Qustion: Noisy HD

[Guest]

Archived from groups: comp.sys.laptops (More info?)

I have this Hitachi 10 GB hard drive (model DK229A-10, 12mm) for my
Thinkpad. I hooked it up to my desktop to make sure everything was OK first
and the HD makes a constant buzzing sound - even when it's not being
accessed. Any reason why it does this? I thought it could just be the
nature of the HD or maybe because it's getting the incorrect power because
of being hooked up to my desktop. I'm worried that this HD could be on it's
last legs, even though it works fine. If anybody has any experience with
this problem please get back to me. Thanks. BTW - Haven't tried it with
the Thinkpad yet because I'm waiting for the caddie and adapter I ordered.

 

[Nemo]

Archived from groups: comp.sys.laptops (More info?)

Chris MacKinnon wrote:

> I have this Hitachi 10 GB hard drive (model DK229A-10, 12mm) for my
> Thinkpad. I hooked it up to my desktop to make sure everything was OK first
> and the HD makes a constant buzzing sound - even when it's not being
> accessed. Any reason why it does this? I thought it could just be the
> nature of the HD or maybe because it's getting the incorrect power because
> of being hooked up to my desktop. I'm worried that this HD could be on it's
> last legs, even though it works fine. If anybody has any experience with
> this problem please get back to me. Thanks. BTW - Haven't tried it with
> the Thinkpad yet because I'm waiting for the caddie and adapter I ordered.
>
>

Is it a whine like a jet or clunking like the
arm is thrashing? My oldest surviving 2 1/2" drive
whines like a 747 on takeoff. It's so loud I have
it in retirement now. However all the drives I have gotten
since (except this one; 7K60) have died, so go
figure.

A 10GB drive is gonna be a few years old I suspect.

If the noise is a rattle I would just ditch the thing.
Clunking and rattles are a sure sign of impending death.

http/www.hitachigst.com/hdd/support/dk/2/229a10spec.html

Unless it was free, I would get my money back and get a more
modern (fluid bearing) drive.


--
Nemo

"Good judgment comes from experience, and a lot
of that comes from bad judgment." -- Will Rogers

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: comp.sys.laptops (More info?)

"Chris MacKinnon" <magicnjake@ns.sympatico.ca> writes:
> I have this Hitachi 10 GB hard drive (model DK229A-10, 12mm) for my
> Thinkpad. I hooked it up to my desktop to make sure everything was OK first
> and the HD makes a constant buzzing sound - even when it's not being
> accessed. Any reason why it does this?

Because it's worn out and it will crash soon. Transfer the data to
another drive and then replace the old one.

 

[Andrew]

Archived from groups: comp.sys.laptops (More info?)

Chris MacKinnon <magicnjake@ns.sympatico.ca> wrote:
: I have this Hitachi 10 GB hard drive (model DK229A-10, 12mm) for my
: Thinkpad. I hooked it up to my desktop to make sure everything was OK first
: and the HD makes a constant buzzing sound - even when it's not being
: accessed. Any reason why it does this? I thought it could just be the
: nature of the HD or maybe because it's getting the incorrect power because
: of being hooked up to my desktop. I'm worried that this HD could be on it's
: last legs, even though it works fine. If anybody has any experience with
: this problem please get back to me. Thanks. BTW - Haven't tried it with
: the Thinkpad yet because I'm waiting for the caddie and adapter I ordered.

This is a hard question to answer without actually hearing it. Some
hard drives are just very loud. No hard drive should be considered
100% reliable anyway, no matter how new it is...

I would run chkdisk and some other diagnostics on it. You could also
try the utilities on the Ultimate Boot CD.

Andrew
--
----> Portland, Oregon, USA <----
*******************************************************************
----> http/www.bizave.com <---- Photo Albums and Portland Info
----> To Email me remove "MYSHOES" from email address
*******************************************************************

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: comp.sys.laptops (More info?)

usenetMYSHOES@bizaveMYSHOES.com (Andrew) writes:
> This is a hard question to answer without actually hearing it. Some
> hard drives are just very loud. No hard drive should be considered
> 100% reliable anyway, no matter how new it is...

I'm assuming that the OP knows how loud those drives are in normal
operation and this one sounds abnormal and/or has gotten louder recently.

> I would run chkdisk and some other diagnostics on it. You could also
> try the utilities on the Ultimate Boot CD.

Don't believe it if the diagnostic finds nothing wrong. I had a
Travelstar make similar noises; IBM had me run their Drive Fitness
Test (DFT) which is a fancier diagnostic (Travelstar-specific) than
something like chkdsk, and DFT found nothing wrong, so IBM refused to
exchange the drive. They told me it was normal for drives to get
noisier over time but they still worked fine. Needless to say, the
drive crashed not long later.

