About a week and a half ago I installed a IBM Ultrastar internal hard drive in my PPC9500.
Checked the jumper settings and formatted it using Drive Set up.
Everytime I start up the drive makes this scraping, grating kinda sound ( don't know how else to describe it), when it's about to mount the new drive;
but it also makes that sound at random intervals and actions.
Usually if I open one of the new partitions it sounds like I moved something.
I disconnected the drive for comparison and it definitely wasn't my start up drive.
It's not the sound that drives make when they read data...this one .....I don't know what to think of it.
Any help or suggestion would be greatly appreciated.

[wlonh]

hmm HD thrashing a bit, sounds like to me... may be nothing to worry about, seems like you know what you are doing so i am guessing you have installed it correctly

is it slow to mount?

fwiw, my iBook (i know, i know, totally different drive and machine, but...) used to make quite a bit of unwanted HD noise and it has decided to behave nicely though a bit of thrashing is unavoidable even when using the APM Tuner for laptops only...

if your HD gets worse with the noise, then maybe all bets are off... i'd say just pay close attention to it for now

I have used quite a few IBM UltraStar drives recently. I have found them to be generally quiet as to when accessing data or spinning up. The IBM's should be substantially quieter when compared with the 4+-year-old drive that would have come with the 9500.

If the drive is indeed making such unusual sounds, i.e. "scrapping" "clicking", etc. I would return to the dealer you that bought if from right away. If the won't take it back most drives of recent vintage from the major venders, (IBM, Quantum, Seagate, etc.) came with a three year warranty.

Go the www.ibm.com and click the links to the support pages. IBM.com should be like the other vender's pages I have used for DOA drives. You should be able to enter the drive if on the web page and submit an RMA request.

My experience returning dead drives to Quantum & Seagate was excellent, drives were returned within 1-2 weeks. Western Digital took 2-3 MONTHS in 1998, with two different drives, returned 8 months apart. I have had no need to return ANY IBM drive, knock on wood.

But it sound to me the use may have a problem drive in your hands. No reason you should risk your data or even tolerate a functioning but noisy hard drive. SEND IT BACK.

[denim]

Originally posted by RobertScott:
But it sound to me the use may have a problem drive in your hands. No reason you should risk your data or even tolerate a functioning but noisy hard drive. SEND IT BACK.

Good advice. If he just bought this drive and it's making strange sounds, it's time for the drive to go back.