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"John L @yahoo.com" john_stlmoremovethis wrote in message
... My external WD hard drive has recently starting 'clicking' on occasion - like resetting itself over and over. Usually it's quiet, works fine, but sometimes it will just start clicking like some program is accessing it but having problems. Reboot the system and everything is fine until next time (it can be an hour, day, or even a week) until it happens again - no set pattern. I really don't believe it's a hard drive malfunction as it just doesn't come across like that. For what it's worth, virus checks show nothing - Norton Disk, PC Tools and Hard Drive Mechanic, all say the drive is "A Okay" when they check it... Is there a easy way to track down what program is accessing the drive when it does this? Something along the lines of a good PC 'task monitor' application? Thanks for any tips. John: Any "noise" (such as a clicking sound) that's out of the ordinary emanating from a HD is *always* a cause of concern. The fact that the diagnostic utilities you mentioned did not find any problem with the drive is not compelling. You *must* use Western Digital's hard drive diagnostic utility (Data Lifeguard Tools version 11) to determine if there's a problem with the drive. If that diagnostic tool doesn't find any problem with the drive, then you'll pursue other possible causes if it's not software related, including any problem with the USB enclosure itself, its cabling, and the USB ports. Anna Anna |
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after diag. try
look for indexing software media sniffers office 'find fast' "John L @yahoo.com" john_stlmoremovethis wrote in message ... My external WD hard drive has recently starting 'clicking' on occasion - like resetting itself over and over. Usually it's quiet, works fine, but sometimes it will just start clicking like some program is accessing it but having problems. Reboot the system and everything is fine until next time (it can be an hour, day, or even a week) until it happens again - no set pattern. I really don't believe it's a hard drive malfunction as it just doesn't come across like that. For what it's worth, virus checks show nothing - Norton Disk, PC Tools and Hard Drive Mechanic, all say the drive is "A Okay" when they check it... Is there a easy way to track down what program is accessing the drive when it does this? Something along the lines of a good PC 'task monitor' application? Thanks for any tips. |
#3
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External hard drive occasional "clicking"
My external WD hard drive has recently starting 'clicking' on occasion -
like resetting itself over and over. Usually it's quiet, works fine, but sometimes it will just start clicking like some program is accessing it but having problems. Reboot the system and everything is fine until next time (it can be an hour, day, or even a week) until it happens again - no set pattern. I really don't believe it's a hard drive malfunction as it just doesn't come across like that. For what it's worth, virus checks show nothing - Norton Disk, PC Tools and Hard Drive Mechanic, all say the drive is "A Okay" when they check it... Is there a easy way to track down what program is accessing the drive when it does this? Something along the lines of a good PC 'task monitor' application? Thanks for any tips. |
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Hi Anna thanks for the very quick response...
Yes, I believe the problem to be software related - that's why I'm looking for task monitor type program to find out which program is accessing the drive and causing the problem. Thanks again for your help. |
#5
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"John L @yahoo.com" john_stlmoremovethis wrote in message ... My external WD hard drive has recently starting 'clicking' on occasion - snip Thanks for any tips. John, My hard drive has started doing this recently as well, which has turned out to be bad sectors on the drive. I looked in Event Viewer under System and it reports problems with the drive. Have a look at yours (Control Panel - Administrative Tools - Event Viewer in XP, similar in others), as it should report any problems it's come across while trying to access data. I have since run the Seagate diagnostic tools and found out that I need to send it back . Grendel. |
#6
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John L
My external WD hard drive has recently starting 'clicking' on occasion - like resetting itself over and over. Usually it's quiet, works fine, but sometimes it will just start clicking like some program is accessing it but having problems. Reboot the system and everything is fine until next time (it can be an hour, day, or even a week) until it happens again - no set pattern. I really don't believe it's a hard drive malfunction as it just doesn't come across like that. For what it's worth, virus checks show nothing - Norton Disk, PC Tools and Hard Drive Mechanic, all say the drive is "A Okay" when they check it... Is there a easy way to track down what program is accessing the drive when it does this? Something along the lines of a good PC 'task monitor' application? Thanks for any tips. While you're searching for programs that might be causing it do a backup because my bet is it'll die shortly. The sound people generally describe as 'clicking' is almost always caused by a bad sector read as the heads slam home to recalibrate head position. |
#7
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It's not a software problem. I know of no monitoring programs.
You may have a bad sector. "Chkdsk /r" will tell you what file. USB enclosure are notorious for drive failures due to heat. "John L @yahoo.com" john_stlmoremovethis wrote in message ... Hi Anna thanks for the very quick response... Yes, I believe the problem to be software related - that's why I'm looking for task monitor type program to find out which program is accessing the drive and causing the problem. |
#8
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"John L @yahoo.com" john_stlmoremovethis wrote in message ... My external WD hard drive has recently starting 'clicking' on occasion - like resetting itself over and over. Usually it's quiet, works fine, but sometimes it will just start clicking like some program is accessing it but having problems. Reboot the system and everything is fine until next time (it can be an hour, day, or even a week) until it happens again - no set pattern. Make sure you do a full backup anyway. |
#9
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"Eric Gisin" wrote in message ... USB enclosure are notorious for drive failures due to heat. If you can find one of these and don't mind a) drilling some holes in the bottom b) it's size c) it's external power adaptor d) the fan ...then they run about as cool as you can get... http://www.stardom.com.tw/web/pro-U71.htm they do a nice stack as well.. http://www.stardom.com.tw/web/pro-U74.htm |
#10
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I removed everything 'important' from the drive when the problem started and
everything on there now is already backed up to DVDs. Backups of a backup of a backup - it's getting rather silly... This drive only lasted about 7 months - anybody care to recommend an external backup drive with some longevity - something you've personally had good luck with? Thanks for all the help... |
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