Back up the data NOW. Replace the drive NOW.

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: comp.sys.laptops (More info?)

It's loud enough that it sounds like the HD is being accessed constantly.

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: comp.sys.laptops (More info?)

Chris MacKinnon wrote:
>
> It's loud enough that it sounds like the HD is being accessed constantly.

Is it just the sound of the disk spinning, or something
else (e.g., "clunking")?

If you think it's just the disk spinning, check to make
sure it's not really a fan!

Notan

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: comp.sys.laptops (More info?)

More like a continual hum/buzz mixture. Not choppy or clunky.

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: comp.sys.laptops (More info?)

Chris MacKinnon wrote:
>
> More like a continual hum/buzz mixture. Not choppy or clunky.

Again, are you sure it's not a fan?

Notan

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: comp.sys.laptops (More info?)

That is very common on IBM/Hitachi hard drives. 10 gig drives have
probably not been made in at least 4 years, so it is time to replace
it.

On Wed, 06 Apr 2005 18:16:16 GMT, "Chris MacKinnon"
<magicnjake@ns.sympatico.ca> wrote:

>I have this Hitachi 10 GB hard drive (model DK229A-10, 12mm) for my
>Thinkpad. I hooked it up to my desktop to make sure everything was OK first
>and the HD makes a constant buzzing sound - even when it's not being
>accessed. Any reason why it does this? I thought it could just be the
>nature of the HD or maybe because it's getting the incorrect power because
>of being hooked up to my desktop. I'm worried that this HD could be on it's
>last legs, even though it works fine. If anybody has any experience with
>this problem please get back to me. Thanks. BTW - Haven't tried it with
>the Thinkpad yet because I'm waiting for the caddie and adapter I ordered.
>
>

 

[Andrew]

Archived from groups: comp.sys.laptops (More info?)

Paul Rubin <http/phr.cx@nospam.invalid> wrote:
: usenetMYSHOES@bizaveMYSHOES.com (Andrew) writes:
: > This is a hard question to answer without actually hearing it. Some
: > hard drives are just very loud. No hard drive should be considered
: > 100% reliable anyway, no matter how new it is...

: I'm assuming that the OP knows how loud those drives are in normal
: operation and this one sounds abnormal and/or has gotten louder recently.

: > I would run chkdisk and some other diagnostics on it. You could also
: > try the utilities on the Ultimate Boot CD.

: Don't believe it if the diagnostic finds nothing wrong. I had a
: Travelstar make similar noises; IBM had me run their Drive Fitness
: Test (DFT) which is a fancier diagnostic (Travelstar-specific) than
: something like chkdsk, and DFT found nothing wrong, so IBM refused to
: exchange the drive. They told me it was normal for drives to get
: noisier over time but they still worked fine. Needless to say, the
: drive crashed not long later.

A hard drive could die at any time for any reason, without warning.
Hard drives are simply unreliable. A drive that only recently
started making strange noises is probably a drive due to fail, but if
the drive is "new to you" and just louder than you are used to, that
doesn't indicate a problem at all.

I recently acquired two older Maxtor drives to fix two old computers.
They sound like jet engines! But they have both been working fine,
for months now.

: Back up the data NOW. Replace the drive NOW.

People should back up their hard drives regularly anyway, noise or
not.

Andrew
--
----> Portland, Oregon, USA <----
*******************************************************************
----> http/www.bizave.com <---- Photo Albums and Portland Info
----> To Email me remove "MYSHOES" from email address
*******************************************************************

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: comp.sys.laptops (More info?)

"Chris MacKinnon" <magicnjake@ns.sympatico.ca> wrote in message
news:QHV4e.11008$Ln.488200@ursa-nb00s0.nbnet.nb.ca...
>I have this Hitachi 10 GB hard drive (model DK229A-10, 12mm) for my
>Thinkpad. I hooked it up to my desktop to make sure everything was OK
>first and the HD makes a constant buzzing sound - even when it's not being
>accessed. Any reason why it does this? I thought it could just be the
>nature of the HD or maybe because it's getting the incorrect power because
>of being hooked up to my desktop. I'm worried that this HD could be on
>it's last legs, even though it works fine. If anybody has any experience
>with this problem please get back to me. Thanks. BTW - Haven't tried it
>with the Thinkpad yet because I'm waiting for the caddie and adapter I
>ordered.
I've hooked up a few hard drives externally and they sound pretty quiet, so
there might be something wrong. But, as was stated, some drives are just
noisy. Also, I wouldn't even buy a 10 gig hard drive today. Look for a
bigger drive, and there are plenty of tested drives on eBay. Most of all,
make backups of your data -- and if it goes it goes. I've found that when
you have plenty of backups your hard drive rarely fails, but at the first
hiccup or noise I would immediately make backups -- while you still can.