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Studio XPS 13 (1340) Hard Disk 'clicking' noise
| Hi I have a brand new dell studio xps 13 (1340) with a 500Gb Seagate ST9500420ASG (Momentus 7200.4) hard disk, after some hours using it, i've noticed a 'click' noise that comes (i think) from the hard disk. That 'clicking' noise, when it happens, its in sync with the HD led, so i think its the hard disk. I've called dell support, and they make me to run diagnostics tools, etc... and all diagnostics says that the hard disk its ok. but the problem persisted. Its there any firmware update or something that I could do? Anybody with the same issue? I have windows vista home premium 64bits
Thanks!! |
andaymo
1 Message
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July 14th, 2009 08:00
Hey mate!
Yeah I've got the same issue. Same laptop, harddrive and vista premium 64bit. After a few hours it does that weird click noise and the led goes on for a second or two, except my system doesn't pause at all.
The sound reminds me of the noise my desktop's harddrive made as it was nearing its death...sort of like it was shutting down but starting up at the same time.
I don't like it :S
But I guess there's nothing we can do, especially since you've tried a replacement.
Got extended warranty?
Cheers, Andy.
_maca_
2 Posts
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July 14th, 2009 09:00
Hi andy! appears that lot of studio xps were released with the same problem... :/
What i did was to call dell again, and they sent me anooother HD replacement, but this time the disk works ok, with no clicking sound. So i guess it was the hd... I've researched on some forums and some people says that is a problem with g-force free fall protection of hard disk, but i dont know...
i dont have extended warranty, my warranty expires on march 2010.
cheers!
maca
Atreidae
24 Posts
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July 15th, 2009 01:00
Ive got the segate 250gb hdd... its doing the same. figured it was the freefall sensor.. but a stress test (making the heads move back and forth a ton) makes the drive click and lock up a ton.. Ive got a replacement comming out.. the support guys were good I didnt even need a dell diagnostics error code (whoo!)
R0ISIN
4 Posts
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September 25th, 2009 16:00
Ouch! Clicking is not a good sign.. and Seagate... the memories of them.. *sigh*
check out:
http://datacent.com/datarecovery/hdd/seagate/STM3250310AS
They call it the "click of death" for a reason. I'd keep regular backups if I were you.
If you had XP, I'd say install a RAMdisk to utilise the +1GB XP can't read, and stick all your temp files on that to reduce HDD usage... but I really don't see how with Vista.
Vivivaldi
4 Posts
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September 27th, 2009 02:00
In this case, the clicking comes from the drive head parking and starting up again. It is not what is commonly referred to as "the click of death", but a safety mechanism to stop movement when the drive is falling (about to experience shock).
The problem is that the mechanism is malfunctioning, which causes the head to park in perfectly stable positions. If you use the drive in a different system, there will be no clicking, so it is a software incompatibility.
Dell knows about the problem, but seem to be in no hurry to fix it. Apple, very recently, fixed the same issue in their systems: http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?threadID=2049659&start=1560&tstart=0
jonjanego
2 Posts
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October 17th, 2009 08:00
I just wanted to throw my hat into the ring here and say that I'm experiencing the same issue with my Studio XPS 13 laptop, using Windows 7 RC.
Looking forward to Dell releasing the firmware update!
papasmurf6768
13 Posts
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December 6th, 2009 13:00
PROBLEM SOLVED!!
I had this same problem- Dell released an update (finally) that fixes this problem. Thought I'd explain how to install it, because it's kind of tricky.
1. Go to this page and choose your correct OS. http://support.dell.com/support/downloads/driverslist.aspx?c=us&cs=19&l=en&s=dhs&os=WLH&osl=en&catid=&impid=&SystemID=STUDIOXPS13
Then, scroll down to the update window that says SATA Drives. Click and download the correct file for which HD you have. You can find this information in the Device Manager. You have a 420ASG (same as me), so choose that update.
2. Once it's downloaded, double-click it, and extract the files. In the file that pops up, double-click the .iso file and burn it to a CD using any program.
3. Eject that disc, and turn off your computer. Turn it back on and press F2 to enter setup. Then scroll over to (I think) advanced, and find the HD operation thing. I don't know exactly what it says, but you get the idea. Change the setting of this from ASCI to ATA (I think it's ATA, once again not sure. It;s the only other option though.) Exit and save, then turn off your computer again.
4. Turn it back on, and press F12. Insert the CD you burned in step 2. Choose CD Drive from the menu. (If it's not there, turn off your computer and then turn it back on. Then choose F12 again.)
5. Once you choose CD from that menu, it should spin up and you should see a blue screen for about a minute. Your HD will beep, don't worry it's normal. If this screen is only displayed for a short time (about a second) that means you probably didn't change your HD to ATA. If you don't, the update won't work.
6. After about a minute and a few worrying beeps, you should see a green screen that says update successful. HOORAY! Press eject to take out the CD, and turn off your laptop. But you're still not done yet...
7. Last step. All you have to do now is turn your laptop back on and enter the setup screen again (F2). Change your HD back to AHCI. Exit and save.
AND THAT'S IT! You might want to print these instructions out before you start to update. If you know what you're doing, then go right ahead. I wrote this to help people that don't know what you're doing. Just thought I'd let you know the update is available.
-PapaSmurf6768
captainwerd
1 Message
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December 25th, 2009 21:00
Thanks for posting the instructions. I have a Dell Studio 16 and my hard drive has the same click-freeze issue. I am running Vista Home Premium 64 bit, and tried following the instructions for the Studio 16 version with no success. When I tried booting up w/ the CD, it just hangs there with a blinking cursor.
I also tried just running the "FLASH" file that comes in the "file" folder that extracts when you unzip dell's utility (after copying to a USB drive) - all that happens is a command line window that pops up telling me the file is not compatible with my version of windows (even though I followed Dell's instructions and selected the correct file to download for my system).
Anyone else running into similar problems?
papasmurf6768
13 Posts
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December 26th, 2009 06:00
I had this problem too, and it turned out that it was my disc. I burned it with Roxio, and it gave me the white cursor. I recommend downloading a different free program/using a different program, re-download the update file (make sure it's the right one for your HD), and burn it again with the other program. Also, what kind of disc are you using? I recommend CD-R. Hope that helped! Make sure you click Vista 64-bit OS in the downloads page, and use the right download for your HD!
martylap
14 Posts
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October 31st, 2014 11:00
Hi, same problem. What they did about your problem?
http://en.community.dell.com/support-forums/disk-drives/f/3534/t/19605126