Hard Drive Grinding?

[tatter_punch]

Essentially about a month ago my hard drive at least thats what i think it is started making this awful grinding noise. When i put the computer to sleep and revive it the sound goes away. It also goes away if i give it a tap on the side of the case. Is there any way to check if the problem is my hard drive? If so how do you back up all the files so i can get a replacement? Do they get put onto a disk? I downloaded seatools but it didnt detect my hard drive. Is there any other software?

 

[RealBeast]

I would not leave the machine on until you can back up important files to either an external hard drive or dvd disks -- if your drive is making the noise and it is not just a case fan, the drive may not have much time left before failing.

 

[tatter_punch]

is there any software that can scan a hard drive to see if theres an issue with it. Its next to a fan and i have a hard time telling if its the hard drive or the fan, i feel like its gota be the hard drive.

 

[RealBeast]

What hard drive do you have? You said that seatools didn't work so I assume that it is not Seagate, although it should work with other brands too. Try THIS drive health checklist and the tools it mentions.

 

[tatter_punch]

i have a western digital i ran a scan and said it was fine. Maybe just a noisy fan??

 

[RealBeast]

Must be -- take a close listen around it for a while to be sure.

 

[tatter_punch]

is there any software i could use to control my fan speed for case fans to see if the noise goes up or down depending on speeds? Just any program that allows adjustment for fans.

 

[RealBeast]

You could use SPEEDFAN or a motherboard utility from you motherboard maker if the fans are attached to motherboard fan headers. If they are attached to Molex connector, then you would need to wire in a rheostat for each.