Hard drive clicking noise, intermittent

scottalbany

Honorable
Jul 22, 2012
2
0
10,510
I have a 250gb slave IDE hard drive that makes a loud clicking noise, and will cause my system to freeze.

However, when I put the same drive into an external USB chassis, I get no clicking noise, and I can transfer files with no problem at all.

Any experience or suggestions as to what the cause is? I replaced the IDE cable, but the issue continues.

I'm quite sure a new drive is probably in order, but I thought finding the problem might minimize my downtime.
 
G

Guest

Guest
When in doubt run a SMART utility on the drive. If it's a Western Digital, you can download the Data Lifeguard Diagnostics software from their web page.
 

scottalbany

Honorable
Jul 22, 2012
2
0
10,510
I'll try it both in the USB chassis and installed. However, sometimes I cannot boot when the slave drive is installed.

It's a Windows 2000 system that's served me well for many years.