Are you sure you are not hearing the scanner actually chattering, it's not just the hard drive? Sometimes they get stuck and will make a noise like that. Make sure the scanner bed didn't get locked accidentally.
A bad scanner should not normally cause your system to hang up however. The software may hang and not scan but the system should keep going.
Zing is an online photo album package that may be getting in your way, could be you installed it without realizing it. Look in Add-Remove programs and see if you can remove it. Maybe it is conflicting with the HP software you are running.
Hardware fails, problem with a 3 in one device is that if you lose the scanner you need to replace the whole thing just for that one device.
I have a HP psc 750xi three in one. I run it on a pentium three with plenty of power and a ubs hook up.
I have used it for about one and one half years. The scanner left me. When I scann either on the screen or from the scanner, I get a box on the screed with HP 700 Series on the screen and a lot of clattering from my hard drive. I go into ctrl, Alt, Del and I get not responding.
When I load it from the scanner, the same thing happens, except the window says scanning to Zing, what ever that is.
I have over time followed all instructions and re loaded it a doven times???
Any Ideas???
billstott

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