Hard Drive knocking noise

aoaaron · 24 Dec 2020 at 23:04

Hi I just installed a 16TB Toshiba Enterprise drive and it makes a small knocking sound when downloading files. I didn't screw the hard drive in properly as it didn't come with mounting screws. Could this be the reason for the noise or do you guys think potentially the drive is defective?

is it normal for it to make a light knock noise if not mounted and when downloading files?

Semple · 24 Dec 2020 at 23:07

It's hard for anyone to actually say. Some drives you will hear like a ticking sound as the arm moves across the platter, whereas other manufacturers are much quieter.

All you can really do is look at the smart stats and see if any error rates tick up.

aoaaron · 24 Dec 2020 at 23:18

Semple said:
It's hard for anyone to actually say. Some drives you will hear like a ticking sound as the arm moves across the platter, whereas other manufacturers are much quieter.

All you can really do is look at the smart stats and see if any error rates tick up.

Thanks. How di I do that? (smart stats?)

MissChief · 24 Dec 2020 at 23:24

16TB is a lot to lose in one go....

aoaaron · 24 Dec 2020 at 23:25

MissChief said:
16TB is a lot to lose in one go....

I have 2x 6TB drives already filled up & 1x SSD. Need way more storage so thought might as well get a 16TB. This knocking sound is anoying tho.

I like to store all my blurays on the PC and process them via MADVR so its the only option.

My dad thinks its just because we didn't screw it in so its vibration noise.. hope he's right.

t31os · 25 Dec 2020 at 01:27

There's moving parts in the drive so it'll be better off secured into the case properly, you can get away just hanging SSDs any which way(no moving parts). Pinch 2 screws from another non-crucial area, 2 is better than none. Your case would/should have come with more than enough screws, don't recall hard drives coming with screws (not that i can remember with the last 4+).

aoaaron · 25 Dec 2020 at 01:33

t31os said:
There's moving parts in the drive so it'll be better off secured into the case properly, you can get away just hanging SSDs any which way(no moving parts). Pinch 2 screws from another non-crucial area, 2 is better than none. Your case would/should have come with more than enough screws, don't recall hard drives coming with screws (not that i can remember with the last 4+).

Thank you mate. Tommorow morning I'll just tear apart my old unraid tower and screw it down as the noise is annoying. I hope the drive isn't defective as I can really do with the space and getting all my content together in one place this christmas.

Hakanese · 25 Dec 2020 at 01:40

anyone remember the old bungee cord mods people used to use to isolate hdd movement and noise

freddie64 · 25 Dec 2020 at 07:47

Hakanese said:
anyone remember the old bungee cord mods people used to use to isolate hdd movement and noise

https://www.overclockers.co.uk/forums/threads/hdd-bay-bungee-mod.18269719/

Really effective if you have a noisy drive.

aoaaron · 25 Dec 2020 at 23:11

So guys, I think its a noise from the drive as opposed to something to do with mounting/stabilisation.
Tried everything today but still noisy and a pain in the butt. Screwed it down proeprly.

Its a Toshiba enterprise drive, supposedley made with bigger parts which make more noise from some user reviews. I'll transfer what little data I'd put on the drive to my other near-silent drivers which I used to think were noisy and return this one to the rain forest.

I did some research and a lot of people reccomended WD RED 5400rpm drivers are some of the quietest. As its just for films etc. I've ordered a 14tb and will give it a go. Should come on monday.

Ben97 · 26 Dec 2020 at 12:04

As others have said, different brands can be more noisy then others. Just to say that you are not alone in very nosy drives even when they are not defective. My 1tb hybrid hard drive despite having only a few moving parts still made noise initially. My whole computer made a resonating hum. This was even enough to go through the computer shelf and floorboards to downstairs which sort of amplified it. I had to do a modification to the hard drive tray and stick some thick foam tape to both outer sides. The dramatically dampened the noise / vibration and it is no longer audible from a distance.

Some images of what i did:

http://www.wetherby.me/wiki/pub/Sandbox/RandomImages/P1140276.JPG
http://www.wetherby.me/wiki/pub/Sandbox/RandomImages/P1140275.JPG

Regarding clicking, this may not help as much though. When I bought a 2tb toshiba drive, I didn't even realise the one that came with my pc was a hybrid (semi solid state) and the toshiba one certainly was loud and clicky when in operation, but i did think this was pretty normal now i have compared it to other mechanical hard drives.

freddie64 · 27 Dec 2020 at 09:08

@aoaaron What case are you using?

If you have a noisy drive, it may be amplified though the case when you screw it down.

If you have room to do the "Bungee mod" or what Ben97 suggests, it will help a lot.

aoaaron · 29 Dec 2020 at 23:13

freddie64 said:
@aoaaron What case are you using?

If you have a noisy drive, it may be amplified though the case when you screw it down.

If you have room to do the "Bungee mod" or what Ben97 suggests, it will help a lot.

Fractal mate.

Installed the new HD. WD red 14TB 5400 RPM. Even at full load with 5 different files coming onto it.. its fine. Very very very very slight sound.

Hopefully they WD red drives continue to come down in price and I can grab a 20TB drive next year or the year after as I will stick with these. Will take quieter drivers over a marginally faster one.

t31os · 30 Dec 2020 at 00:57

Use WD for mechanicals across all our systems here(same for friends), don't care if they're winning benchmarks, they stay quiet and perform to the level they need to for storage purposes. We're all using blues(or green previously) and very happy with how they're holding up (have several older smaller WD drives still in the cupboard to, still working last time i slung them in the mobile rack - even my ancient raptor still works, noisy as it is).

aoaaron · 1 Jan 2021 at 20:03

t31os said:
Use WD for mechanicals across all our systems here(same for friends), don't care if they're winning benchmarks, they stay quiet and perform to the level they need to for storage purposes. We're all using blues(or green previously) and very happy with how they're holding up (have several older smaller WD drives still in the cupboard to, still working last time i slung them in the mobile rack - even my ancient raptor still works, noisy as it is).

thanks mate. This WD red is way way quieter than the noisy previous drive. Might give them a go long term if their prices come down on the 16, 18 and 20TB drives.

t31os · 3 Jan 2021 at 14:51

Hopefully you'll remain happy with it. By no means does sticking to a brand you like mean you're immune to failures and issues, second to last WD we put in fathers PC was fine for 2-3 days, then starting throwing errors all over the place (it was undisputably faulty). Returned to the seller, replaced for another(same model and size) and was all golden from there.