Computer Hardware Seagate Hard Drive question..

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Subject Author Date
Seagate Hard Drive question.. lynx 09-11-06
Posted by lynx on September 11, 2006, 7:48 am
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G'day all. I'm hoping that someone can shed some light regarding noise
with a Seagate drive. I have just purchased a ST3250820AS 250gb SATA
drive. (info here:-
http://www.seagate.com/cda/products/discsales/marketing/detail/0,1081,761,00.html
) This drive is supposed to be pretty much the bees knees with regards
latest technology, but when I put it in the system, and fired it up, I
noticed how noisy it was. I'm not talking about hard drive activity, as
I haven't even installed a OS on it yet, but rather just the noise
caused by the rotation of the platters. It produced a humming type
noise, and vibration was quite noticeable. It even caused the computer
case to vibrate slightly, which in turn made it's own noise. (modern
cases are made of such lightweight material that they vibrate and
generate noise more often than not). So I took the drive out, and just
holding it in my hand to confirm that it was the drive causing the
noise, and how much noise, I could feel the vibration. I have other
seagate drives (older models), and they are not as noisy, or vibrate as
much as this one. Also when I powered it off, and the spinning stopped,
after a few seconds there was a faint scraping or rattle like sound for
a second or two. So I'm wondering if this is normal for this drive, or
if it's faulty? (It would seem strange to me if it is normal,
considering how much Seagate boast about it's 'whisper-quiet' operation.
But maybe that refers to just the read/write function). I can't take it
back until next weekend, but I was hoping to get some info first. I
wrote to Seagate but they were no help- just referred me to a warranty page.

Also, if it is faulty, and I'm able to swap it, would I perhaps be
better off with another make, such as Western Digital? Are they a
quieter drive?


TIA.

--

rgds,

Pete
~~~~~
'If at first you DO succeed, try not to look astonished!'



Posted by Fred on September 11, 2006, 8:02 am
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lynx wrote:
> G'day all. I'm hoping that someone can shed some light regarding noise
> with a Seagate drive. I have just purchased a ST3250820AS 250gb SATA
> drive. (info here:-
>
http://www.seagate.com/cda/products/discsales/marketing/detail/0,1081,761,00.html
> ) This drive is supposed to be pretty much the bees knees with regards
> latest technology, but when I put it in the system, and fired it up, I
> noticed how noisy it was. I'm not talking about hard drive activity,
> as I haven't even installed a OS on it yet, but rather just the noise
> caused by the rotation of the platters. It produced a humming type
> noise, and vibration was quite noticeable. It even caused the computer
> case to vibrate slightly, which in turn made it's own noise. (modern
> cases are made of such lightweight material that they vibrate and
> generate noise more often than not). So I took the drive out, and just
> holding it in my hand to confirm that it was the drive causing the
> noise, and how much noise, I could feel the vibration. I have other
> seagate drives (older models), and they are not as noisy, or vibrate
> as much as this one. Also when I powered it off, and the spinning
> stopped, after a few seconds there was a faint scraping or rattle
> like sound for a second or two. So I'm wondering if this is normal for
> this drive, or
> if it's faulty? (It would seem strange to me if it is normal,
> considering how much Seagate boast about it's 'whisper-quiet'
> operation. But maybe that refers to just the read/write function). I
> can't take it back until next weekend, but I was hoping to get some
> info first. I wrote to Seagate but they were no help- just referred me to
> a
> warranty page.
> Also, if it is faulty, and I'm able to swap it, would I perhaps be
> better off with another make, such as Western Digital? Are they a
> quieter drive?

I have a couple of new Western Digital drives in a case that uses rubber
bands to support them.
They are so quiet I can't hear them. A lot quieter than the WD's I bought
last year.




Posted by John McGaw on September 11, 2006, 10:03 am
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lynx wrote:
>
> G'day all. I'm hoping that someone can shed some light regarding noise
> with a Seagate drive. I have just purchased a ST3250820AS 250gb SATA
> drive. (info here:-
>
http://www.seagate.com/cda/products/discsales/marketing/detail/0,1081,761,00.html
> ) This drive is supposed to be pretty much the bees knees with regards
> latest technology, but when I put it in the system, and fired it up, I
> noticed how noisy it was. I'm not talking about hard drive activity, as
> I haven't even installed a OS on it yet, but rather just the noise
> caused by the rotation of the platters. It produced a humming type
> noise, and vibration was quite noticeable. It even caused the computer
> case to vibrate slightly, which in turn made it's own noise. (modern
> cases are made of such lightweight material that they vibrate and
> generate noise more often than not). So I took the drive out, and just
> holding it in my hand to confirm that it was the drive causing the
> noise, and how much noise, I could feel the vibration. I have other
> seagate drives (older models), and they are not as noisy, or vibrate as
> much as this one. Also when I powered it off, and the spinning stopped,
> after a few seconds there was a faint scraping or rattle like sound for
> a second or two. So I'm wondering if this is normal for this drive, or
> if it's faulty? (It would seem strange to me if it is normal,
> considering how much Seagate boast about it's 'whisper-quiet' operation.
> But maybe that refers to just the read/write function). I can't take it
> back until next weekend, but I was hoping to get some info first. I
> wrote to Seagate but they were no help- just referred me to a warranty
> page.
>
> Also, if it is faulty, and I'm able to swap it, would I perhaps be
> better off with another make, such as Western Digital? Are they a
> quieter drive?
>
>
> TIA.
>
I suspect that you may have caught a bad one. I've got a system running
with 5 400gB Seagate drives (4 PATA and 1 SATA) and it is quite silent
even the drive access chatter is audible over the very quiet Seasonic
power supply only if the case side or front covers are removed. The
Seagate has a five year warranty -- I'd suggest that you swap it out
right now while the memory of the sound is fresh in memory.
--
John McGaw
[Knoxville, TN, USA]
http://johnmcgaw.com

Posted by lynx on September 12, 2006, 8:21 pm
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John McGaw wrote:


> lynx wrote:
>
>>
>> G'day all. I'm hoping that someone can shed some light regarding
>> noise with a Seagate drive. I have just purchased a ST3250820AS 250gb
>> SATA drive. (info here:-
>>
http://www.seagate.com/cda/products/discsales/marketing/detail/0,1081,761,00.html
>> ) This drive is supposed to be pretty much the bees knees with
>> regards latest technology, but when I put it in the system, and fired
>> it up, I noticed how noisy it was. I'm not talking about hard drive
>> activity, as I haven't even installed a OS on it yet, but rather just
>> the noise caused by the rotation of the platters. It produced a
>> humming type noise, and vibration was quite noticeable. It even
>> caused the computer case to vibrate slightly, which in turn made it's
>> own noise. (modern cases are made of such lightweight material that
>> they vibrate and generate noise more often than not). So I took the
>> drive out, and just holding it in my hand to confirm that it was the
>> drive causing the noise, and how much noise, I could feel the
>> vibration. I have other seagate drives (older models), and they are
>> not as noisy, or vibrate as much as this one. Also when I powered it
>> off, and the spinning stopped, after a few seconds there was a faint
>> scraping or rattle like sound for a second or two. So I'm wondering
>> if this is normal for this drive, or if it's faulty? (It would seem
>> strange to me if it is normal, considering how much Seagate boast
>> about it's 'whisper-quiet' operation. But maybe that refers to just
>> the read/write function). I can't take it back until next weekend,
>> but I was hoping to get some info first. I wrote to Seagate but they
>> were no help- just referred me to a warranty page.
>>
>> Also, if it is faulty, and I'm able to swap it, would I perhaps be
>> better off with another make, such as Western Digital? Are they a
>> quieter drive?
>>
>>
>> TIA.
>>
> I suspect that you may have caught a bad one. I've got a system
> running with 5 400gB Seagate drives (4 PATA and 1 SATA) and it is
> quite silent even the drive access chatter is audible over the very
> quiet Seasonic power supply only if the case side or front covers are
> removed. The Seagate has a five year warranty -- I'd suggest that you
> swap it out right now while the memory of the sound is fresh in memory.


I spoke to the dealer yesterday, and his comment was that all SATA
drives are noisy- or noisier than PATA drives at least- and that the
level of noise that I was experiencing was quite normal, and is due
mainly to two factors: poor quality of today's drives that are now made
in China, and the much faster data transfer rate of 3Gb/s. He said he
was nevertheless happy to replace the drive to allay my fears.



--

rgds,

Pete
~~~~~
'Dogs have masters. Cats have servants'



