Can hear a Maxtor 80GB 7200RPM 8MB working...

[LABachlr]

Never experienced this before. For whatever reason, I can hear this HD working, as if it were a 4200RPM HD. Maybe not as loud as that, but I can still hear it. I used the Maxtor diagnostic advanced test, and it passed.

Is it possible that it is still defective?

[Midknyte]

it should be ok if it passed the diags. if you start seeing errors or performance problems, try swapping it out. I've had drives pass the diags, then fail soon after.

[LABachlr]

OK. Thanks, Mid. It's just that I have never heard of a 7200RPM drive make a sound while it's working before. Usually they makes no noise whatsoever. This one makes some noise that is similar to the noise of 4200RPM drives.

You're saying that it should be OK?

Based on what you said about the diagnostic tests not being that accurate, it seems as though that it is possible that this drive could fail in the near future.

Have you ever dealt with this issue before? If so, was the hard drive OK, or did it eventually fail?

[LABachlr]

I'm also having another issue with the same build if you want to take a look:

http://www.sysopt.com/forum/showthread.php?s=&threadid=173440

[Midknyte]

just because a drive makes noise doesn't mean it is bad. unless it's scratching or clunking, you should be ok.

did you try swapping out the video card?

[LABachlr]

OK. Thanks.

It could be an incompatibility issue between the mobo and the card, as the mobo stated that it only supported 1.5V cards, and this card is 3.3V at 2X and 1.5V at 4X. I assume that it runs at its fastest speed by default, since this mobo supports 8X, but it could be a glitch. What do you think?

Also, what do you think of Soyo mobos?

[Midknyte]

Soyo boards are ok. Not my favorite or anything.

It could be an incompatibility issue. did you try locking the agp to 4x in the bios?

[murray1]

I also have a Maxtor 80gb 8mb HD in one of my pc's and it is a bit noisy when it is accessing data. I originally had a 40gb 8mb Maxtor in that pc and it was just as noisy. They both became progressively noisier within a month's use. Too bad they are now out of warranty, otherwise i would send them back to Maxtor for a refurbished replacement. I recently picked up another 80gb 8mb Maxtor at CompUsa for $39.00 which I will try out soon.

[LABachlr]

I don't really care for Soyo boards either. Never use them. It's just that I was at Fry's yesterday doing some Xmas shopping, and I saw this mobo package where the mobo is free after rebate. Guess you get what you pay for.

I don't see anywhere in the BIOS where you can adjust the vid card settings.

I'm just going to take it back, along with the HD and CPU, as there are some better deals on hard drives this weekend, and the CPU that it came with is only a Duron.

[LABachlr]

Originally posted by murray1
I also have a Maxtor 80gb 8mb HD in one of my pc's and it is a bit noisy when it is accessing data. I originally had a 40gb 8mb Maxtor in that pc and it was just as noisy. They both became progressively noisier within a month's use. Too bad they are now out of warranty, otherwise i would send them back to Maxtor for a refurbished replacement.

I'm just going to exchange it, as I bought it very recently. Might get a serial drive instead.

However, I have dealt with Maxtor drives many times and never noticed any noise.

[murray1]

I have a Seagate 160gb SATA on my Intel D865PERL Mobo and it runs very silent and smooth. They usually go on sale for around $100.00 or maybe even less now.

[LABachlr]

Yeah, the deals are pretty sweet lately. That Intel board is a nice board. Built two identical systems with that board. Smooth systems.

[dell8200]

from my experience with maxtors they are not quiet drives, also if you psu does not have a noise killer then also you hdd will think louder:t

[MadPistol]

Heh. Should have gone with Western Digital HDDs. They are very quiet (I can only hear a low, faint rumbling kind-of noise in my HDD. I have really stopped noticing the noise.)

[dell8200]

also wdd and seagate are one of the best drives, also haitchi makes a good drive and quiete

[LABachlr]

Already returned the Maxtor. Just surprised that such a fast drive (ATA 133 7200RPM 8MB) would create noise that is usually heard from a 4200RPM drive. Haven't noticed it before, but then again, usually use WD. However, I still maintain the suspicion that it was a faulty drive, or on its way to being one.

[Johnny Fist]

It was probably just some vibration through the case. That happens sometime is a screw is lose or something.

[LABachlr]

Actually, I put my ear right up to the HD when the side panel was off. It was definitely the HD. And the sound that I am speaking of is very distinct, and could not be caused by vibration. It's a faint churning sound.

[ukulele]

Just because you can hear a drive is really nothing to be concerned about. After building and repairing musical instruments for many years now I have learned a few things about sound. Any instrument is really just a way to mechanically amplify sound whether it began as mechanical or electrical in nature. Every hard drive makes noise. Put a screw driver handle to your ear and touch one while it is running to hear it better. Some cases just amplify sound better then others. Like Johnny Fist mentioned, a loose screw of lack of enough mounting screws can increase the sound amplification dramatically. Cases with loose covers, lots of fan holes and open drive slots project sound better. My computer desk was made out of a hollow core door. It acted like a drum when I typed and amplified every key stroke until I finally put a high density foam pad under the keyboard.

[dayman]

All Drives break!!
They are electromechanical devices, with very fine tolerances.
So they will fail, not maybe, they will.
It seems they also break at the most inconvenient moment,
it is called 'SODS law'.
So it is a matter of deciding which break the least, and with the
longest 'MTBF'.
Having had just a 'tad' of experience (over 30 years fixing computers).
This is my order of 'least breaks'

IDE

1) Seagate
2) Maxtor
3) Western Digital
4) Samsung
5) Hitachi/IBM
6) Fujitsu

SCSI

1) Fujitsu
2) Hitachi/IBM
3) Seagate
4) Western Digital
5) Maxtor

In saying this the league table tends to change when new
drives are released, because those at the top can always fall from their pedistal with one rubbish model!!
Some people will disgree with these list, but we all have different experiences.

I still tend to buy Maxtor drives for workstations, as they are
usually, readily available and are a bit cheaper than
Seagate. Also Maxtor's RMA system seems to work pretty well.

Finally, if you have a drive that has failed and you really need the
data from it, and can't afford to send it to a data recovery specialist. If all else fails, try sticking it in the freezer overnight.
It often gives you enough 'up time' to recovery the data!

[fishybawb]

For a very minor performance hit, you could have tried the acoustic management:

http://maxtor.custhelp.com/cgi-bin/maxtor.cfg/php/enduser/olh_adp.php?p_faqid=1200

I can't hear my Maxtor 80GB at all.