Hard Drive: Expected and Unexpected Drive Noise

Created on: July 21, 2022
Last updated: July 21, 2022

An external hard drive will make a range of sounds during regular use, which are perfectly normal and expected. There are also environmental elements which can impact sound perception:  

• In an otherwise quiet room, HDD sounds can get exaggerated.   
• The HDD might be placed on a surface that amplifies its sounds.  
• Other factors near the HDD may echo its sounds.  

Note: Hard Disk Drives (HDD) produce sound because of their spinning parts. Solid-State Drives (SSD) do not have moving parts and are silent.

Expected Hard Drive Sounds 

The faster the drive motor spins, the higher-pitched the resulting sound will be, and there is a greater chance of a low hum. A drive can "chatter" or "click" when reading and writing data. These are reassuring sounds indicating that the drive is active.  The different expected sounds that might come from a HDD during regular use include:  

• While a HDD is reading or writing data, the disk’s platters are spinning rapidly which typically emits a whirring sound and can be more pronounced when a HDD is winding up or down. Even if not actively being accessed by a user, hard drives are often used by the computer in the background, for example, during automatic indexing.   
• The HDD’s heads, which read and write the data, are constantly making rapid movements as well. This usually sounds like an occasional soft click during use but can sound like a hard click when the heads get parked, for example during shutdown or when entering sleep mode.  
• Enterprise class HDDs are designed to run non-stop in a server setting. These drives have a longer “Mean Time Before Failure” and have more robust parts. Noise levels associated with Enterprise drives are louder than standard HDDs. The higher noise level should not be a concern because they are designed for server settings. 
• Some external drive enclosures have internal fans, especially devices with multiple hard drives.  These can also produce sounds which can be more noticeable in warmer environments where the fan will kick in sooner and more often. This sounds like the HDD whirring mentioned above.  
• When HDDs spin, they create vibrations. These vibrations from an HDD sitting on a desk may cause other objects on the desk, or even the desk itself, to emit a sound.  
• If an external HDD has its own power supply, you might hear a slight humming coming from the power supply’s, especially if the power supply is a bit older.   
• Different use cases may cause various levels of sound. For example, writing new data to an encrypted volume may produce a higher level of noise compared to a standard volume.  
• Multiple HDDs in an enclosure, the more likely potential there is for higher noise levels. This is common with large RAID devices.  

Ways to Reduce Hard Drive Sounds 

• The farther away you can put the drive from your working environment, the less likely any noise coming from it will be bothersome. If limited by the original cables, longer ones are commonly available for purchase.  
• While stacking external drives is a practice, there may be some scenarios where stacking drives may cause drive noise to be louder. Unstack the drives to hear if louder drive noise continues when faced with this scenario.
• Rubber feet adhered to an external solution can reduce vibrations which reduce overall noise. Many OWC external solutions come with rubber feet to aid with vibration reduction.

Unexpected Hard Drive Sounds 

• Grinding or scratching sounds coming from the drive, depending on severity, it can mean that continued use will cause physical damage to the disk’s platters and there is a risk to damaging or losing the data.  
• A faulty drive can experience abnormal vibrations. Compare multiple drives when possible to establish a normal vibration baseline. Listen for irregularities in the vibrations as well. A healthy drive emits mild and regular sounds of whirring.  
• Mentioned above, a solitary hard clicking sound can mean the heads are getting parked. But if a hard clicking persists or is accompanied by any repeated clunking (or grinding) sound, then there is likely a physical issue with the drive. When possible, compare to other drives known to be healthy.  
• If an external HDD has its own power supply, as mentioned earlier, it is normal to hear a slight humming coming from it. If the humming is pronounced, or you can hear occasional crackles, it is possible the power supply is no longer supplying enough power to the drive. Another hint is that the drive no longer spins up (does not whir or vibrate). 
• Drive Savers offers a drive sound simulator that can be used to identify the type of sound being emitted from a device. http://www.drivesaversdatarecovery.com/ep/drivesaver-the-first-online-hard-disk-drive-simulator/