WD Caviar Green 1TB WD10EADS drive noises

I just installed a WD Caviar Green 1TB SATA drive as the main boot drive with Win XP on it. In general operation it is quiet, but I am aware that it seems to make random clicks and access noises even when the machine is idle. Now this might be nit picking facilitated by the fact that the rest of my PC is really quiet thanks to a decent PSU and cooler, but the noise bugs me as I can't see why it should be accessing so often, it's like Chinese water torture and I'm thinking of getting a drive muffler (yes, I have firewall and anti-virus software etc..). It does it in Win 7 RC too and with no internet connectivity. The drive activity LED lights up every second regardless. Is this normal? Is it the Mobo (Asus P5-Q Pro) Is there a decent utility (preferably free) I can use to check out the drive?

I'm using the same drive as a primary HDD for Windows 7 but I can't say I get the noises you're reporting. Idle activity seems normal, especially with a live protection antivirus running, but I don't get any more noise than a dull hum.

However, a quick google search shows you're not the only one to report these issues, and other folks seem to be operating OK with it. Make sure the drive is secured in the cage - I recommend screwing in if you just have plastic clips as this may help with extra vibration noise or mechanical sounds being amplified by the case.