Why does my HDD produce a high-pitched noise when the CPU is in use?

Posted by CyberOptic on Super User See other posts from Super User or by CyberOptic
Published on 2011-03-03T20:32:47Z Indexed on 2011/03/03 23:27 UTC
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Hardware

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hard-drive

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power-supply

I know this is strange. Some time ago, I bought a new 7200rpm HDD for my desktop system (I'll look for the model later). Every time the CPU is used, a high frequency cheep comes from the HDD. I'm sure it's the HDD because the problem does not occur if the HDD is not attached or is in energy-saving mode (I cross-checked by booting from a live CD). What could be the reason for the cheep sounds? Could it be the power supply?

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