD Health can be free on the site developer Panterasoft.

Answers to readers' questions

The hard disk slows down, that is, Windows does not boot from it, but it sees the BIOS. When trying to flip to another PC, as an additional — the same situation (the computer hangs on the Windows logo) I tried to format it with a bootable USB flash drive in the Partition Magic Magic, but it starts to see hard only after a min. 20, but about that to do something with him at all silent. In fact, the hard disk does not work in normal mode. Tell me, please, what could be the reason for such a glitch, what can I check?

Answer. We would advise using one of the utilities to check the hard drive for possible “jambs” and read errors: TestDisk or HDD Health (see above). It is likely that the operating system does not see the hard disk due to the presence of bad sectors. Also, as mentioned above, you can connect the HDD to another computer and check the hard disk for errors using standard Windows tools or the TestDisk application.

I often resort to system recovery due to a crash. It often hangs, the processor overload is constant, it has already deleted unnecessary programs. As far as I could, I closed all the background programs. Experts say that you need to change the hard drive, they say, there are a lot of damaged (broken) sectors. I want to try this program to check sectors. How to check hard disk for errors?

Answer. Indeed, if the problems described in the question are observed, checking the hard disk for bad sectors will not hurt. At a minimum, we advise you to scan the disk using applications such as HDD Regenerator and Victoria. How to check the hard disk for bad sectors can be found directly in the documentation. Worth it or not - the wording is not very correct. Check the HDD for errors should be regularly, if the data represent at least the minimum value for you.