[superlarry]

the subject says most of it..
i've got a cube. i bought a new hard drive for it.
the hard drive's not even a month old, and after these couple weeks of almost total silence (i.e. the scanning of my monitor was louder than my cube), i was very disappointed when the drive started like screaming. ok, so it's not screaming, but it's louder than any other hard drive i've had.
the 'screaming' is approximately an F#, for you musically inclined.
it did it once about a week ago but was fine the next time i turned it on. it happened again this morning and now it won't stop. anybody know what's going on?

[raferx]

Sounds like you should back up any important files on that baby ASAP. I have had several Seagate drives, and never had any problems whatsoever (not that that helps you much), that said have you run a disc utility (Drive X) or Tech Tool Pro if you are in 9.2, and see if it is showing any bad sectors. From what I have read, drives that encounter bad sectors usually make a loud noise when encountering a bad sector, but the noise only lasts a second. If the drive is "screaming" maybe you have a mount problem with the platters, or a mis-alignment of the drive head. Hope that helps.


[ 03-02-2002: Message edited by: raferx ]

[superlarry]

Originally posted by raferx:
<STRONG>If the drive is "screaming" maybe you have a mount problem with the platters, or a mis-alignment of the drive head.</STRONG>

yep - it's a continuous high buzz. this is what i figured (and hoped it wouldn't be). it's scanning for bad blocks (60 gigs means it's gonna be a while!). luckily i still have everything on my original 20 gig that i copied to the new 60 gig in the case that i'd need to have this drive replaced. i'll update in a bit..

[ 03-02-2002: Message edited by: superlarry ]

[superlarry]

*yawn* no problems found while testing the hard disk.
throughout the long long long testing period, the noise the drive was making gradually changed and became less annoying. after a restart back into OSX (i used 'drive setup' on the system 9.2.2 cd to test for bad blocks), the drive is only emitting a quiet hum which i would've found normal if the drive were brand new.. except that when the drive was brand new, it was almost totally silent.
*sigh* i guess i'll just have to deal with it for now, but i'm calling seagate tomorrow to see if the loud noise was a precursor to death.

edit: update: no bad blocks. buzzing starts randomly when the computer's been on for a while (this morning after about an hour, then just now after like 4 hours). ugh.

[ 03-03-2002: Message edited by: superlarry ]

[Sword of Orion]

Is the noise definitely internal to the drive, or is there a possibility that it's a vibration related external noise? I mention this because it's a Cube, and when I swapped out my hard drive, I initially overlooked a little rail that's supposed to mate the bottom (actually the side) of the drive up with the Cube. After I installed the new drive (sans rail), I remember thinking "gee - that looks like it could vibrate and bang up against the frame!", but I didn't really snap to the problem until I was looking at the old drive and noticed that rail. It's a very small plastic part whose job is to give the drive a definite mounting point opposite the 3 Torx screws that hold it at the top of the Cube. Without that rail in place, I could picture some unwanted vibration causing problems. Just a theory...

[Petter]

Originally posted by superlarry:
<STRONG>the subject says most of it..
i've got a cube. i bought a new hard drive for it.
the hard drive's not even a month old, and after these couple weeks of almost total silence (i.e. the scanning of my monitor was louder than my cube), i was very disappointed when the drive started like screaming. ok, so it's not screaming, but it's louder than any other hard drive i've had.
the 'screaming' is approximately an F#, for you musically inclined.
it did it once about a week ago but was fine the next time i turned it on. it happened again this morning and now it won't stop. anybody know what's going on?</STRONG>

Is it a squeeling sound, like the sound of hot coffee in a thermos when not tighten enough?

Then it's the way they are... they do a surface scan looking for bad sectors!
But the good thing is that it can be deactivated.
And of course, the bad thing is that it can only be done from a pc!


cut from my mail:

<font face = "courier">
NOTE: the following utility has to be ran from an Intel DOS prompt.

