Hard drive running at 58 celcius?

[neo.cerberus]

Greetings! I recently downloaded a temperature diagnostic program and found my hard drive to be running at 58+ celcius. is this a normal temperature? it seems a bit high. Is there a way to cool the thing down? My fans are working properly and all... any ideas?

[Carbon Dudeoxide]

58C, that is REALL high. How old is the hardrive and how old is the computer?
Also, how small is your case.

[CBMatt]

My fans are working properly and all...

Are you sure about this?  Have you actually checked to verify?

A nice normal range is about 30°C - 35°C.  58 is pushing it just a tad.  Dust and clean out your computer (and fans) to make sure it's getting the proper airflow.  If that doesn't cool things down for you, there might be a new fan in your near future.

[Carbon Dudeoxide]

Here is a name and download link to a program called SpeedFan.
It monitors your motherboard temp and hard drive temp.
It also tells you how fast your fan is spinning.

Download that program and tell us how fast your fan is spinnng.
My average is 3150 RPM.

Download Link:
http://www.filehippo.com/download/767bc000c8c39925e06e0ca5b636eb48/download/

[neo.cerberus]

this is the program i used in the first place. it does not see my fans.... at the moment it says hd0 is 47c (with a green checkmark. the computer has been on all night as a test) and hd1 (which is a blank hd atm it used to be vista) is at 58c  with fire next to it. Local and remote temperatures are 61 and 69 respectively, also with fire next to them. I have a Dell Dimension 8400 if that helps. the computer is only like 3 years old. Is there a way to access fan speed in the bios or something? maybe make it spin faster? My mobo is from dell bios rev a02.

[contrex]

Speedfan allows you to set fans speeds and desired temperatures, I use it on my Shuttle. Read the Help and see how to vary fan speed.

[Carbon Dudeoxide]

He says he cannot see the fan.....I currently don't have the program on this computer but when the program is open, click Configure and see if the fan has been disabled or is set to be hidden.

[soybean]

How many case fans do you have installed?  What size are they?  Which direction are they pointed, inward or outward?  Is you computer sitting inside a desk CPU enclosure with a desk door closed to conceal the computer?  Is the computer sitting on carpet?  Is air flow around your computer restricted by other objects blocking case vents?

[Carbon Dudeoxide]

And is the fan incredibly dusty or is there dust covereing the air holes?

[soybean]

Speedfan allows you to set fans speeds and desired temperatures, I use it on my Shuttle. Read the Help and see how to vary fan speed.

This is really going to depend on his motherboard.  He may not be able to set fan speeds. 

[neo.cerberus]

even in config there is nothing under fans. hd0 is still at 47c (good bad?) and hd1 is at 56. local and remote are 62/70. I cleaned out the dust last night and that seems to have cooled hd0 down but nothing else. my power supply blows air out and so does the one case fan (dont know what size but its kinda big...) links to good replacement fans would be greatly appreciated.

[Carbon Dudeoxide]

When I play games, my computer can get very hot so I just put my tower-fan next to my computer and let it blow it to cool it down.
You should just go to a random computer shop and get a fan if you want to replace it.

[soybean]

even in config there is nothing under fans. hd0 is still at 47c (good bad?) and hd1 is at 56. local and remote are 62/70. I cleaned out the dust last night and that seems to have cooled hd0 down but nothing else. my power supply blows air out and so does the one case fan (dont know what size but its kinda big...) links to good replacement fans would be greatly appreciated.

So, you have one case fan.  Where is it, in front or back?  Does your case have holes for mounting another case fan?  A good configuration is to have a fan at the back blowing warm air out and a fan on that front drawing cool air in.  If you have no fan in front, I think you should definitely add one to your system.

[neo.cerberus]

I dont know if there is a space for a fan in the front. perhaps if i post a photo of the inside of my computer you could tell me? the fan i have is in the back and it blows out. Also the computer is on the carpet next to my desk. there is nothing in front of the computer or around it exept for a jewel case on top whcih has vista in it.

[soybean]

Well, check the dimensions of the fan on back.  Is it 80mm (length and width), a commonly used size?  Measure the distance between screws and then look at the front of the case on the inside and see whether holes with that same spacing are present. 

You might also visit http://www.dellcommunity.com/supportforums/?category.id=Tech_Talk; someone there probably knows whether your computer was made to accommodate a front fan.  Even if it does not have pre-drilled holes for a fan, you may be able to do the necessary modification with the proper tools.