HDD Spin Down - excessive noise

[BillE57]

Is it normal for there to be loud Spin down noise from Western Digital 2Tb HDD (Blue) WD20EZWX HDD as installed in brand new HP Pavilion TP01 1010na?

This is the second machine that has been delivered with this feature.

Sorry I don't know how to post an audio clip of this.

You tube videos about same problem

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hTfC7S8zSKs&feature=youtu.be

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PpsdrIa4wjM

The spin down noise is a grating sound that lasts a few seconds.  I'd really like to know if I have been extremely unlucky to get two models with the same feature and what are my chances of getting a unit that doesn't make this noise if I return for refund then place a new order? Or is this the norm with all new HDDs, from a particular manufacturer or of a particular size and will I just have to live with it?  As I haven't got so far as to load a user account yet, I don't know if this noise only occurs when the machine shuts down or at any time when the operating system decides to stop the HDD spinning.  Any ideas?

Thanks

[Grzwacz]

Hi,

Checked out both You tube videos. 

HDDs make strange sounds. The best option is to only use M.2 drives or SATA SSDs. I don't use platter HDDs in my builds.

Run HP Diagnostics on the PC to verify hardware. Start the PC, Tap "ESC", Select "F2".

Run system and components tests.

Return the PC if you are not happy.

Regards

[BillE57]

Hi GRzwacz

Thanks for your comments

I understand the point you make about the absence of noise from SSDs.

The TP01 1010na has two M2 expansion slots, one with SSD which I guess has the whole operating system mounted on it and the other is half height with WLAN as far as I can tell.  That leaves me with trying to fit SATA SSD alongside or instead of the HDD.

The HP tech guys have advised that the grinding sound during spin down is normal and will not cause the premature failure of the HDD. My understanding is that this is the norm throughout the HP Pavilion range irrespective of HDD size.

That point of view was to be expected even though they have already accepted the return of one identical model with precisely this "fault" (my word not theirs).  I have four older HP desktops in the house and none makes that noise at shutdown.  The Western Digital specification pamphlet for the 2Tb Blue HDD shows Acoustics (dBA) of 23 dBA at idle and 27dBA at Seek (average).  These are pretty quiet - the grinding sound scores much higher on a dB meter.

 I guess I will just need to decide if I stick with what I have or buy a 3 year warranty for peace of mind or return and then research other HP models that are SSD only.  First I need to find out if this spin down noise occurs only when the whole unit is completely shut down for the day or every time the HDD takes a rest during a session.

The fact that no-one else has joined this conversation in the "me too" vein suggests either they think I am being too picky about the performance of modern HDDs or simply they agree that if I don't like HDD sound then I should get SSD and move on.

Thanks for your time