Hard drive scratching , please help

CLLC

Hi ,

Recently i downloaded and run ccleaner , so i used there registry fix and it deleted the registy which i 'didn't need'.

So , when iwent to restart my computer it said cannot boot windows. So the only thing i could do was restore the registry. This worked but now i think the computer is running a bit slower :mad:

I also used the files tool on there but that seemed fine , i think it was the registry though.

Right , well now i have noticed a scratching noise in the computer and i can't remember if it was there before ( yes i know that sounds stupid) , but i don't think it was.

So , i am getting concerned with this scratching. It is very annoying it is on all the time and i'm only using basics. What i have noticed is that it goes with the cpu bar on task manager, if it ever goes above 4% it's making the scratching.

So , i want to know if i have to ring HP and get it fixed :mad:

Thank you

Oh yes , i am running vista and the cpu doesn't really go above 13% and the physical memory usage still has over 200 mb left

fwor

You really need to take the side off the case and locate the source of the sound more accurately - otherwise you'll just get a load of guesses. E.g. it could be a spare cable end interfering with one of the fans, it could be a fan bearing on the way out, etc.

If it really is the hard disk making the noise - for example if something is continually accessing the HDD - it should be addressed asap, as it will tend to make it run hot, and will drastically increase the rate of wear.

CLLC

Thank you for responding ,

It is definetly the hard drive , i put my ear to listen where the hard drive is and teh fan is on the opposite side anyway , so now we know it is the harddrive what should i do. so i don't need to open it up , oh yes i have never dropped it anyway and i've only had it for 4 months

Also , i just run spybot and that made the cpu go to 100% and the noise volume went down , then it finished and the noise is back

Do you think if i do a system recovery and take it to an earlier date , that it will be fine??

Do you think its got anything to do with ccleaner???

I certainly don't want to send it back

fwor

Ah ok - it sounds like it's a laptop, in which case taking it apart is not an easy option.

I would say a definite yes to a system restore - you really have nothing to lose.

As for registry cleaners, I never touch them now, as the first one I tried trashed my Windows install. When I last used Windows I would just back up my personal docs and then do a fresh install every 6 months or so to maintain good performance.

One thing you could do to test whether it's hardware or software related would be to download and boot up one of the Linux LiveCDs. If the scratching is still there when running Linux, it's almost certainly a hardware problem - if not, something's wrong within XP.

[edit: actually, testing with a LiveCD may not achieve much, because a LiveCD should not be accessing the HDD at all during normal operation. It will be mounted and spinning but not doing much else - if it is still making noises under those conditions there is something seriously wrong with it.]

aliEnRIK

CLLC wrote: »

Thank you for responding ,

It is definetly the hard drive , i put my ear to listen where the hard drive is and teh fan is on the opposite side anyway , so now we know it is the harddrive what should i do. so i don't need to open it up , oh yes i have never dropped it anyway and i've only had it for 4 months

Also , i just run spybot and that made the cpu go to 100% and the noise volume went down , then it finished and the noise is back

Do you think if i do a system recovery and take it to an earlier date , that it will be fine??

Do you think its got anything to do with ccleaner???

I certainly don't want to send it back

I have personally never heard of CCLEANER deleting anything it shouldnt.
Its quite possible its just pure coincidence
Your hard drive was probably on its way out beforehand.

CLLC

Ok , thank you for your responses tehy are very useful. i just wanted some advice as the latop is practically brand new (4 months old), and i have never dropped it.

I don't think i will try running linux boot thing, that sounds a bit complicated but i will try a system restore later as i am working lol ,

I will update you later after the restore, hopefuly that will bring back the regstry , if it doesn't work i'm gonna have to buy a portable hard drive to back up all my docs.

May i also just ask if anyone elses hard drive is doing the scratching sound?

espresso

CLLC wrote: »

if it doesn't work i'm gonna have to buy a portable hard drive to back up all my docs.

You should always regularly back up anything that you would not want to lose! Waiting until the hard drive starts making strange noises can be too late.

Old_Sherlock

CLLC wrote: »

Ok , thank you for your responses tehy are very useful. i just wanted some advice as the latop is practically brand new (4 months old), and i have never dropped it.

I don't think i will try running linux boot thing, that sounds a bit complicated but i will try a system restore later as i am working lol ,

I will update you later after the restore, hopefuly that will bring back the regstry , if it doesn't work i'm gonna have to buy a portable hard drive to back up all my docs.

May i also just ask if anyone elses hard drive is doing the scratching sound?

Hi CLLC ...I have a Hp laptop and the hard drives are usually very quite.

CCleaner has on occasion removed registry entries that I did not want removing ,but
It would not normally cause the symptoms you describe .

Is it a loud scratching or more of a ticking ?

fwor

CLLC wrote: »

May i also just ask if anyone elses hard drive is doing the scratching sound?

The only times I've ever heard excessive mechanical noise is when the hard drive is failing and it's having to retry lots of times to retrieve valid data. Needless to say, at 4 months old, this should be covered by warranty.

Something that you should do is to open a Command Prompt and type "chkdsk c: /f" (without the quotes). If you then reboot and watch carefully, you will see if any errors or inconsistencies are present. If so, it's quite likely that the disk is failing, though there can be other causes.

Old_Sherlock

You could also check Vista`s Reliability and Performance Monitor for any drive errors and system stability reports.

CLLC

Hi , great responses , thank you all.

Its hard to describe the sound , but theres also a high pitch sound that comes out and maybe a bit like a friction sound????

Basically , i know every computer gets a sound where it works hard and it can sort of sound like slight scraping , does anyones elses hard drive give out any noise??? If so , what ones???