A Short Background:
I've been having some problems with my system not going into standby mode. The hard drive seems like it just doesn't want to shut off (But shuts off fine when shutting down). I posted the problem here Other thread. I haven't had time to do the reinstall of XP yet and am waiting until this weekend when I'll have some free time.

Issue Now:
My hard drive started to make these kind of odd noises a couple of days ago while it is idle. It's a kind of "clicking" , "chirping". It's a similar noise it makes when it shuts down, restarts, or goes into standby/hibernation. I found it odd because it just started to make these noises recently and quite often while idly spinning. They sound to be somewhat repetitive, making the same noise in a given amount of time. It seems to only rarely make the noise while I'm using the computer.

I have a '03 Dell Inspiron 8500.
40 GB Hitachi HDD.

Thanks for your time.

Not sure, but this could be two separate problems... First of all, clicking on a hard drive (as seen in former threads) could mean its about to fail. I would backup important data right away. Not sure though...never happened to me.

And for the standby mode, you might be able to change standby settings in the bios to find a standby mode that will shut off the hard drive. (S3\S4 maybe)

Check the sound against the ones in the link below. Any new sound your harddrive is making is not good. Get prepared to change it.
http://www.hitachigst.com/hddt/knowtree.ns...0c?OpenDocument

Thanks for the comments guys.

I checked the sounds that buddy215 linked to and it's none of them. It's not really a mechanical noise. It's more of an "electronic" noise. The drive is quiet while it makes the noise, there's no spin up or anything.
I wish I could record it some how... it's close to the noise the computer makes when it's is processing. Not the "grinding" noise, but it's kind of like that as far as sounding "electronic." That make any sense?... heh...

Anyway, I don't get it. It just started happening about 3-4 days ago... Thanks again for the replys.

PS> how do you edit the BIOS?

I would still be concerned about the hard drive noise... and recording it could help the problem... maybe its just like my older hard drives that are the loudes thing in the system. But if it jus started doing it and its unnatural, it could be a big problem. I would still backup important files.

To edit bios, push del\F1 or something (depends on what motherboard you have) when your computer is starting up. Usually when it shows a summary screen or logo. Before Windows loads. Look at your motherboard manual though. Bios can be pretty complicated and hard to understand.

Thanks nforce. I've ready scary things about hard drive noises, so I've taken your advice and backed up anything I want to keep.

Thanks for the reply.

You can run the IBM Drive Fitness Test (bootable) to verify the integrity of your drive, should know for certain then if you need to replace it or not.

http://www.hitachigst.com/hdd/support/download.htm#DFT

Sorry, I duplicated buddy215's post before I checked the link!

Thanks arcman. I've run the quick test and it came up with "disposition Code 0x00"

Thanks usasma, even if you did double post. ;)

I might have the same sound in my laptop, although it still made it after i took the HD out. Is it a high-pitched rhythmic chirping? Mine reminds me of a wet car belt when it's squeaky.

Also, i dont want to post a new thread if we have the same problem. =)