Hard Drive "Clicking" / Other Questions & Comments

Austin

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No need to sound the alarms but I noticed that my Western Digital external disk (Custom Enclosure) clicks when the read/write head leaves the platters. Any ideas? It's quiet as mouse while reading and writing, but makes the very faint clicking when its idle.

Also, as said by the thread title.
It's time to upgrade, I've been looking at some options:
  • Build my own FreeNAS box and buy X amount of HDDs to fill it. (No server knowledge) [However I want to monitor all the hard drives being used; cost??]
  • Buy a pre-built NAS box and buy X amount of HDDs to fill it. [I get to monitor my hard drives, but reliability???; Cost: $$$$]
  • Buy a crap load of single drive enclosures, buy X amount of HDDs to fill it, and buy a USB hub to hook it all up. [Sounds like that'll cost me $$$$]
:think: This isn't a project that I'll be building overnight.

I already have another project that I'm getting ready for and that's a custom built modular electrical box with surge protection. -- A little cheating on the surge protection part.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 7
    System Manufacturer/Model
    eMachines / EL1358G
    CPU
    AMD Athlon II X2 220 - 2.8 GHz
    Motherboard
    eMachines EL1358G
    Memory
    Kingston - 3 GB
    Graphics Card(s)
    NVIDIA GeForce 6150SE nForce 430
    Sound Card
    Realtek High Definition Audio
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Acer S231HL 23"
    Screen Resolution
    Acer @ 1920 x 1080
    Hard Drives
    HDS721010CLA - Hitachi 1TB
    WDC WD10EARS - Western Digital 1TB [External]
    PSU
    LITEON 220W
    Case
    eMachines
    Cooling
    Open case
    Keyboard
    Logitech Illuminated Keyboard
    Mouse
    Logitech M215
    Internet Speed
    15 Mbps Down / 3 Mbps Up
    Other Info
    HP Deskjet 1000 Printer, HP Deskjet 3050 Printer, HP Officejet 4500 Wireless Printer, HP DVD Writer 1270e
One click at startup should be ok, My samsung drive does that. WD drives have a mechanism which parks the heads off the platters in a cradle of sorts when powered off, so I think the click is them getting "back on."
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Win 7 Ult X64 SP1
    System Manufacturer/Model
    H.A.L. 2000
    CPU
    i5-2550K @ 4.4GHz, today
    Motherboard
    ASUS P8Z68-V PRO/GEN3
    Memory
    16GB GSkill Sniper 2133 MHz
    Graphics Card(s)
    ASUS GeForce 650Ti Boost
    Sound Card
    Realtech onboard
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Samsung P2570HD
    Screen Resolution
    1920X1080
    Hard Drives
    Samsung 840 PRO OS, Seagate Constellation 500GB, Users
    PSU
    Corsair HX650W
    Case
    Inwin Dragon Rider
    Cooling
    120mm X4 case fans 3 intake, 1 exhaust , 120mm X2 CPU cooler fan
    Keyboard
    some old Dell I found
    Mouse
    steelseries Sensei
    Internet Speed
    50Mbs/11Mbs
    Browser
    IE11, Pale Moon, Opera
    Antivirus
    NIS 2013
    Other Info
    LG BluRay BD/RE, DVD/RW, front panel w/USB, eSATA, Audio, multi-card reader, Mr Fusion generator
That click I'm aware of. It's more of a buzzing click. And it only does it when the drive is idle. It doesn't do it while seeking which makes this a hard one to track down.

Also I've noticed this for the longest time but GFX cards "seem" to always be mounted upside down with the Fans/heatsink on what becomes the bottom of the card

This seems to me to trap heat and thus makes it harder to expel, that is unless you have a blower type that exits the back.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 7
    System Manufacturer/Model
    eMachines / EL1358G
    CPU
    AMD Athlon II X2 220 - 2.8 GHz
    Motherboard
    eMachines EL1358G
    Memory
    Kingston - 3 GB
    Graphics Card(s)
    NVIDIA GeForce 6150SE nForce 430
    Sound Card
    Realtek High Definition Audio
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Acer S231HL 23"
    Screen Resolution
    Acer @ 1920 x 1080
    Hard Drives
    HDS721010CLA - Hitachi 1TB
    WDC WD10EARS - Western Digital 1TB [External]
    PSU
    LITEON 220W
    Case
    eMachines
    Cooling
    Open case
    Keyboard
    Logitech Illuminated Keyboard
    Mouse
    Logitech M215
    Internet Speed
    15 Mbps Down / 3 Mbps Up
    Other Info
    HP Deskjet 1000 Printer, HP Deskjet 3050 Printer, HP Officejet 4500 Wireless Printer, HP DVD Writer 1270e
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