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AJ · Apr 13, 2001, 11:11 AM

Hey,

I have got an external LaCie FireWire harddrive, and it contains a rather annoyingly loud and obnoxious fan. Does anyone know if it is safe to turn off this fan? How hot does the drive get when working? I am sure, after looking inside the drive, that it is not to cool the powersupply, as there is a piece of metal obstructing the airflow.

I am quite happy opening up the drive against warranty - the sticker isn't even in the right place (yay!)

TIA
Regards
AJ

Apr 13, 2001, 12:29 PM

I'm sure they just threw it in there to annoy you, disconnect it.

Apr 13, 2001, 12:42 PM

Seriously, it's likely in there for a REASON. What would you do if the fan in your car got too loud? Disconnect it, as well? If the fan's messed up, replace the fan (or move it farther away), but I wouldn't risk losing my hard drive over a bit of noise.

rjenkinson · Apr 13, 2001, 01:50 PM

you might try using macAAM to adjust the noise level of your hard drive. you can download it from here.

-r.

milhaus · Apr 13, 2001, 02:21 PM

Clearly those respondents don't have one of these drives. It's nice, cheap, stylish, but loud as hell. And it's not the drive, but the fan, which seems to like to be on whenever the computer has the disk mounted, not when it "gets too hot." I'd be fine with it if the thing came on when needed, but the problem is that it's on perpetually. And it's okay with say, a CDRW which is isn't always turned on. But really, I think Lacie needs to rethink this design. I hope the new cases will solve this problem.

mike one · Apr 13, 2001, 05:02 PM

why don't you call them up and ask?

i think maxtor FW drives have no fan at all. damn LACIE!!!!!!!

Paul S · Apr 14, 2001, 08:39 AM

Maxtor drives are 5400rpm, but most of LaCie's are 7200rpm. 7200 is significantly hotter than 5400. LaCie's fan is needed, while Maxtor's isn't.

AJ · Apr 15, 2001, 09:39 AM

PaulS: that would make sense. Bit of a bummer, though.

I am starting to think that a little project is in order when i get some free time.

The project involves:
A loud as hell LaCie external drive
ScrewDriver
Lack of all concern about warranty

Heatsinks

Thermopaste
Hacking

AJ

AJ · Apr 15, 2001, 09:42 AM

Originally posted by milhaus:
Clearly those respondents don't have one of these drives. It's nice, cheap, stylish, but loud as hell. And it's not the drive, but the fan, which seems to like to be on whenever the computer has the disk mounted, not when it "gets too hot." I'd be fine with it if the thing came on when needed, but the problem is that it's on perpetually. And it's okay with say, a CDRW which is isn't always turned on. But really, I think Lacie needs to rethink this design. I hope the new cases will solve this problem.

True. True. Forgot to say that it is a new case design.
AJ

Apr 15, 2001, 06:39 PM

AJ,
Do you mean to say you have one of the newly designed cases? And there's still the problem with the fan? I bought one of the k525 cobalt cases: there are newer, more boxy casings, but I was told those weren't shipping until June, and that there was nothing new except for the casing (same fan etc.). So I bought this one, because I think it looks better and stacks better with my CDRW. If you have a new case, and it still is loud as hell, then maybe I feel better. Would you believe I'm already getting used to it? You'd think there'd be a way to put the fan or entire drive to sleep, or at least that the fan would go to sleep when you put the computer to sleep. Well, Lacie makes nice, functional stuff, but this is a bit of a disappointment.

AJ · Apr 16, 2001, 05:18 AM

It is this one...

Right, so are there even newer cases coming out? Oh ass...

I am still up for my hacking attempt, though. The problem with the fan is that is stands out so much from the lack of background noise, as the Cube is quiet (apart from HD noise). When i am listening to music, it is OK, but still annoying.

