Weird clicking noise on a new laptop

Comp_Pro

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Hi everyone, it has been a while since I last visit these forums!! Hopefully some people here remember me :p

I purchased a brand new laptop 2 days ago (See my signature for model number + specifications) and I notice my harddrive makes weird clicking noises occasionally, like it is spinning down and speeding back up. I have noticed it only happens when I am not actually interacting with my laptop, like if I am in bed and it is turned on and on my desk all I can hear is this clicking every 3-10 seconds.

Not sure if there is some setting I can change to stop this from happening? I had a look around but cannot seem to find anything. Any help would be appreciated very much!!
 
Sounds like the hard drive might be defective. They're usually supposed to be pretty quiet.
 
Sounds like the hard drive might be defective. They're usually supposed to be pretty quiet.

I don't think that is the problem, as I mentioned before it only happens when I am not using my computer and when it is idle. If it were a defective drive I assume it would be happening constantly.
 
When the computer is idle, the R/W head usually parks. If it can't park for whatever reason, it'll make noise.
 
I've tested the drive and there are no problems with it. I think this may have something to do with the operating system (Windows 7)
 
I'm very stumped on what to do here. It even makes the noise while I am using the computer, I just never noticed it because I am generally in a loud environment, but late at night when I am in a room by myself the noises the harddrive are making are very obvious.

I disable the spinning down/turning off of the harddrive completely in power settings yet it still makes the occasional clicking noise. Sometimes the noises stop and I dont hear it for a while but then it suddenly comes back. I've checked my anti-virus to make sure it isn't reading or scanning files while I hear the clicking noise and i've concluded it isn't that either.

Really not sure what to do here :confused:
 
My gut is telling me it's the hard drive. Back up all your data now. What did you use to test the drive?
 
I used one of the programs on Ultimate Boot Disk to check it, and then I used one of the standard Toshiba utilities that came pre-installed on my laptop, called Toshiba PC Health Monitor which also indicated that my drive is healthy.

I never heard any clicking or anything while the test was happening, I only ever hear this when using Windows 7. It's not the harddrive.

Edit: I also only notice this happen when the computer is idling or if I am doing very little on it.
 
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Booted 12.04 Ubuntu from a USB and used it for roughly an hour working from that, the harddrive was active but was not making the clicking noises.
 
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