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What's wrong with my laptop?

Just wondering if there's a problem with my laptop. It has a HDD so i know it's obviously going to make a lot more noise compared to laptops with SSD's but there seems to be like constant clicking sound almost like a ticking clock coming from the hardrive. It's not extremely loud but it just seems like it's constantly processing something when i'm doing passive activities like reading an article for example. The laptop works perfectly fine and there doesn't seem to be any issues with it, I'm just wondering if this sound is any cause for concern? Thanks
How long have you had it for?
Some mechanical hard drives are naturally ticky / clicky and work fine like that for years and years. Windows has an annoying habit of constantly doing stuff in the background even when you are doing nothing.
You can debloat Windows to some extent. People like Chris Titus Tech have done guides on how to do this on Youtube.
Or if you want a more radical solution, replace Windows with Linux.

If you can ever spare £32 and a couple of hours of your time, an SSD fitted to your laptop will be the best IT investment you will ever make. Totally worth it for speeding up your laptop, with it being most noticeable when you switch the laptop on.
Yes, loud clicking could be a sign of pending hardware failure. However, clicks can also be part of usual operation depending on the model, some hard drives are just noisier than others. You should always back everything up since data loss tends to come suddenly.

You can look on a program like CrystalDiskInfo to see if your computer has found any issues. If you have disappearing or suddenly corrupted files, this is probably an issue too. If not, might just be a noisy drive as I said.
If it's constant constant - as in all the time and a consistent, regular clocklike sound; I'd find it unlikely to be the HDD- more likely a fan problem.

I do concur with the advice to back everything important up asap, just in case.

Then maybe go into the bios, disable the hdd and boot from a usb. If the ticking continues, it's going to be a fan.
Original post by sunny.side.up
How long have you had it for?

I've had it for exactly 5 years
Original post by _gcx
Yes, loud clicking could be a sign of pending hardware failure. However, clicks can also be part of usual operation depending on the model, some hard drives are just noisier than others. You should always back everything up since data loss tends to come suddenly.

You can look on a program like CrystalDiskInfo to see if your computer has found any issues. If you have disappearing or suddenly corrupted files, this is probably an issue too. If not, might just be a noisy drive as I said.

It's not an extremely loud clicking noise, it just sounds like a repeating brushing sound like someone is constantly scraping a piece of paper. Its hard to explain. I have everything backed up in case
Original post by Trinculo
If it's constant constant - as in all the time and a consistent, regular clocklike sound; I'd find it unlikely to be the HDD- more likely a fan problem.

I do concur with the advice to back everything important up asap, just in case.

Then maybe go into the bios, disable the hdd and boot from a usb. If the ticking continues, it's going to be a fan.

I thought it was the fan too at first so i cleaned the air vents with compressed air. Then I just put my ear against where the HDD is supposed to be and its definitely coming from there. It's just constantly reading data/moving when nothing needs to be processed.
Original post by _gcx
Yes, loud clicking could be a sign of pending hardware failure. However, clicks can also be part of usual operation depending on the model, some hard drives are just noisier than others. You should always back everything up since data loss tends to come suddenly.

You can look on a program like CrystalDiskInfo to see if your computer has found any issues. If you have disappearing or suddenly corrupted files, this is probably an issue too. If not, might just be a noisy drive as I said.


My laptop model is a HP Envy notebook. I ran a HP diagnostic test on my HDD and it seems like it passed and there were no issues. So what even could this be?
Original post by Loreto2018
My laptop model is a HP Envy notebook. I ran a HP diagnostic test on my HDD and it seems like it passed and there were no issues. So what even could this be?

It's just totally normal mechanical hard drive noises.
Your hard drive has reading and writing heads on the end of mechanical arms that swing across, just above the surface of your hard drive. These make a small ticking noise as they move. It's quite a pleasant noise. Almost hypnotic.

And Windows being Windows tends to have a load of processes running in the background. Some of these are of no actual use to you and you can disable them. Chris Titus Tech's Youtube channel is an OK place to start for guidance on debloating Windows.
But, even after debloating, there will still be some disk activity when the laptop is sitting there, powered up and apparently doing nothing.

Your laptop is fine. Apart from it being significantly slower than it would be if you spent £32 on an SSD.

The nature of hard drives is that they will all fail sooner or later. When exactly that will happen is impossible to predict. All you can do is keep on top of backing up your data. Which you should do regardless of how new your laptop is.
Your hard drive could fail today. Or it could fail in 30 years time. There's a very broad bell shaped curve for when mechanical hard drives fail.
Original post by Dunnig Kruger
It's just totally normal mechanical hard drive noises.
Your hard drive has reading and writing heads on the end of mechanical arms that swing across, just above the surface of your hard drive. These make a small ticking noise as they move. It's quite a pleasant noise. Almost hypnotic.

And Windows being Windows tends to have a load of processes running in the background. Some of these are of no actual use to you and you can disable them. Chris Titus Tech's Youtube channel is an OK place to start for guidance on debloating Windows.
But, even after debloating, there will still be some disk activity when the laptop is sitting there, powered up and apparently doing nothing.

Your laptop is fine. Apart from it being significantly slower than it would be if you spent £32 on an SSD.

The nature of hard drives is that they will all fail sooner or later. When exactly that will happen is impossible to predict. All you can do is keep on top of backing up your data. Which you should do regardless of how new your laptop is.
Your hard drive could fail today. Or it could fail in 30 years time. There's a very broad bell shaped curve for when mechanical hard drives fail.


Thanks a lot, that makes me feel better. Actually the sound is quite annoying and not hypnotic for me lol but if it's normal i'm happy. I might consider getting an SSD in the future.

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