Thanks jgt. I have installed hard drive sentinel (neat app!), it says
the disk is fine.
I have also installed Ubuntu (Linux) on a partition as a test, under
Ubuntu the computer is perfectly silent.
So it is indeed a Vista "feature" that has my HD spinning 24/7 and
writing with a constant, distracting humming noise, even when I'm just
reading online. My new high-end Sony is noisier than my 4-years-old
low-end Toshiba under XP. Unbelievable.
I guess I'm going to install XP soon.
--
nimic1234
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