New external hard drive noises

[brortao]

I just bought a 750GB Western Digital My Book external hard drive to use for Time Machine backups and other storage.

The problem is, when my Macbook is writing to the drive it sometimes makes a weird scratching noise. Is it okay for a hard drive to make noises when it is writing data?
Also, when the hard drive is plugged in to my laptop, even when inactive, the two lights on the front flash. Does this indicate that something is wrong?

 

[illibball087]

the scratch noise is the writing needle or w/e making contact with the disc and the lights blinking most likely indicate sleep mode, i wouldn't worry if anything goes wrong you have a 5 year warranty