3.2. Harddisk
To avoid unneccessary hard disk noise you may use the same
techniques as described in the power saving chapter.
Hard disks in most laptops are the primary source of noise.
Modern laptop and notebook hard drives come with a so-called
"Acoustic Management", just have a look into the manual
to get an overview about the possible settings.
The noise of the hard disk can be very disturbing, see
man hdparm to reduce the spin of the disk.
Some hard disk manufacturers offer dedicated tools, e.g.
Hitachi's
Feature Tool
allows to change the drive Automatic Acoustic Management settings to the
Lowest acoustic emanation setting (Quiet Seek Mode), or
Maximum performance level (Normal Seek Mode).