Most recently, I already told you about the ways you can. In particular, the article talked about a program that can control coolers in your system unit. But, coolers are still half the trouble. For most users, a lot of noise comes from the hard drive. Moreover, some hard disks so loud that they are the main cause of noise from the computer.
But, in fact, there is nothing wrong with this. After all HDD, it is also called a hard drive, a mechanical device in which there are several rotating disks, in fact, which make noise. Internal drives are similar to regular CDs, but they work in a completely different way.
Thanks to the magnetic heads inside the hard disk, information is read. During this process, the disks move and create noise. For some users, hard drives rumble, for someone they crack and even scream, then you. The noise emitted depends on the hard drive model and the stability of the computer case. If the case system block cheap, and its walls are thin, then the noise from the hard drive will be transmitted throughout the case. Loose parts will vibrate, creating even more noise.
In order to reduce crackling, you can do the following:
- Replace an old noisy hard drive with a new one after learning about its noise level.
- Use the AAM settings to change the acoustic noise level.
- Check the soundproofing of the housing. Perhaps the problem is in it and after replacing it with a new one, the computer will work quieter.
- Install the hard drive on special soundproof pads or use a soundproof case for the drive.
- Defragment your hard drive. But not the fact that this procedure will help you. And if, after it is carried out, the hard drive starts to work quieter, then soon the noise will return again.
Reducing Hard Drive Cracking with AAM
Any hard drive has a feature such as controlling its noise level using the internal AAM setting. (Automatic Acoustic Management). The principle of this setting is very simple: the speed of movement of the heads is reduced, which allows the hard disk to work many times quieter. But, such a setting reduces not only the noise level, but also the speed work hard disk as a whole.
Here it is already necessary to choose what is more important for you - the speed of the hard drive or the noise from it. Perhaps, after setting up, you will not notice how the speed of the hard drive has dropped, but there will be no cod during operation.
In order for you to be able to start adjusting the volume of the hard drive, you need to download the "WinAAM" program. This program is completely free and it is better to download it from the official site.
The program has a Russian interface and for work, you do not need to install it. Run it directly from the archive and configure it. After opening the program, you will see a window with options for choosing the program.
You need to press the "continue" button. We do not go into the security settings at all, since they will not be able to affect the noisy operation of the hard drive in any way.
When you run the program, you will see that the first line will say "in this moment Noise control is not active”. You will need to select "Quiet/Standard (128)" to set the "quiet" AAM value. Despite the fact that the program has a range of values from 0 to 255, you need to choose the "Quiet / Loud" value, since intermediate options are not displayed at work and hard disk noise reduction. It is for this reason that the program contains only one you need button, so as not to rack your brains with the choice of value for effective work programs.
After the value is set, the program will automatically close. You need to run it again and click the "continue" button, and then "check".
After the program has run, you will see a window that will contain all the information about the chaotic movement of the hard disk read head, and you will hear how your hard disk will sound in a new way. I'm sure the hard drive will start to work much quieter. For comparison, you can press the "Loud(254)" button and hear what noise the hard drive was working with before all the settings.
By clicking on the same button, you will return all standard settings and the hard drive will continue to work at the same speed.
If this program will not detect your hard drive, then I recommend using "HD Tune" the essence is the same.
Actually, that's all. Now you can independently control the noise level of your hard drive. If the hard drive is accompanied by crackling and various kinds of clicks, then I definitely recommend using any of the programs to make the hard drive quieter if the noise bothers you. Thank you for being with us!
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 (indicating a problem) may appear: 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 indicate 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 your 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 are many extraneous noise, music is playing, etc.), he simply did not pay attention to the noise of the disk (and in the store, as a rule, you don’t load the disk 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 is 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 higher speed of work (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: a higher cost. 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 a 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 moments 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)
Hard drives have certain options that are usually not mentioned anywhere (we are now talking about Automatic Acoustic Management, often abbreviated as 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 somewhat 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 -
A hard drive, also known as a "hard drive", is an important component of any computer. It has not only operating system, but important documents and files (music, video, photos) are also stored. Like any other component, over time it wears out and fails. And the main symptom of this is the appearance of noise and buzzing of the hard drive. In this case, the first thing to do is to avoid a sharp breakdown.
However, this may not always be the reason. An increased noise level also occurs with new drives of some manufacturers and models, and this is their normal operating condition.
Below we will consider several options for reducing the noise of a hard drive: manually and programmatically.
AAM
Newer HDDs support the special function " Automatic Acoustic Management”, with its help you can adjust the speed of movement of the reading heads, due to which the noise of the laptop hard drive will decrease.
Default given function is disabled, so we use a utility called "WinAAM" to enable it, it's free and very lightweight. You can find and download it on the Internet.
I want to draw your attention to the fact that after setting the quiet mode, the speed of the drive also decreases. However, it is very difficult to see this by eye.
CrystalDiskInfo
If for some reason the previous program did not suit you or did not help, the hard drive is still noisy under load and because of this, then I recommend using this utility. With its help, we will more flexibly configure the AAM function. But it also has other useful features, for example, you can view detailed HDD parameters, Current state and check for errors.
So what's to be done:
After that, the hard drive will start working with the new settings in quiet mode.
There may be several reasons why there may be several reasons for CrystalDiskInfo:
- The HDD is old and the utility simply does not support it
- Physical or logical failure
How to diagnose the HDD, it was said at the beginning of the article.
defragmentation
Another way that can help you if the hard drive of a laptop or computer makes a lot of noise or buzzes during operation. As mentioned above, this is due to the moving mechanical heads, or rather their speed.
To do this, we will reduce the distance that they need to overcome in order to get to the desired section of the disk and read information from it. This is done quite simply, using the usual defragmentation. It will arrange clusters with information in order, reduce the distance between them, thereby increasing the speed of access to them. Simply put, it will be easier for the hard drive to read necessary information, the load on it will decrease, and after that the noise and buzz of the hard drive will decrease.
But you can also use the utility built into the system.:
Thus, we will get rid of the buzz and buzz of the drive.
Manual way
If you have a desktop computer and not a laptop, you can use one of the methods below.
Now you know what to do when the hard drive starts making third-party sounds during operation (noise, buzzing and buzzing) and you can solve this problem yourself using the methods discussed above.
Sometimes every PC user may encounter the problem of extraneous noise during work. 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 operating condition may be accompanied by noise. Here you need to figure out why the hard drive is cracking.
- 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 notice a reduction in hard drive speed, 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 previous state 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. Such 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.
