Clicking and grinding noises coming from my hard drive

Greetings, everyone... I find myself facing a rather peculiar dilemma. Whenever I shut down my machine, or transition it into sleep or hibernation mode, there is this distinct sound—almost as if an actuator arm or the head assembly were striking the outer casing of the motor spindle. This phenomenon occurred previously, subsided for a short duration, and has now resurfaced after only a few days. Does anyone happen to know what might be causing such a disturbance? Furthermore, along with that initial thud, there seems to be a sort of whistling sound emanating from the hard drive itself, if my hearing serves me correctly.
Here are the system specifications:
Intel Pentium Dual Core T4300
RAM: 4 GB (though only 2.93 GB is available... which is a separate grievance of mine 😁 )
Hard Drive👋Western Digital 320GB (WD Scorpio Blue)
I am more than willing to provide both video and audio recordings so you can hear the exact nature of the noise; however, I am unsure of the best method to share them, as I seem to be exceeding the attachment limits for all Print Screen uploads. If someone could advise me on how to proceed, perhaps we can resolve this issue promptly.

Go ahead and download Crystal Dew World to check your drive's health status.
http://crystalmark.info/download/index-e.html

Regarding that RAM issue—it’s very likely that either your CPU or your motherboard is using integrated graphics, which means it's carving out a chunk of your system memory for itself.

I honestly think he fried the motherboard from all that aggressive tapping, so seriously, get those files backed up ASAP!
and yeah, definitely take what Larry Ortiz5 says

Here are the results from a 100MB test, performed twice for consistency.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
CrystalDiskMark 3.0.4 (C) 2007-2015 hiyohiyo
TechCrunch : http://crystalmark.info/
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
* MB/s = 1,000,000 byte/s [SATA/300 = 300,000,000 byte/s]

Sequential Read : 54.211 MB/s
Sequential Write : 58.190 MB/s
Random Read 512KB : 24.915 MB/s
Random Write 512KB : 35.300 MB/s
Random Read 4KB (QD=1) : 0.326 MB/s [ 79.5 IOPS]
Random Write 4KB (QD=1) : 1.296 MB/s [ 316.3 IOPS]
Random Read 4KB (QD=32) : 0.896 MB/s [ 218.7 IOPS]
Random Write 4KB (QD=32) : 1.315 MB/s [ 321.1 IOPS]

Test : 100 MB [C: 37.9% (113.1/298.0 GB)] (x2)
Date : 2015/04/03 19:05:21
OS : Windows 7 Ultimate SP1 [6.1 Build 7601] (x86)

,and here is the data from a 1000MB test, also conducted twice.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------
CrystalDiskMark 3.0.4 (C) 2007-2015 hiyohiyo
TechCrunch : http://crystalmark.info/
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
* MB/s = 1,000,000 byte/s [SATA/300 = 300,000,000 byte/s]

Sequential Read : 53.584 MB/s
Sequential Write : 59.222 MB/s
Random Read 512KB : 23.812 MB/s
Random Write 512KB : 29.883 MB/s
Random Read 4KB (QD=1) : 0.301 MB/s [ 73.6 IOPS]
Random Write 4KB (QD=1) : 0.774 MB/s [ 188.9 IOPS]
Random Read 4KB (QD=32) : 0.626 MB/s [ 152.9 IOPS]
Random Write 4KB (QD=32) : 0.768 MB/s [ 187.4 IOPS]

Test : 1000 MB [C: 37.9% (113.1/298.0 GB)] (x2)
Date : 2015/04/03 18:59:21
OS : Windows 7 Ultimate SP1 [6.1 Build 7601] (x86)

....It appears to me that I may be forced to replace this unit entirely... what are your thoughts on the matter?

Just go ahead and grab http://download.cnet.com/CrystalDisk...-10832082.html so you can check out the Temperature and all that other stuff... then let me know what kind of shape it's in, okay?

Here’s what mine looks like:

Would you happen to have an alternative download link for that software? I can't help but feel that particular website isn't exactly the most reliable source...
EDIT: Actually, never mind; I managed to navigate my way over to the page for the eighth version via the original link. My thanks to you.

bluewolf82 said:man, you got any other links for that software? honestly, that site is kind of sketchy and I don't really trust it...

http://techcrunch.com/
just grab it from there or just hit up Google if you want...
https://www.google.com/search?q=chris...q=crystal+disk

Here is the Print Screen

----------------------------------------------------------------------------
CrystalDiskInfo 5.6.2 (C) 2008-2013 hiyohiyo
TechCrunch : http://crystalmark.info/
----------------------------------------------------------------------------

OS : Windows 7 Ultimate SP1 [6.1 Build 7601] (x86)
Date : 2015/04/03 19:48:47

-- Controller Map ----------------------------------------------------------
+ Intel(R) ICH9M-E/M SATA AHCI Controller [SCSI]
- ATA WDC WD3200BEVT-2 SCSI Disk Device
- Slimtype DVD A DS8A4S SCSI CdRom Device

-- Disk List ---------------------------------------------------------------
(1) WDC WD3200BEVT-22ZCT0 : 320,0 GB [0/X/X, pd1] - wd

----------------------------------------------------------------------------
(1) WDC WD3200BEVT-22ZCT0
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Model : WDC WD3200BEVT-22ZCT0
Disk Size : 320,0 GB (8,4/137,4/320,0/----)
Buffer Size : 8192 KB
Queue Depth : 32
# of Sectors : 625142448
Rotation Rate : 5400 RPM
Interface : Serial ATA
Major Version : Serial ATA major version : ATA8-ACS Minor version
Minor Version : ----
Transfer Mode : SATA/300
Power on count : 9016 hours
Power On Count : 9296 count
Temperature : 42 C (107 F)
Health Status : Good
Features : S.M.A.R.T., APM, AAM, 48bit LBA, NCQ
APM Level : 0080h [ON]
AAM Level : 80FEh [OFF]

