My Dell desktop is making this noise that an older Gateway used to make, one time before our hard drive crashed, but I don't know if I need to be that concerned. This computer is maybe 2-3 years old, and has plenty of free file space. No games have ben loaded onto it that would be too heavy, except for maybe The Sims 1 and all the expansion packs (since deleted) and The Sims 2 (also deleted, on my brother's new computer). There's maybe 200 picture files, and we have pop up blockers and Norton Anti Virus & Internet Security and all kinds of stuff. We do a system scan once a week, and no serious threats have ever gotten on our computer. Could the hard drive really be crashing? Are Dells notorious for this? The older Gateway from above is on its 4th hard drive.

Anyways, another random question: How good is the free antivirus distributed by the school? I installed it on my laptop when I got it at orientation last summer and have never gotten a virus or anything, but I feel almost suspicious and think some huge fuckup is just hiding around the corner.

2/23/2006 8:06:12 PM

yes

2/23/2006 8:43:39 PM

too much to read - but just b/c bous said yes - i'll say no

2/23/2006 8:47:04 PM

You really should not be able to hear your hard drive at all unless it is the "click" it makes when the heads move. If the disk is making a constant sound that is not attributable to the fans, it is likely the early signs of drive motor fatigue.

This is a condition where the FMB (fluid motor bearings) dry out due to excess heat. The drive motor spins the disk very quickly but it has extremely low torque and cannot spin up a drive where the lubrication is dried out.

2/23/2006 9:06:50 PM

Hmm yeah, when that Gateway's hard drive crashed, it was making noises for a few days before it died. According to the Gateway guy on the phone, that was a "signal" that hard drive was about to die and I should backup all my files. Which I didn't do. Now I have about 2 years of stellar papers gone.

Oh well.

Thanks for the info

2/23/2006 9:12:25 PM