Question: Hdd: seagate barracuda ST2000DM008
My hdd makes weird scratching sounds when it is not under fully load. It is brand new and arrived two weeks ago. This recording was taken while downloading gta V, the usage rate in taskmaneger was unstable and it would go up and down from 30 to 0 and inbetween. When i used seatool long generic test it ran not as scratchty or clickery and used 90%-100% of the drive, but it sounded more as a fan. It passed by the way. It would vary though within short intervals the ‘fan sound’ would very slightly change into a differnt fan sound and back. But overall it was very consistent and i think thats just the drive. Can you listen to the audio on this clip and tell me if it is normal or not? The clicking isnt disturbing because it isnt very loud. This audio was taken with the backplate of the case off. Audio:

Answer:This is normal noise for this Seagate Drive that uses SMR technology.