Another funny thing: when I received my drive, it had been used by someone at LaCie. It had sales figures, resignation letters, movies, games, and a copy of Photoshop 5.5. It all, naturally, was deleted by me

Apart from the stuff which might be valuable to competitors

AJ

milhaus · Apr 16, 2001, 07:37 AM

AJ,
I have one of the older k525 cases in cobalt, not the one you have. Yours is the new case design, but we're (Canada) not getting them for another few months. Gues we have some old stuff to sell off first. I guess I'm happy that not waiting doesn't mean that I'm having to be stuck with a loud fan, since it's a problem with yours already. What are you doing with it right now? I'm unmounting it from OSX whenever I don't need it to be running and switching it off, but I still have to pull the cable from the PB to allow it to wake from sleep. A bummer really.

AJ · Apr 16, 2001, 09:12 AM

milhaus,

I have to keep it on most of the time, as my 9Gb of mp3's are on that drive. It is currently under the desk, but i am thinking about hanging it out of the window! I turn it off at night to keep the noise down.

I have been looking at the casing, and there doesn't seem to be any way in which the air could escape from the fan blowing it in...hrm. I am going to hack this when it gets to summer - I don't have the time now. The best solution i can find now is to cover the thing over with a piece of cloth. It is cold enough in the room for me not to be stressed.

I do have one of the k525 cases, in the shape of CDRW. Bummer that they don't stack!

AJ

milhaus · Apr 16, 2001, 09:53 AM

AJ,
They told me they would stack with the new ones, but only on the bottom? Have you tried it? Is the drive noisier than the CDRW? It is for me, and that seems a little strange.
M.

AJ · Apr 16, 2001, 10:10 AM

milhaus,

They do sort of stack, but not well. Not very stable.

The CDRW is much louder for me.

AJ

milhaus · Apr 16, 2001, 09:31 PM

Just mailed Lacie Canada, and they've offered to take the drive to look at the noise. Their response was that the drive is quiet, and that I might have a bad fan. Fine. I live about five minutes away from Lacie Canada's offices, so I'll bring it there this week. Will let you know what the outcome is.
M.

AJ · Apr 17, 2001, 10:25 AM

Good idea. If your fan in the harddisk is as loud as the one in my CDRW it would drive (bad pun, sorry

) me up the wall...

AJ

[This message has been edited by AJ (edited 04-17-2001).]

milhaus · Apr 18, 2001, 02:45 PM

Well, the service guy at Lacie tested the drive and the fan and says they're normal. He compared it with another and said they sounded identical. Perhaps I just expect it to be too quiet, but the fan on my CDRW is silent. Very little noise even when writing. The noise, he said, comes from the drive, not the fan itself. Now I wonder whether or not it's possible for the drive to sleep in either 9.1 or X: it doesn't make much sense for it to remain perpetually spinning, right? I actually haven't tried the drive in 9; perhaps it's quiter there? I might try the sound tuner app, but that only works in 9 I believe, and also only over ATA buses? Well, I guess I'm going to have to get used to it. And all on the day that they introduce faster FW drives. Lovely.
What other solutions might there be for this problem.
AJ, is your drive perpetually spinning?
M.

AJ · Apr 18, 2001, 06:17 PM

Grrrrrrrrrh...don't talk to me about those new faster drives....grrrrrh

It's bull that the sound is coming from the drive; I am sure it is the fan. hohum.

My drive never spins down; i am not sure if there is a way of making this happen. I guess that it would have to be coded into the bus/drive.

The sound thing only supports some drives, and not over a FW bus...

Regards
AJ

milhaus · Apr 18, 2001, 09:21 PM

AJ,
It is defintely the drive itself. I have the drive back already, and in OS 9.1, when the computer is put to sleep, the drive goes to sleep as well, and I hear an eerily quiet fan in the background. Ironically, it doesn't seem to do this at all when operating in OS X, even after a shut down. So it looks like I'm a little screwed here, unless somebody finds a way to get the sound thing to work with the drive - it won't even find my internal drive.
M.