How can I find out why my HD are constantly whirring?

masplin

New Member
Messages
15
Recently i upgraded my machine to Win 8.1 by installing an SSD with the OS & Programs. I then have a 500GB HD where the User folders are directed for documents and a 2TB for photos. I have started noticing that the machine is constantly whirring for long periods even when I'm not doing anything and it is extremely irritating/worrying. I have turned off all the indexing and run various HD testing software that says all my drives are fine. I'd love to know what it is making it do this so is there any tool that shows you clearly which drive is doing what? Of course it is silent as I write this!!! Looking in task manager I can see 10% CPU, 25% memory and 0% disc and lovely silence. hitting save on 35,000 photos drives the usage on 2TB drive up to 12% but more of a scuffling sound from the drive than a ticking i.e. it isnt the same sound.

Thanks for any tips on locating what is causing this.

mike
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    8.1
Do you have Windows Media Player set to share media files over the network? If you go into Network and Sharing Center you can look at the settings. I find that if WMP is set to share files it will constantly sift through all the drives on the system looking for media files to share.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8.0 x64
    Computer type
    Laptop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Toshiba Satelite C55D-A Laptop
    CPU
    AMD EI 1200
    Memory
    4 gb DDR3
    Graphics Card(s)
    Raedon 340 MB dedicated Ram
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Built in
    Screen Resolution
    1366 x 768
    Hard Drives
    640 GB (spinner) Sata II
    Keyboard
    Built in
    Mouse
    Touch pad
I guess it is called Media Streaming now.

Click where it shows on screen shot, then click All Networks

Capture.PNG
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8.0 x64
    Computer type
    Laptop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Toshiba Satelite C55D-A Laptop
    CPU
    AMD EI 1200
    Memory
    4 gb DDR3
    Graphics Card(s)
    Raedon 340 MB dedicated Ram
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Built in
    Screen Resolution
    1366 x 768
    Hard Drives
    640 GB (spinner) Sata II
    Keyboard
    Built in
    Mouse
    Touch pad
Do you have monitoring, reporting, security programs maybe a little too assertively-set?
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 7 Pro 64bit [MS blue-disk set]
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    2 Acers & 1 Antec[?]
    CPU
    i7 in 2 Acers, i5 in desktop
    Motherboard
    Desktop w/Gigabyte
    Memory
    Two w/16GB, 1 w/8GB
    Graphics Card(s)
    Laptops GameWorthy; Desktop maybe GameWorthy
    Monitor(s) Displays
    flatscreens; 2 are BluRay worthy
    Screen Resolution
    1368x768; 1600x900
    Hard Drives
    1TB internals; 2 ext usb WD 1TB HDs
    PSU
    what's PSU?
    Cooling
    Regular plus external fans
    Keyboard
    desktio w/PS2
    Mouse
    desktop w/PS2
    Internet Speed
    DSL middle level [160?]
    Browser
    from Netscape 0.9 to FF 36
    Antivirus
    well-balanced, well-configured mult-layered defense is best
    Other Info
    From MS-DOS 3.3, MS-DOS 6.22, from Windows 3.1 to WFW 3.11 to Windows 95-98SE, now to Windows 7 Pro.
    Security for now: Windows 7 Firewall, Emsisoft AM, MSE [scan-only], SpywareBlaster, Ruiware/BillP combine
Windows 8 while idle, will update the Search index, purge old info out of the page file, scan system for threats, Defrag/Optimise.

