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1 second sick cat sound every 10 minutes from D: drive of 4600 system
This problem concerns a Dell 4600 system with dual hard drives, C: and D:, where C: is the primary drive. I got this system in early August with Windows XP Home Edition. From the very first time that I turned it on (only monitor, keyboard and mouse connected), there was a sound, like a sick cat would make, that happened periodically. It quickly became apparent that the sound, which lasts for about a second, occurred at regular intervals, so I timed it. Exactly 10 minutes and a few seconds between sounds. The next step was to figure out where it was coming from. Tech support had me tearing the machine apart. Finally unplugging the power supply to the D: hard drive and restarting the machine eliminated the sound. Dell sent me a new hard drive. Unfortunately, the problem recurred exactly as before after the new hard drive was installed and formatted. Both hard drives were "Deskstar" brand with 60 GB capacity.
Since the problem wasn't fixed and the sound was annoying me, I requested a replacement tower within the 30-day exchange privilege. I got the new tower last week and found it equipped with an 80GB C: drive and a 120 GB D: drive. I checked and the 120 GB D: drive is Deskstar brand. Unfortunately (and almost unbelievably), the same 10 minute agonized cat cry emanated from the D: drive of the new tower. Same sound, same interval, same location as the original system. I downloaded the Drive Fitness Test to see if it could detect any problems. It didn't. Interestingly, while the Drive Fitness Test had the D: drive in motion, the sound was absent. As soon as the test was completed, however, the sound started up again, and this time at 5-minute intervals. Go figure, huh! I rebooted the machine and the sound once again dropped back to 10 minutes. Like I said, the sound only lasts for about a second, but it is most annoying. Everything else is working fine with the system. BTW, on the original machine I performed error checking, defragmentation, and formatting of the D: drive all to no avail (except when the D: drive was being formatted the sound was again absent until the format had completed).
The fact that this sound persists on three separate drives in two separate towers makes me think it is not the drive but something else. Windows? BIOS? Conflict? I just don't know what the underlying problem is but am hoping someone here will have some ideas.
Thank you for whatever help you're able to offer.
Francis Nguyen
953 Posts
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September 27th, 2003 14:00
But they were all DEATHSTARS! Can you replace the slave drive with another brand of HD and check for problem?
F.
jen4782
12 Posts
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September 27th, 2003 15:00
tkuyper
7 Posts
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September 27th, 2003 20:00
Well, well, well, what do you know. I'm not the only one with this problem Was searching the forums on storagereview.com and found a person with nearly an identical problem. Here's what they wrote:
I am discovering (along with the rest of the internet) that this drive does have a little "personality quirk" though - it makes a strange noise every 10 minutes.
It sounds like a miniature sawmill or a trapped wasp, lasts .5 to 1.5 seconds and happens every ten minutes, on the dot. I'm expecting the next one in four minutes time :-)
Reports say it's the drive moving the heads around to avoid heat buildup, but it's still pretty strange...
Strange indeed. I wish I could find the report on this. It still sounds like a pretty significant design flaw, IMO, but that would explain why its been happening in 3 different Deskstar drives. The D: drive, BTW is located in a cage behind the C: drive and therefore is probably more susceptible to heat build up. Still it's odd that the C: drive, also a Deskstar, never makes the noise. It's as if there is a switch that Dell turns on to make sure that the D: drive utilizes the heat-avoidance strategy while the C: has this feature turned off. Dell tech support, however, seems clueless on this subject. No one ever mentioned it as a possibility in the hours I spent "chatting" with them. Not sure what to believe at this point, but am glad to know that I'm not the only one experiencing this problem.
shesagordie
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10 Elder
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46K Posts
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September 27th, 2003 21:00
jen4782.
Try using Dell diagnostics and see if this shows any malfunction hardware. But, as this is a new system and is within the thirty day time period from the date of the invoice, not when you received it, you can always request Dell replace the system with one that works to your "complete" satisfaction. That should make Dell's customer service to take you seriously.
Bev.
B.Starr
7 Posts
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October 24th, 2003 05:00
Message Edited by B.Starr on 10-24-2003 02:32 AM
B.Starr
7 Posts
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October 24th, 2003 06:00
Message Edited by B.Starr on 10-24-2003 02:39 AM
B.Starr
7 Posts
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October 24th, 2003 06:00
But, as this is a new system and is within the thirty day time period from the date of the invoice, not when you received it, you can always request Dell replace the system with one that works to your "complete" satisfaction.
Bev
Could you please explain or direct me to an address where I can find warranty information? I'm a little confused about the thirty day time period you from the date of the invoice mentioned. Thanks,
B.
Message Edited by B.Starr on 10-24-2003 02:44 AM
parickmlyons
76 Posts
0
October 24th, 2003 17:00
I have same problem with a 4600 although it's not at a set interval. Happens cuple times a day. Tech support says that I have a Western Digital HD. How can I teall if I do have a WD drive?
Francis Nguyen
953 Posts
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October 24th, 2003 18:00
Go into Device Manager and open up the Disc Drives box.
F.
tichtich
13 Posts
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October 25th, 2003 13:00
I have exactly the same problem with the 40 Gb disk in the Dimension 2400 I bought a few days ago. I've been describing it as a "strangled cat" (not that I've ever heard a strangled cat!) I don't think it happens _every_ 10 minutes, but it's very frequent and the time is always 1, 11, 21, 31, 41 or 51 minutes past the hour.
Unfortunately Dell doesn't have a Total Satisfaction Return policy here in the UK, but I'll demand a replacement and see what happens.
Francis Nguyen
953 Posts
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October 25th, 2003 13:00
Delete the Dell diagnostic partition and recheck the system.
F.
tichtich
13 Posts
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October 25th, 2003 14:00
"Delete the Dell diagnostic partition and recheck the system."
How do I do that? Do you have any particular reason to think that a Dell diagnostic is responsible?
tkuyper
7 Posts
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October 25th, 2003 15:00
I do NOT know why this happens, but it has happened on three different IMB Deskstar hard drives made by Hitachi on two separate systems that I've had in the last two months. You'll notice in a previous post of mine on the first page of this topic that I wrote that a participant from another forum said it was a heat-dissapation mechanism for the drive. I've not been able to confirm this anywhere and it sounds like an odd thing. I'm really surprised to hear that the WD drives do it also.
parickmlyons
76 Posts
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October 25th, 2003 15:00
parickmlyons
76 Posts
0
October 25th, 2003 16:00
I just did a google search to confirm that this PC has a WD drive, I entered the code IC35L060AVV-207-0 and it brought up Hitachi so I suppose that I was lied to by Dell tech support who told me this was a WD drive, big surprise huh
.
Has anyone been able to obtain a decent drive from Dell to correct this problem