Loud Humming When I Rip Some CDs

[Fiddle Peghead]

I've been ripping cds all day with my new computer, and usually it is perfectly quiet. Other times, however, it makes a very loud humming sound. At first I thought it might be because some of the cds are pretty scratched up, but it also makes the same sound on some brand new cds. Any ideas as to why?

[Manduck]

I don't know, but mine does the same thing. It also makes that noise when transferring mp3's from my hard disk to a USB thumb drive, so it's not related to the CD/DVD drive.

[beowulff]

I've been ripping cds all day with my new computer, and usually it is perfectly quiet. Other times, however, it makes a very loud humming sound. At first I thought it might be because some of the cds are pretty scratched up, but it also makes the same sound on some brand new cds. Any ideas as to why?

Your optical drive spins the CDs very fast when ripping. Even a slight unbalance causes them to vibrate, and this sound is coupled to the case of the PC.

[control-z]

Yes, we burn many brand-new CDs, and some vibrate quite a bit. Seems like some CDs are out of balance.