-- S.M.A.R.T. --------------------------------------------------------------
ID Cur Wor Thr Attribute Name
01 200 200 _51 Read Error Rate
03 187 185 _21 Spin-Up Time
04 _90 _90 __0 Start/Stop Count
05 200 200 140 Reallocated Sectors Count
07 100 253 __0 Seek Error Rate
09 _88 _88 __0 Power-On Hours
0A 100 100 _51 Spin Retry Count
0B 100 100 __0 Recalibration Retries
0C _91 _91 __0 Power Cycle Count
C0 200 200 __0 Power-off Retract Count
C1 184 184 __0 Load/Unload Cycle Count
C2 105 _81 __0 Temperature
C4 200 200 __0 C4 200 200 __0 Reallocation event count C5 200 200 __0
C5 200 200 __0 Current Pending Sector Count
C6 100 253 __0 Uncorrectable Sector Count
C7 200 200 __0 UltraDMA CRC Error Count
C8 100 253 _51 Write Error Rate

The Temperature looks fine to me; I mean, he can definitely handle pushing up to 60C before things get dicey
Based on what you're seeing, it seems alright, but honestly, just grab their official installer and run some actual tests instead of guessinghttp://support.wdc.com/product/downl...&sid=3&lang=en
Just click that little disk icon up there, then hit the highlight thingy—wait, actually, do the quick test first

I’ve been dealing with this same clicking and rattling sound for about a year now, just popping up every once in a while. I’ve run the usual diagnostics—checked everything with TechCrunch, scanned it through HD Tune, and ran Hard Disk Sentinel—but honestly, I haven't found a single bad sector.
No errors showed up, and the Temperature seems perfectly fine, too... It’s just that this drive is getting pretty old, and it occasionally makes that clicking noise, especially when I'm booting up Windows.
I never had any symptoms like this before; it worked flawlessly for five or six years, but then this whole thing started showing up over the last twelve months.

I’ve always been diligent about running defrag regularly and keeping the dust out of the case; I even went as far as swapping out the power supply because someone on a forum suggested that Western Digital drives can sometimes click if the power delivery is unstable. I wasn't convinced that was the culprit, but I figured I'd rule it out just in case. A buddy of mine even hooked me up with a shielded SATA cable because I thought my standard one might be failing, and after I swapped it, things actually seemed great for a while—no clicking at all. I really thought I'd solved the mystery, but then the noise decided to make a comeback.

wanderingpanther68 said:I've been getting that same clicking and rattling sound too, kind of randomly for about a year now. I went through the whole drill—checked everything with TechCrunch, ran scans with HD Tune, used Hard Disk Sentinel... nothing. Not a single bad sector,
zero errors found, Temperature is totally fine... honestly, this drive is just old and occasionally makes that noise, especially when I'm booting up Windows,
it never used to act up like this; it worked flawlessly for five or six years and then, out of nowhere, this started happening over the last twelve months.

I’ve always stayed on top of defragging, kept the dust out, even swapped out my power supply because someone on a forum told me Western Digital drives can sometimes rattle if the power delivery is weak. I wasn't sure if that was actually the case, but I figured I'd rule it out, so I replaced it. A buddy of mine even gave me a SATA cable with a built-in fuse because I thought maybe my standard one was failing. When I hooked up the fused one, things were smooth for a while, no clicking at all, but then the noise just came right back...

Yeah, it clicks exactly when there isn't enough juice. For me, the external ones react if I plug them into the front USB ports... but if I plug them into the back by the motherboard, they're fine.
though personally, it doesn't work for me at all if the power is insufficient, it just keeps clicking...

Oh man... wait... I think I might have just cracked the case here, if you guys don't mind me being a bit of a smart-ass... he's saying that when the PC shuts down, or goes into hibernation or sleep mode, that's when the knocking starts. Basically, the computer throttles the power or switches to energy-saving mode, and suddenly the hard drive isn't getting enough voltage, so it starts clicking away... and we all know those motherboards still carry a little bit of current even when the PC is shut down or in those "dead" modes.

Quote : Stranger

Lawrence Barnes64 said:It’s funny how things work sometimes—it turns out my external drive is just being a little finicky when it doesn't get enough juice. If I plug it into one of those front-panel USB ports, it acts up like it's having a meltdown, but if I stick it right into the back of the case, everything works perfectly fine.
Honestly, I can't quite figure out why mine refuses to cooperate if the power supply isn't pulling enough juice—it just sits there making this clicking sound.

I honestly haven't a clue; all I know is that the drive ran flawlessly for six years without a single hiccup or any suspicious clicking sounds, and then, out of nowhere one day, it just started acting up.

It’s mostly that whenever I start booting up Windows, the drive starts acting all restless—it begins this frantic clicking and popping sound. Right now, it’s strangely silent while I’m just sitting here doing nothing, so I’ve actually started intentionally opening certain programs just to see if I can trigger that noise again.
I was just scrolling through a folder packed with files when the whole system gave a little stutter—just a quick, annoying hiccup right as I was moving down the list. 😁

Back when it was brand new, the thing didn't give me any trouble at all—not during boot-up, not under heavy load, nothing. But now? It seems like absolutely everything is an issue.

Honestly, as long as it keeps running, I couldn't care less; there isn't anything remotely important on this machine anyway.

So... I click on the quick test, and it informs me that I should close all running programs to avoid losing data on both the C: drive and the Z: drive (reserved/system-100mb)

By the way, when I right-click on the drive and select properties, the status displays a warning
—though I haven't actually launched the program yet.