Just the OS doing some housekeeping chores, when you do not use it.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Linux Mint 17.2
    Computer type
    Laptop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Toshiba Satellite C850D-st3nx1
    CPU
    AMD E1-1200 APU with Radeon (tm) HD Graphics 1.40 GHZ
    Memory
    12GB
    Graphics Card(s)
    AMD Radeon™ HD 7310 Graphics
    Sound Card
    Realtek HD
    Monitor(s) Displays
    LCD
    Screen Resolution
    1366 x 768
    Hard Drives
    Crucial M500 240GB SSD
    Mouse
    Logitech M525
    Internet Speed
    45/6 - ATT U-Verse
    Browser
    Google Chrome
    Antivirus
    None needed. It is Linux.
    Other Info
    Arris NVG589 Gateway; Router - Cisco RV320; Switch - Netgear GS108 8-Port Switch & Trendnet TEG-S50g 5-Port Switch; Access Points - Engenius ECB350, Trendnet TEW-638APB; NAS - Lenovo ix2-4; Printer - Brother HL-2280DW; Air Print Server - Lantronix XPrintServer

    A/V UPS - Tripp-Lite Smart 1500LCD 1500 Va/900 W.
One thing it could be. Do you have an application that monitors a folder for changes? If you have a large folder tree and a program uses the Windows API to be notified on a file or folder change, it can work the drive hard.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8.0 x64
    Computer type
    Laptop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Toshiba Satelite C55D-A Laptop
    CPU
    AMD EI 1200
    Memory
    4 gb DDR3
    Graphics Card(s)
    Raedon 340 MB dedicated Ram
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Built in
    Screen Resolution
    1366 x 768
    Hard Drives
    640 GB (spinner) Sata II
    Keyboard
    Built in
    Mouse
    Touch pad
The only thing i think I have is windows defender. I haven't installed any other 3rd party apps. As I said I have disable the indexing.

Maybe I just have to accept it's normal for Win8 just never heard it with Win7.

Thanks for all your advice

Mike
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    8.1
Task manager and Resource monitor may help YOU with this. The biggest problem with these tools is that it can give the user a lot of data but unless they know what to look for it's all useless. Have you given them a try?

If you notice a big increase in activity on task manager take a look at Resource Monitor, as it is more helpful since it gives a more detail overview on WHAT is using those resource. If you notice high disk activity in Task Manager take a look at what the resource monitor shows about disk activity. Who is doing most of the reading or writing (B/sec), it may be a specific process, file or program. Iwc8nnv.png
It could be Windows 8 at fault but I have some doubts that Windows 8 itself is what is causing high usage.

Take a look at memory as well a large amount of page faults will definitely give you signals as well.
 
Last edited:

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8 Pro 64-Bit
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    N/A
    CPU
    AMD FX 6300
    Motherboard
    GYGABYTE GA-990FXA-UD3 Rev 3.0
    Memory
    24GB DDR3 (4GB/4GB/8GB/8GB)
    Graphics Card(s)
    Sapphire HD 6850
    Sound Card
    Integrated (Realtek HD Audio)
    Monitor(s) Displays
    3 X 19" monitors
    Screen Resolution
    4580 x 900
    Hard Drives
    WD 80GB
    WD 640GB
    WD 1,000GB
    WD 4,000GB
    PSU
    Rosewill Hive-650
    Case
    Antec 300 V2
    Cooling
    Stock Cooling
    Keyboard
    Saitek Eclipse II
    Mouse
    Logitech G402
    Internet Speed
    D: 60Mbps U: 5Mbps
    Browser
    Internet Explorer 11
    Antivirus
    Windows Defender
    Other Info
    I also have a hub for 6 extra usb port AC powered.
    Microsoft LifeCam 720P
    HP LaserJet Pro M1212NF
    2 x 8 Port GB Switches
    1 X Netgear Router Netgear WNDR3700 v2 W/ DD-WRT
    and Much more
Capture.PNG

So my pc is ticking away furiously and this is what i have see in resource monitor. No hard faults and nothing writing furiously. I can hear the driving slowing down now . Now stopped and monitor looks pretty much the same!!!
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    8.1
How many chrome tabs are you running? Chrome browser can go crazy running a process per open tab plus 4 or 5 for good measure. Chromium had a command line flag that limited the number of "renderers" running simultaneously. I think I used to set it to 4. afaik chrome from google has no such switch on the command line.

Trouble is now chromium doesn't play flash. At least I could not get it to work.