A utility has been created which will disable the scan program on the
drive. The utility is called SMSCAN.EXE and must be run from a DOS prompt.
It will not run from a DOS shell in windows.

For systems running Windows 95, 98, 2000, NT, or ME, the utility can be
run from a DOS bootable floppy or Start up Diskette . To create a start up
diskette (Win9x/Me), go to Control Panel, Add or Remove Programs, Start Up
Disk tab, and Create the Disk. Use this disk to boot the system, then run
SMSCAN.EXE. The utility will scan the system and disable the off-line scan
program on any Barracuda ATA IV drives it finds.

For non-PC platforms (Unix, Mac) the drive may be installed on another
system capable of running DOS executable programs. The program is attached
below:

(See attached file: smscan.exe)


Jimmy P.
Seagate Technical Support
</font>


you can get it here:
smscan.exe.sit

[Kristoff]

Make sure it's the hard-drive.

My cube just started making a screaming noise, and it ended up being the cooling-fan on the ATI Radeon that was the culprit...I originally thought it was the HDD too.

Incidently I have two 7200 RPM 80 GB's in my Dual 800 and they don't make any noise, and are in fact quite quiet.

[tramahound]

i thought the disk scan feature was disabled in newer versions of the seagate barracuda? that's what i heard anyway. is it a new drive? i have a brand new 80 gig version of the same drive waiting to go in the cube i JUST got today, but i'm trying to fix a problem i'm having with the new ram i got for it first (see my post entitled "Cube RAM upgrade woes" for further details...). while researching the barracuda drive i read about the "feature" mentioned, but i also read it had been disabled on newer models...

[Petter]

Originally posted by tramahound:
<STRONG>i thought the disk scan feature was disabled in newer versions of the seagate barracuda? that's what i heard anyway. is it a new drive? i have a brand new 80 gig version of the same drive waiting to go in the cube i JUST got today, but i'm trying to fix a problem i'm having with the new ram i got for it first (see my post entitled "Cube RAM upgrade woes" for further details...). while researching the barracuda drive i read about the "feature" mentioned, but i also read it had been disabled on newer models...</STRONG>

Yes it should be disabled in the new ones.
My 60GB barracuda in my cube does scan but my 80GB barracuda in my Dual does not.

[edit spelling]

[ 03-06-2002: Message edited by: Petter ]

[tramahound]

ugh, i installed the barracuda IV 80gig drive in my cube last night. i first ran the apple hardware test disc on the system and everything checked out fine. however, during the hard drive portion of the testing i heard the infamous "air leaking out of a thermos" noise. i then created three partitions on the drive and installed os 9.2 on the first one. after messing around doing nothing in particular i heard the squeeking noise numerous times and it is annoying as all hell! is this the disk scanning "feature" that others have mentioned? is their an easy way to disable it other than popping it in a pc and doing some voodoo?

[superlarry]

well i stuck the drive in a pc and ran smscan.exe - but it's buzzing again. :c(
i suppose i'll have to call seagate.

[ 03-06-2002: Message edited by: superlarry ]

[tramahound]

was it hard to run smscan.exe? what was involved? the high pitched whine that this thing is pumping out is annoying as all heck!

[superlarry]

smscan requires nothing at all but to be run - it lists your seagate drives and whether or not it was successful. that's all.
of course, it didn't work for me.. so i downloaded the seagate tools from their support page and ran them. the extended test said my drive was fine, but if it was making noises to request an RMA.
soo.. i shipped my hard drive to seagate today. darn shame. they make you pay shipping to them (~$14 for me).

[tramahound]

ugh, i just sent off my faulty ram to owc.com today too. fun stuff huh? i'm interested in sending my seagate drive back too since the squeeling it is making in my ear is horrendously annoying! who did you contact about sending it back? i bought mine from unity electronics as an oem package so i don't know if they're even worth contacting. i think $14 to get a drive that doesn't squeek and squeel would be money well spent!

