Could my hard drive be making noise and does that mean death to my computer?

Question

Hi all,

My computer started making a funny noise about 2 days ago. It's been resting ever since but I did turn it on long enough to try and locate the sound. I think it's coming from my hard drive. Is this possible? If so, what do I do? Simply buy a new hard drive or is all my valuable info on there and if it is how do I transfer it to the new hard drive?

FYI there is the possibility that I didn't find the right part making noise. I have terrible directional hearing. It's a hard noise to explain too.

Thanks in advance!

so basically even my program files will be lost if it takes a total crap? I was thinking of getting an external hard drive and putting everything on there and then transfering it back to a new hard drive. Would that work? or would it just be safer to take it somewhere? How much do you all think that would cost? There's just too much stuff on there to get it all on disks. I've tried before but i've had the computer for about 5 years. I do have some stuff backed up.

Answer 1

The hard drive is very likely the problem. It may be on its last legs.

Purchase a new hard drive and then use your rescue and driver disc that came with the pc to reloade the operating system and device drivers. Then load your software. Finally, then connect the old drive as a slave drive (see the hard drive install info) and use Windows Explorer to copy files from old to new drive.

Do not run the pc with the old hard drive except for the transfer above as it is likely to die - and if this happens you can get NOTHING off it.

I am assuming you do not have a back up plan to back data to another pc, network drive, etc.

Answer 2

Is it a desktop or laptop?
If it's a desktop, unplug all the wires, get a screwdriver and open it up. Check for cables/wires touching the fans - it can cause a strange thuppa-thuppa-thuppa noise.

Also give the inside a good blow-out. If you have a dust-buster that's great, but if you are careful not to spit you can use a piece of tube and blow through it (that's what I do) but you don't want any moisture getting inside so be careful.
You'll probably find a lot of dust clogging up fans and filters.

Fitting a new hard drive is easy - there are so many guides it's not worth posting link; just type in "How To Install A Hard Drive" for a full in-depth guide.

If you want to set up from scratch, you'll need the Windows Installation Disk. Set the new hard drive as "master" and install Windows onto it - this will give you a completely fresh installation.

Or you can migrate everything across to the new hard drive: Set the new hard drive as "slave" and copy all your files across to it using the back-up tool - try XXClone (below) to clone a Windows disk.

When you have finished, you can set the new drive as "master" and then remove the old drive.

Remember, the new hard drive will be EMPTY: it will not contain Windows or any of your files until you put them on there.

Answer 3

Is it a buzzing noise?......if the hard drive fails you can take it to a computer technician to retrieve the data but this may be expensive.....