Edit: chromium is the open source browser that google chrome is based on. Google modifies it for its own purposes.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8.0 x64
    Computer type
    Laptop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Toshiba Satelite C55D-A Laptop
    CPU
    AMD EI 1200
    Memory
    4 gb DDR3
    Graphics Card(s)
    Raedon 340 MB dedicated Ram
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Built in
    Screen Resolution
    1366 x 768
    Hard Drives
    640 GB (spinner) Sata II
    Keyboard
    Built in
    Mouse
    Touch pad
No hard faults and nothing writing furiously. I can hear the driving slowing down now . Now stopped and monitor looks pretty much the same!!!
Hard fault is showing very little are you sure it's sorted from highest usage to slowest, not the other way around? If this was the peak of your hardware usage it actually shows very little. I know the "green drives" are able to go into a deeper rest mode than traditional drives, users notice noise more often on those while they return to work.

Honestly at this point you are going to have to do long term monitoring. Maybe you can notice patterns, just keep task manager & resource monitor in the background for quick access. If you have already confirm that your HDD is making a lot of noise, all that's left to do is monitor it. Also make sure you have a backup, maybe the reason for the noise could be that it is trying to show you signs of failure. Enjoy your day and have a good one.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8 Pro 64-Bit
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    N/A
    CPU
    AMD FX 6300
    Motherboard
    GYGABYTE GA-990FXA-UD3 Rev 3.0
    Memory
    24GB DDR3 (4GB/4GB/8GB/8GB)
    Graphics Card(s)
    Sapphire HD 6850
    Sound Card
    Integrated (Realtek HD Audio)
    Monitor(s) Displays
    3 X 19" monitors
    Screen Resolution
    4580 x 900
    Hard Drives
    WD 80GB
    WD 640GB
    WD 1,000GB
    WD 4,000GB
    PSU
    Rosewill Hive-650
    Case
    Antec 300 V2
    Cooling
    Stock Cooling
    Keyboard
    Saitek Eclipse II
    Mouse
    Logitech G402
    Internet Speed
    D: 60Mbps U: 5Mbps
    Browser
    Internet Explorer 11
    Antivirus
    Windows Defender
    Other Info
    I also have a hub for 6 extra usb port AC powered.
    Microsoft LifeCam 720P
    HP LaserJet Pro M1212NF
    2 x 8 Port GB Switches
    1 X Netgear Router Netgear WNDR3700 v2 W/ DD-WRT
    and Much more
Miles Ahead, if you right click on the Chrome Tab bar, you can then open up Chrome's Task Manager, which allows you to open Chrome://memory-redirect.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Linux Mint 17.2
    Computer type
    Laptop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Toshiba Satellite C850D-st3nx1
    CPU
    AMD E1-1200 APU with Radeon (tm) HD Graphics 1.40 GHZ
    Memory
    12GB
    Graphics Card(s)
    AMD Radeon™ HD 7310 Graphics
    Sound Card
    Realtek HD
    Monitor(s) Displays
    LCD
    Screen Resolution
    1366 x 768
    Hard Drives
    Crucial M500 240GB SSD
    Mouse
    Logitech M525
    Internet Speed
    45/6 - ATT U-Verse
    Browser
    Google Chrome
    Antivirus
    None needed. It is Linux.
    Other Info
    Arris NVG589 Gateway; Router - Cisco RV320; Switch - Netgear GS108 8-Port Switch & Trendnet TEG-S50g 5-Port Switch; Access Points - Engenius ECB350, Trendnet TEW-638APB; NAS - Lenovo ix2-4; Printer - Brother HL-2280DW; Air Print Server - Lantronix XPrintServer

    A/V UPS - Tripp-Lite Smart 1500LCD 1500 Va/900 W.
Miles Ahead, if you right click on the Chrome Tab bar, you can then open up Chrome's Task Manager, which allows you to open Chrome://memory-redirect.

