Hard Drive is making a loud noise on my laptop! Help!

[Greginator]

Hello,

I have owned my hp envy 17 laptop for almost 2 years now. Recently my computer has been making a really loud noise and it seems it is working a lot harder than it needs to be. I suspect the fan or the hard drive is the culprit but I have convinced myself it is the hard drive. 

When I start up my computer the loud noise begins almost immediately after startup. This noise sounds like the computer is working as hard as it possibly can, almost making a grinding noise. Even after the computer has booted up, this noise continues for another minute or two before it stops, then my laptop becomes quiet. What puzzles me, and leads me to believe it is the hard drive, is the fact my computer get unreasonably hot when the noise occurs; it never used to do this before. 

This is not what confuses and annoys me the most, it is the sound reoccurring again. This situation is something I have never heard of before. My laptop for some reason ,when it is moved or bumped, even the slightest, start to "rev" and the hard drive roars; it does this for five minutes or so. It also does this when the laptop is closed, and in "sleep mode"; the slightest bump lets it off like a baby. I suspect that there is a switch, flap or wire that is not attached properly and when moved it triggers the hard drive. 

I have found a few small solutions to this problem. The main thing I do when the sound occurs is I close the laptop lid which puts it in sleep mode and turns off the hard drive, silencing it for the time being. This solution I came across by accident; I turned my laptop sideways when the sound occurs and the sound stops until I put the laptop upright again(Laptop is open). 

I would like to hear your thoughts on this, a solution you might of have encountered or any explanation of the cause; also explain any costs. I have partially opened up my laptop and it looks in order to me with the dust at a minimum. I'd rather check online for a solution first before bringing it to a computer repair shop which, i'm willing to do as a last resort.

Sincerely,

Greg

[Huffer]

Without hearing the sound it is hard to judge but it does not sound like a hard drive from your description. Hard drive noise is usually a rhythmic "click" not a sustained "whirr". That kind of noise comes from a cooling fan. We can test the hard drive in the BIOS. Tap F2 as you power up to enter UEFI diagnostics and look for the hard drive test. If you do not have UEFI diagnostics (i.e. your laptop came with Windows 7 not Windows 😎 then tap F10 and look for a hard drive diagnostic in the old-school BIOS interface. 

The Envy 17 series tends to run hot and cooling fan issues are not uncommon. Sometimes it can be fixed by self-help such as blowing out the fan with compressed air. If it is the fan, the replacement fan is not too expensive but labor might run $80-150 for replacing the fan. Post back with any questions. 

If you are going to post back please give us your full model number found on the bottom of the laptop or in the battery bay. 

[Greginator]

I got the laptop information from the battery socket. 

HP Envy 17 Notebook PC:

Product #: EOK92UA#AD

Serial #: [Personal Information Removed]

Model #: 17K037CA

Rev: 1966-100

I'm quite positive the hard drive is responsible for the noise and not the fan. I also completed the following:

- Thoroughly cleaned my laptop with compressed air

- Ran a "hp component test", using F2 as suggested. 

- Ran an extensive hard drive test, also using F2

- Updated my drivers

I also noticed a pattern with the noise, when my laptop is cold(hasn't been running for awhile) the sound occurs more often then if my computer is already at a warm state. One other thing I forgot to mention is that this problem doesn't affect my computer performance wise. Would a BIOS update be a possible solution? Or is it more likely the sound is produced from the hardware itself(damaged) and only a replacement will fix it?

Would a sound recording of the noise be helpful? I could do that for you if you'd like.

Thanks again,

Greg

[Huffer]

What did the hard drive test say? It is really difficult for a hard drive to pass a comprehensive test if it is making a loud noise. 

It is an Envy 17j-073ca

According to the specs you actually have 2 hard drives. They are located near the front of the computer as you are sitting at the keyboard. 

[Greginator]

The tests were all successful and took over 4hours to complete, no errors what so ever. I have 2 drives, C: and D:, I also have a small solid state drive if that is what you mean by a second hard drive. (I can get you a screenshot if needed)

The one in the back(top left corner, when facing the screen) it the one that produces the noise. When I was looking at my task manager I noticed the Disk seemed to be at 100% usage on startup. I fixed this by running cmd as an admin and then typing "net.exe stop superfetch"; this brings disk usage to about 5% with no other applications running. Even at 5% the sound still occurs. (I can also screenshot this)

Do you think a windows refresh would help? This feature comes with windows 8 and doesn't delete everything like a system restore does. I should also mention that about a month ago I upgraded to windows 8.1; also from what I remember, the sound didn't start until after I installed it. The refresh would set my computer back to windows 8; which is fine with me because I have noticed some programs don't work correctly on 8.1. The main problem is directX 9 doesn't initialize correctly. 

What does the harddrive usually do when using a lot of disk space? Could a program/application/system file be causing the use of so much disk space? I should also mention about a week ago I noticed a program called "Windows Biometric Host" using roughly 9500MB(88%) of memory. This by far was the largest amount of spaced used by anything on my computer;I haven't seen it since. The next highest memory usage is from a game I play; which uses 1300MB. Like I already mentioned my computer has not suffered performance wise. I spent about $1000 on this computer and I'm most likely going to buy another one in a year and a half(once I finish high school). I'm willing to put money into this computer but after a certain amount there will have to be a cutoff.

Thanks,

Greg

[Huffer]

I think a disk management screenshot is appropriate. I also think a lot of what you are trying to tell me is mixing up memory as in RAM and storage as in hard drive space. If you think the second hard drive is making the noise the solution might be to physically remove it from the computer and see if it makes any difference. The drive is not in the upper left corner but the cooling fan is. Are you willing to remove the service cover on the bottom to really get a look at what is going on?

[Greginator]

I'm not a computer expert, you are. I only have vague knowledge on what I am talking about. I will get a sceenshot shortly but I'm on my phone currently. I have already opened up my computer before but I am willing to do it again? Is there someting spcifically I should look for? Any other steps or information I should know about before I proceed?

[Huffer · Accepted solution]

Hey no hurry. Follow this video:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kdh7hflKHas

Remove the T-shaped big service panel. With the battery at the bottom toward you, the hard drive on the left is a second hard drive for storage only. Follow the instructions. Be careful with the place where the cable connects. Remove the drive (on the left). Leave the primary drive on the right in. Put the service cover back on. Boot the laptop and run it and see if the noise is gone.

[Greginator]

Unfortunately that didn't help the problem at all, and it was a pain placing the small screws back in, I took the bottom cover off and used compressed air to clear any dust. I did some more research and I discovered that there is this "oily gel" inside the hard drive that helps it run smoothly. I'm wondering if my hard drive is missing some and, as a result starts to grind which causes the noise. I support this theory because the noise occurs more frequently when the computer is cold(hasn't been used for awhile) and less when it is warm. I'm suggesting that when the computer warms up, the "gel" becomes more flexible and therefor acts like the lubricant for the disk, opposed to when it is cold and has more solid properties. What is your opinion on this?

Could windows 8.1 be causing this? Do you think downgrading would be applicable? Like I mentioned Windows 8 comes a "Refesh Windows" option. The sound doesn't effect the coputer profromance wise but it is annoying and embarrasing, I mainly just want to make sure my hard drive is working properly. If it is harmless I think I will just let it go and deal with the noise.

Thanks,

Greg

[Greginator]

I would also like to mention that my internal core cpu temp is quite high, reaching 110C at times. It usually hovers at 50C when idle and 90C when running a game or another demading application.