np8660 (clevo m860tu) beeping

[Clyzm]

Not a motherboard beep, but a constant, very low volume, high pitched beep.

My specs:
P9500 2.53ghz core 2
9800m GT
4gb ddr3 1066 ram
200gb 7200rpm toshiba hard drive (important)
vista 64 bit

My story:

I first got this laptop knowing that there were a few issues with it, including a bit of overheating. I got over that, and as I'm sure XoticPC tech service is aware from a myriad of customers calling them asking them if 60 degrees Celsius for a hard drive is a safe temp. I'm past that, my HDD gets about 53 degrees load, and I'm happy with it.

My problem though... is my hard drive emits this very quiet beeping sound near the enter button of my keyboard... whenever I'm not accessing any file on my computer. I first noticed this as soon as I turned on my computer and installed Vista. I thought that it was constant, but then I noticed that it went away when I was installing something. So I did a bit of testing, and yeah, it narrows down to the fact that my hard drive beeps when nothing is using it.

My main test, silly as it sounds, is Winamp (a music player), since it's the easiest thing in the world to constantly access a file with. Turn Winamp on, the sound goes away, turn it off, sound comes back. Same with any games, any installs etc.


My question I guess, in the end is this: Should I be worried? Can this be fixed via software? Is my hard drive on the fritz, and does it need to be replaced?

I'm living in Canada, and my University term is starting in about a week, so I really don't want to have to send my laptop back to the US with a few weeks turnaround time. In the event that I do need to send it in for repairs, does Xotic PC have any sort of repair center in Canada? I'm currently in the Greater Toronto Area in Ontario.

Thank you for your time, mods and members.

-Clyzm

[RaderCad]

With a hard drive temperature of around 53 degrees C I would be worried, so should you. The maximum thermal operating temperature of of a Laptop hard drive is around 55 degrees C, then they fail - fast. With just a two degree safe zone of operation you would have to watch for overheating like a hawk. Go to the hard drive manufacture home page and look up your drive for a real scary story.

If you are having heat problems get a laptop cooler. I use the Zalman, the base is aluminum and just sucks the heat out of the air prior to blowing it on your laptop case bottom. Almost all the laptop coolers that push air across the bottom of your lappy would work.

I don't know if the beeping you hear is related to the heat of the drive or just the fact that it is having a problem of some sort. Again, just go to the drive manufacturer's home page and see if there is anything that can be done to address the problem. It may be warning you that it is too hot or getting too close to being too hot.

[Clyzm]

Definitely not a heat related problem.

Most of the m860tus are reaching hard drive temps in the 50s and some are hitting 60s. I seem to be one of the few with beeps.