Then what? I need to study a manual for that info. :)
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8.0 x64
    Computer type
    Laptop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Toshiba Satelite C55D-A Laptop
    CPU
    AMD EI 1200
    Memory
    4 gb DDR3
    Graphics Card(s)
    Raedon 340 MB dedicated Ram
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Built in
    Screen Resolution
    1366 x 768
    Hard Drives
    640 GB (spinner) Sata II
    Keyboard
    Built in
    Mouse
    Touch pad
No. It gives you all of the memory info that Chrome is using.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Linux Mint 17.2
    Computer type
    Laptop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Toshiba Satellite C850D-st3nx1
    CPU
    AMD E1-1200 APU with Radeon (tm) HD Graphics 1.40 GHZ
    Memory
    12GB
    Graphics Card(s)
    AMD Radeon™ HD 7310 Graphics
    Sound Card
    Realtek HD
    Monitor(s) Displays
    LCD
    Screen Resolution
    1366 x 768
    Hard Drives
    Crucial M500 240GB SSD
    Mouse
    Logitech M525
    Internet Speed
    45/6 - ATT U-Verse
    Browser
    Google Chrome
    Antivirus
    None needed. It is Linux.
    Other Info
    Arris NVG589 Gateway; Router - Cisco RV320; Switch - Netgear GS108 8-Port Switch & Trendnet TEG-S50g 5-Port Switch; Access Points - Engenius ECB350, Trendnet TEW-638APB; NAS - Lenovo ix2-4; Printer - Brother HL-2280DW; Air Print Server - Lantronix XPrintServer

    A/V UPS - Tripp-Lite Smart 1500LCD 1500 Va/900 W.
No. It gives you all of the memory info that Chrome is using.

Ah, for this problem diagnosis. I was thinking of how to control it.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8.0 x64
    Computer type
    Laptop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Toshiba Satelite C55D-A Laptop
    CPU
    AMD EI 1200
    Memory
    4 gb DDR3
    Graphics Card(s)
    Raedon 340 MB dedicated Ram
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Built in
    Screen Resolution
    1366 x 768
    Hard Drives
    640 GB (spinner) Sata II
    Keyboard
    Built in
    Mouse
    Touch pad
This is driving me nuts. I can't see anything in the resource monitor that looks like it is causing the noise. It can go on for 30 minutes or more then goes silent and i just don't see any differnece. I thought it could be the fans so installed speedfan but the fan speed doesnt seem to change whether the noise is there or not.

Thisis resource monitor with the noise

attachment.php


This is it without the noise. Can anyone see anything that could cause this constant ticking? Thanks

attachment.php
 

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My Computer

System One

  • OS
    8.1
Your HDD may be showing signs of failure. If it's working hard under minimal load. Your last post makes me wonder if we even know the source of the noise though. Just make a backup for worst case scenario.
If you force a heavy load on it can you recreate the scenario? try something with large files.
Crystal Disk Info can help you monitor temperatures and check the reported status of HDD. Crystal Disk Mark can help with benchmarking your HDD and maybe even so small stress testing.

I am still incline to saying that the noise may be a HDD death noise.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8 Pro 64-Bit
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    N/A
    CPU
    AMD FX 6300
    Motherboard
    GYGABYTE GA-990FXA-UD3 Rev 3.0
    Memory
    24GB DDR3 (4GB/4GB/8GB/8GB)
    Graphics Card(s)
    Sapphire HD 6850
    Sound Card
    Integrated (Realtek HD Audio)
    Monitor(s) Displays
    3 X 19" monitors
    Screen Resolution
    4580 x 900
    Hard Drives
    WD 80GB
    WD 640GB
    WD 1,000GB
    WD 4,000GB
    PSU
    Rosewill Hive-650
    Case
    Antec 300 V2
    Cooling
    Stock Cooling
    Keyboard
    Saitek Eclipse II
    Mouse
    Logitech G402
    Internet Speed
    D: 60Mbps U: 5Mbps
    Browser
    Internet Explorer 11
    Antivirus
    Windows Defender
    Other Info
    I also have a hub for 6 extra usb port AC powered.
    Microsoft LifeCam 720P
    HP LaserJet Pro M1212NF
    2 x 8 Port GB Switches
    1 X Netgear Router Netgear WNDR3700 v2 W/ DD-WRT
    and Much more
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