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Weird Sound from CD/DVD Drive

Discussion in 'PC Hardware' started by Yukimi, 2007/08/21.

  1. 2007/08/21
    Yukimi

    Yukimi Inactive Thread Starter

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    I'm using a Toshiba Satellite Satellite A55 laptop that I bought a year and a half ago? Two years? I can't remember exactly, but I'm pretty sure I wrote it down somewhere...I just can't remember where...

    After a whole semester (and summer) of only using my laptop at home, I brought it to school in a small, padded case just big enough for the laptop. (No fancy straps or anything like that.) I tried to be very gentle with it, making sure not to bump it against anything, although sometimes I did have to hold it at an odd angle because I only have two hands with which to hold three big things.

    Lately a weird sound has been coming from the vicinity of my CD/DVD drive. It happens when there's nothing in there. I can't think of a good way to describe the sound I hear, but it doesn't seem like a normal sound. The best word I can think of is "scratching." It does it a few times, and then...it's fine. No noise from it at all, besides the normal noises after I insert a CD or DVD.

    There's nothing else wrong with my laptop...it's running smoothly, it's not crashing or freezing. I have my McAfee Virus Scan up and running, Zone Alarm is running, I've been cleaning and scanning once a week (more if it seems sluggish)... No other problems.

    It's just...that sound. I don't understand why it's doing that or what could be wrong. Could I have jarred something loose?
     
    Last edited: 2007/08/21
    Yukimi,
    #1
  2. 2007/08/22
    PeteC

    PeteC SuperGeek Staff

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    Yukimi - Welcome to the Board :)

    From your description a possible source of the noise is the CD/DVD drive head tracking across back and forth looking for a disk. Do you recall the exact situation under which you hear the noise?

    Two ways of establishing if this is the case - leave a data CD/DVD in the drive or run for a trial period with the tray unlatched - not pushed firmly home.

    You are right to treat your laptop with respect, but they are far more robust than you imagine :) If they were really delicate they would be impracticable as a portable device.

    I dropped one of my early laptops and it hit something with enough force to put a ding in the case - it continued to work without issue and still does today some 4 years later.
     
    PeteC,
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  4. 2007/08/22
    Yukimi

    Yukimi Inactive Thread Starter

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    Thank you. :) I'd read about how tough laptops can be, but I'm afraid to push my luck so I'm trying to be as careful as I can. :eek:

    Let's see...the first time I heard the sound, I had burned a data CD earlier, but I don't remember how much time had passed between when I finished burning and when I heard the noise. The drive itself was closed completely, and I was either typing an e-mail or posting in another forum. When I heard the noise, I could feel a slight vibration, like something was moving or trying to move.

    When I heard it earlier today, I had turned on my laptop for class and was typing up some notes when it suddenly started to make that noise. I opened the CD/DVD drive to see if that would stop the noise, but it didn't.

    If I leave a CD/DVD in the drive, and it doesn't make that sound, then it means that the drive head was looking for a disc?

    As I typed the previous paragraphs, a data CD was resting in the drive. It just started making that noise. :confused: It scratched a few times, and then stopped. There'd be a pause of a few minutes, and then it would scratch again. Which is usually how it goes, for about a half hour or so. Although sometimes the scratching is louder and a little more urgent sounding. Usually when it first begins to make noises.

    [edit] I just remembered something! Prior to hearing the noise and burning the data CD, I had been playing a DVD in the drive, slowing it down and pausing it in order to take a screencap of a specifc scene. I kept missing, so I kept trying until I finally got it. Maybe that's how I messed it up? :(

    (Also edited for clarity. :) )
     
    Last edited: 2007/08/22
    Yukimi,
    #3
  5. 2007/08/22
    PeteC

    PeteC SuperGeek Staff

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    That rather rules out the CD/DVD drive as the source.

    The only other device which could make a mechanical sound is the hard drive, although I would describe that as a clicking rather than scratching sound. Have you defragmented the drive recently? Do you have scans scheduled to run at specific times and do these time periods coincide with the noise you hear?

