Noisy Spinning Hard Drive On Startup

[AfxTwn]

Hi, does anyone know of a way to reduce the noise from a mechanincal hard disk drive when you start the computer from cold?

I have a 2TB Seagate ST2000DM001 and when I first start my computer after it's been off overnight, the drive makes a loud spinning noise as it gets warmed up and is fine after minute or so. This doesn't happen if I restart the computer or if I shut down and then start up again after a short while so it suggests it's just when the drive has been completely off for a long time and then has to get up to speed again.

I have checked the drive for errors and it is fine. Also, this is my slave drive to my SSD which has Windows on it. I am using the HDD purely for storage and running games from.

Thanks for any advice.

[CursedPanther]

Sounds like just a normal drive wake up spinning sequence that you can't really do anything about. As for the noise, the only thing you can do is have better insulation.

[AfxTwn]

Yeah I think so too. I spoke to Seagate today and they said to check my cables as it may not be getting enough power when spinning up but everything seems fine. Perhaps my case is particularly bad for HDD's and noise (I have a NZXT H440 with the HDD mounted in the bottom drive bay nearest the PSU and where the SSD's go).

It's just that initial first power-on from not being used for 10 hours or so that seems to cause the most noise. I'd love to switch to an SSD for storage but the cost of a 2TB drive is ridiculous compared with an HDD.

Maybe a new case is in order.

[TehSpoopyKitteh]

Originally posted by AfxTwn:

Yeah I think so too. I spoke to Seagate today and they said to check my cables as it may not be getting enough power when spinning up but everything seems fine. Perhaps my case is particularly bad for HDD's and noise (I have a NZXT H440 with the HDD mounted in the bottom drive bay nearest the PSU and where the SSD's go).

It's just that initial first power-on from not being used for 10 hours or so that seems to cause the most noise. I'd love to switch to an SSD for storage but the cost of a 2TB drive is ridiculous compared with an HDD.

Maybe a new case is in order.

Are you using Windows 10 by chance? By default Windows 10 will "Shut Down" (yes sarcastic quotes...it will be explained) the computer to a similar power state as hibernation was with Windows 7...only in stead of the wake state being stored in RAM, its stored as volatile memory on the hard disk. To be able to get a full powerdown shutdown, you will have to turn off Windows 10's "Fast Boot" feature from within the power settings found in the operating system itself.

[AfxTwn]

Originally posted by First Viscount General Allenby:

Originally posted by AfxTwn:

Yeah I think so too. I spoke to Seagate today and they said to check my cables as it may not be getting enough power when spinning up but everything seems fine. Perhaps my case is particularly bad for HDD's and noise (I have a NZXT H440 with the HDD mounted in the bottom drive bay nearest the PSU and where the SSD's go).

It's just that initial first power-on from not being used for 10 hours or so that seems to cause the most noise. I'd love to switch to an SSD for storage but the cost of a 2TB drive is ridiculous compared with an HDD.

Maybe a new case is in order.

Are you using Windows 10 by chance? By default Windows 10 will "Shut Down" (yes sarcastic quotes...it will be explained) the computer to a similar power state as hibernation was with Windows 7...only in stead of the wake state being stored in RAM, its stored as volatile memory on the hard disk. To be able to get a full powerdown shutdown, you will have to turn off Windows 10's "Fast Boot" feature from within the power settings found in the operating system itself.

Ahh yes I am on Windows 10. So this could be causing the hard disk to take its time getting up to full speed and causing the noise? I will try disabling the "Fast Boot" option and see if that improves things.

Just to be clear the HDD I am having the noise issue with is my second hard drive that I use for Steam and photos and general storage, Windows is on my SSD which is my primary boot drive. Could this "Fast Boot" still effect the second HDD even though it's not where I'm booting Windows from?

[TehSpoopyKitteh]

Originally posted by AfxTwn:

Originally posted by First Viscount General Allenby:

Are you using Windows 10 by chance? By default Windows 10 will "Shut Down" (yes sarcastic quotes...it will be explained) the computer to a similar power state as hibernation was with Windows 7...only in stead of the wake state being stored in RAM, its stored as volatile memory on the hard disk. To be able to get a full powerdown shutdown, you will have to turn off Windows 10's "Fast Boot" feature from within the power settings found in the operating system itself.

Ahh yes I am on Windows 10. So this could be causing the hard disk to take its time getting up to full speed and causing the noise? I will try disabling the "Fast Boot" option and see if that improves things.

Just to be clear the HDD I am having the noise issue with is my second hard drive that I use for Steam and photos and general storage, Windows is on my SSD which is my primary boot drive. Could this "Fast Boot" still effect the second HDD even though it's not where I'm booting Windows from?

Given how fast modern machines are, using Fast Boot from within Windows 10 is pointless. Enabling it will lower the life span of your moving parts hard disk due to the strain of constant power on state.

Anyway, IMHO, you probably need a new hard disk if that one is making so much noise. Just grab an external hard disk (not a flash drive) and back up your photos and other documents before it's too late.