I discovered an interesting software download that relates to the
PC-silencing articles I wrote a few weeks ago. Intel makes a software
product called the Intel Application Accelerator (IAA), and the latest
version, 2.1, is currently in beta. IAA 2.1 lets you modify settings
for Intel CPUs and chipsets, including speeding up Windows boot time
and disk-based I/O. The most recent version lets you modify the
Automatic Acoustic Management (AAM) setting for compatible hard disks.
This setting lets you choose between higher seek rates and a lower
noise level. The lower noise level might slightly degrade the drive's
performance, but I doubt most users would notice. I'm testing the
IAA's AAM (say that three times fast) setting on my drives now and
will let you know how it works.

For more information about the IAA and the free beta download, visit
the Intel Web site.
http://support.intel.com/support/chipsets/iaa/