    How much hard drive space is free - xx Mb/Gb out of yy Gb?

    And, without intending to alarm you, do you keep regular backups of your data on CD/DVD, external USB drive or similar? I am not implying a problem with the hard drive, just checking to make sure that you are covered in the event of a failure.
     
    PeteC,
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  6. 2007/08/22
    Yukimi

    Yukimi Inactive Thread Starter

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    The last time I defragmented was the week before last. It went smoothly, although it said that there were some files that could not be moved. It's been saying that for a few weeks, though.

    The only automatic scans that I have set up are scheduled to happen on Saturday at 11:00 a.m. So, as far as I've seen, the sounds don't coincide with them.

    I have 17.8 GB free out of 37.2 GB. I bought a 320 GB external hard drive yesterday, and I now have a back up of some important files stored on it. I also know where the CD to restore my laptop to ... factory settings? ... is stored. So I'm covered! :)
     
    Yukimi,
    #5
  7. 2007/08/23
    PeteC

    PeteC SuperGeek Staff

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    My thought was that if the drive was badly fragmented it would not be unreasonable to expect a lot of disk activity at times when fragmented files were being accessed. Your regular derfragging puts paid to that theory :)

    Without actually hearing the sounds it is most difficult at distance to give any further analysis. However it is comforting to know that you now have your data backed up - be sure to keep those backups up to date as a matter of routine.

    A program I have used for many years to make incremental backups (scheduled and unscheduled) to both other internal hard drives and external USB drives is SynchBack - I use the paid version, but there is also a freebie version. I am not sure what facilities are missing in the free version.
     
    PeteC,
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  8. 2007/08/24
    Yukimi

    Yukimi Inactive Thread Starter

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    I shall clean up some space on my laptop and see about getting that program, then. :)

    I've just noticed lately that the sound is loudest when the Hard Disk Drive indicator light is on. I was copying some files to my External Hard Drive (pictures, some of them with a very large filesize) and the sound was loudest when the light held steady. The same thing happened while I was taking notes in class. It still makes noises now and then when the light isn't on though.

    According to the diagram my laptop came with, the HDD is near the CD/DVD drive, so I guess you were right about the sound coming from my Hard Drive.

    Otherwise though...my laptop still seems to be functioning okay. The noise just makes me think that something's going to snap. :(
     
    Yukimi,
    #7
  9. 2007/08/24
    PeteC

    PeteC SuperGeek Staff

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    I think we have isolated the source of the noise - it's the hard drive ...
    This does not mean that failure is imminent, but warning shots are being fired across your bow. Keep the backups up to date in case it fails - it will be sudden - no warning. Hard drives can last weeks/months/years - failure is not that common, but it happens. Your drive may grumble away for years, OTH ....
    A few flicks of the read head will not necessarily be indicated by the hard drive light - we are talking milliseconds here and the response time of the hard drive LED may be longer or the flash too brief for you to see.

    I would advise daily backups as you clearly have essential class data on the drive.
     
    PeteC,
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  10. 2007/08/24
    Yukimi

    Yukimi Inactive Thread Starter

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    Good thing I've been backing up my data everyday, then! :cool: I won't go completely crazy when it finally decides to give out.

    Now for a barrage of questions. :) Sorry! :eek:

    Is it doing this because I use it so frequently? Or can that not be determined because it's just one of those things? Is there anything I can do now that would add to the longevity of the drive? If it does fail, is there anything I can do to salvage it?

    I could give my laptop to my dad to figure out if it does die... But ... my dad gets kind of impatient with inanimate objects.

    Thanks for helping! :)
     
    Yukimi,
    #9
  11. 2007/08/24
    PeteC

    PeteC SuperGeek Staff

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    Not really -just one of those things - obviously the more any component is used the more likely it is to fail. As I posted earlier....
    I would not alter your usage habits in any way - the laptop is a tool to be used and there is not a lot you can do to increase it's longevity except to avoid constant booting and rebooting.
    No - you fit a new hard drive. The whole object of backing up is that you have a copy of your data to copy back to a new hard drive if the need arises.
     
    PeteC,
    #10

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