HD "clunking" and BSOD

[JigPu]

Hey guys, I've recently been having a problem with my HD making a "clunking" noise and then sounding as if it's spinning up. I'd normally ignore it, except for the fact that right after it makes that noise Windows either a) gives a lovely BSOD (KERNEL_STACK_INPAGE_ERROR) or b) drops my drive down to PIO mode making it REEEEEEEEEAAAAAAAAAALLLLLLLYYYYYYY slow.

I've ran WD's diagnostics on the drive (it's a WD800JB BTW), and it comes back with no errors. The only OTHER thing I can think it might be is my no-name 350W PSU not being able to provide enough juice (since the sound the drive makes is almost exactly like the sound it makes when you first turn the computer on), but for some reason the "clunking" never seems to occur while playing games when my power usage should be the highest. I'd test to see if it's the PSU, but I don't have access to a better one right now (I could buy a new one, or use my brother's Antec, but both would take at least a week before I could know anything :()

Any thoughts on which it probably is? I can upload an MP3 of the sound if you want to hear what it is.

JigPu

[TimoneX]

I had those very same symptoms with a backup rig of mine. It turned out to be the silly power connector for the HD. I had run the power connector to the cooling fan for the HD and then to the HD becuase it was the tidiest way to do it. I soon heard the very same sounds you are with the drive losing power at random intervals and spinning back up. Using a connector str8 from the PS resolved the situation. If your PS is croaking and causing this then it should show up if you monitor your voltage rails under load.

[Mr.Guvernment]

^^^ yup -it is your PSU = not getting steady power to it.

[el]

Good to know cuz I have a "new rma drive that is doing the same thing and I think I just pulled the molex from some fan or something. STupid ass Voodoo 5 stealing my power.

[theMonster]

ANY time your HD makes a "clunking" noise, regardless of what you "think" or people tell you the problem "may" be, you'd better make an image of it.

[Super Nade]

Jig,

I've faced a similar problem with a rather old drive (I don't quite remember the make).After a couple of weeks, it died on me. It was diagonised to be a dead HDD motor.

Quoting from HERE: (http://www.pcguide.com/ts/x/comp/hdd/physClunking-c.html)

I hear a clicking or clunking sound coming from the hard disk occasionally?

Explanation:
Every once in a while the drive makes a "click-click-click" or a clunking noise, either while it is operating or sitting idle.

Diagnosis:
This is usually a message, and the message is: "look out!" Generally speaking, hard disks should not make these sorts of noises. Do not confuse a loud clicking or thunking sound with the quiet "tapping" access sound made by some drives performing thermal recalibration. Also, some newer drives (such as those made by Western Digital) use a feature called "wear leveling", that causes the disk to move from track to track every 15 seconds or so to prevent the heads from sitting over one area of the disk for an excessive period of time (which could increase the possibility of a wearout failure). Time the interval between clicks; if it is 15 seconds exactly and the drive is otherwise fine, this is likely what is going on, and you probably do not have to do anything.

Recommendation:
* Treat the disk as if it may fail at any time. This means the contents should be backed up, and no new data should be added to the drive unless it is also stored elsewhere. Keep a careful eye on the drive.
* Contact the manufacturer's technical support department. You may be told not to worry about this symptom. I suppose its possible that some hard disks are supposed to make these sorts of noises, but I won't use any that do. (Note that some drives do make an audible "clunk" but only when the PC is booting up). If the drive is new or under warranty, you may be able to get a replacement.

Now again, an alternate point of view can be found HERE (http://forums.computers.toshiba-europe.com/jive3/thread.jspa?threadID=66&messageID=188)

Hope this helps,

S.N.

[Kendan]

I agree back up your stuff and be very carefull to make sure that nothing is on that drive that you can not afford to lose.