Posted by Rod Speed on September 12, 2006, 8:56 pm
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> John McGaw wrote
>> lynx wrote

>>> G'day all. I'm hoping that someone can shed some light regarding
>>> noise with a Seagate drive. I have just purchased a ST3250820AS
>>> 250gb SATA drive. (info here:-
>>>
http://www.seagate.com/cda/products/discsales/marketing/detail/0,1081,761,00.html
>>> ) This drive is supposed to be pretty much the bees knees with
>>> regards latest technology, but when I put it in the system, and
>>> fired it up, I noticed how noisy it was. I'm not talking about hard
>>> drive activity, as I haven't even installed a OS on it yet, but
>>> rather just the noise caused by the rotation of the platters. It
>>> produced a humming type noise, and vibration was quite noticeable.
>>> It even caused the computer case to vibrate slightly, which in turn
>>> made it's own noise. (modern cases are made of such lightweight
>>> material that they vibrate and generate noise more often than not).
>>> So I took the drive out, and just holding it in my hand to confirm
>>> that it was the drive causing the noise, and how much noise, I
>>> could feel the vibration. I have other seagate drives (older
>>> models), and they are not as noisy, or vibrate as much as this one.
>>> Also when I powered it off, and the spinning stopped, after a few
>>> seconds there was a faint scraping or rattle like sound for a
>>> second or two. So I'm wondering if this is normal for this drive,
>>> or if it's faulty? (It would seem strange to me if it is normal,
>>> considering how much Seagate boast about it's 'whisper-quiet'
>>> operation. But maybe that refers to just the read/write function).
>>> I can't take it back until next weekend, but I was hoping to get
>>> some info first. I wrote to Seagate but they were no help- just
>>> referred me to a warranty page. Also, if it is faulty, and I'm able to swap
it, would I perhaps
>>> be
>>> better off with another make, such as Western Digital? Are they a
>>> quieter drive?
>>>
>>>
>>> TIA.
>>>
>> I suspect that you may have caught a bad one. I've got a system
>> running with 5 400gB Seagate drives (4 PATA and 1 SATA) and it is
>> quite silent even the drive access chatter is audible over the very
>> quiet Seasonic power supply only if the case side or front covers are
>> removed. The Seagate has a five year warranty -- I'd suggest that you
>> swap it out right now while the memory of the sound is fresh in memory.

> I spoke to the dealer yesterday, and his comment was that all SATA drives are
noisy- or noisier
> than PATA drives at least-

He's feeding you a line in utterly mindless bullshit.

The storagereview measurements show nothing like that.

> and that the level of noise that I was experiencing was quite normal, and is
due mainly to two
> factors: poor quality of today's drives that are now made in China,

Only Seagate does that.

> and the much faster data transfer rate of 3Gb/s.

Mindlessly silly, that is completely irrelevant if the
drive is just spinning as it was when you tested it.

> He said he was nevertheless happy to replace the drive to allay my fears.

He might get a surprise when he trys the drive you currently have.



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