Why Does My Dell Computer's D Drive Make Noise When Playing Music?

All the drives in a computer are assigned a different letter; the D drive usually refers to the computer's CD or DVD drive. When music plays from a disc, the mechanical parts inside the drive will often emit noise.

Types

• A drive that contains a disc (whether the disc contains music, games, or data) will usually make at least a little noise. Noises from the drive can include whirring, clicking, buzzing or grinding.

Normal Noises

• A gentle, whirring noise is normal; this occurs when the disc rotates at high speed inside the drive (up to 10,000 revolutions per minute). At high speeds this can sometimes be accompanied by a vibration. An occasional, short buzzing or rasping sound is also normal. A small motor moves the lens back and forth depending on which part of the disc it needs to read, so a light buzz means a new part of the disc is being read. A very light grinding sound is normal in drives that incorporate a dynamic balancing system.

Abnormal Noises

• Abnormal noises could mean your disc or drive are faulty dvd image by dinostock from Fotolia.com

  Faulty discs can cause unwanted and unusual noises. If the drive emits a loud, clicking sound or a continual, repetitive buzzing, there may be a fault with the disc. Some disc drives will try repeatedly to read the disc, and the noise will not stop until it is successful. When the drive emits these abnormal noises no matter what disc has been inserted, the lens could be dirty or the drive itself has a fault. These sounds are usually accompanied by problems reading the data on the disc, such as interrupted or intermittent music playback.