[raferx]

I have a bad daughtercard in my DP 1 GHz... I wish I could just pull that out and have Apple send me a new one to install myself. Count your blessings it's just a HD, that while missed, will still leave you with your Cube. I have to send my whole friggin' tower back! (although they are paying for shipping.)

[superlarry]

Originally posted by tramahound:
<STRONG>ugh, i just sent off my faulty ram to owc.com today too. fun stuff huh? i'm interested in sending my seagate drive back too since the squeeling it is making in my ear is horrendously annoying! who did you contact about sending it back? i bought mine from unity electronics as an oem package so i don't know if they're even worth contacting. i think $14 to get a drive that doesn't squeek and squeel would be money well spent!</STRONG>

since it's OEM, you'll have to contact Seagate (1-800-SEAGATE). www.seagate.com has pretty much everything you need short of telling them what's actually WRONG with your drive.. since my drive passed the seagate tools tests (done in a PC), i stuck a note inside stating that there are no physical errors yet but a terrible buzzing/whining noise. (that set of tests said not to use the drive if it was making grinding or other odd noises and to request an RMA, which i did online)

raferx - sorry to hear about your tower. hopefully it'll be quick and relatively painless!

[namikun]

I picked up the Barracuda IV at Fry's the other day but haven't installed it into my cube,yet.
Has anyone of you ever tried to run smscan.exe through Virtual PC?
It would make things so much easier if I didn't have to put it into my old Wintel PC.

[macvillage.net]

Originally posted by namikun:
<STRONG>I picked up the Barracuda IV at Fry's the other day but haven't installed it into my cube,yet.
Has anyone of you ever tried to run smscan.exe through Virtual PC?
It would make things so much easier if I didn't have to put it into my old Wintel PC.</STRONG>

I would assume it wouldn't test the drive but the emulator (though I may be wrong) I doubt it would hurt to try though.

[Petter]

Seagate support people told me it had to be run on a pc... thru emulation will not work!

[superlarry]

got my new drive today :c) we'll see how this one does.

[namikun]

I installed the HD into my cube the other night only to discover that it was also constantly scanning for bad sectors. As the continuous clicking started to get annoying (imagine having to work next to a coffee maker for hours) I stuck it into my old wintel box (at least there is some use to it) and installed smscan.exe.
However, it did not get any better!

Maybe that's just the way the drive is supposed to be and there is no cure? Is there anyone out there whose drive doesn't repeatedely scan for bad sectors?

[saru boy]

Originally posted by namikun:
<STRONG>Maybe that's just the way the drive is supposed to be and there is no cure? Is there anyone out there whose drive doesn't repeatedely scan for bad sectors?

</STRONG>

I had a Barracuda ATA IV 80GB in my Cube for a while (I've since moved it to an external firewire case), and it was the quietest drive I have ever encountered. (It's still quiet, although I don't use it as much now.) It is an OEM unit that I bought last December. It doesn't do any of that annoying scanning, so it would appear that the constant scanning is an anomaly. I would call up Seagate and see what you can do about getting a replacement.

[superlarry]

Originally posted by namikun:
<STRONG>I installed the HD into my cube the other night only to discover that it was also constantly scanning for bad sectors. As the continuous clicking started to get annoying (imagine having to work next to a coffee maker for hours) I stuck it into my old wintel box (at least there is some use to it) and installed smscan.exe.
However, it did not get any better!

Maybe that's just the way the drive is supposed to be and there is no cure? Is there anyone out there whose drive doesn't repeatedely scan for bad sectors?

</STRONG>

my new one's awesome.. just to be sure it wouldn't scan i ran smscan.exe on it in my pc before i even put it in my cube.
i also have a firewire case where my old drive is.. $69.99 at compusa - AWESOME! only con is it's sorta loud, but at this point that doesn't matter because i don't even really need it. maybe i'll put my zip drive in there sometime.

[namikun]

For some reason the HD stopped scanning and runs amazingly quiet. now
Let's hope it stays that way!
Hip Hip Hoooray!