[Jacque Lee]

well i go a new pismo/400 and the hd did some strange noises. some loud clickings like a spring going off, not the usua scraching HDs do. after about a month the hd crashed and the pismo wouldnt start up. Apple replaced the HD and i have again the same clicking sounds....is it normal? am i unlucky? will it crash again?

any suggestions will be much appreciated...thank you

[seanyepez]

Since the hard disk, CD-ROM drive, and fan are the only mechanical devices in the system, I would assume it is one of those. When does the machine exhibit clicking noise?

[Jacque Lee]

thanx for the reply.....well i know its the hd but it is random....it might sound when im online, installing or copying files......

it is a random loud clicking noise..like a spring going off. it might be a single click or in a serios of 3 to 4 clicks.

when the first hd crashed after i pressed the power key it would just click nothing else....but the hd has been replaced and i have the same noises...is it normal or am i extremely unlucky ?

i have talked to some guy whoes pismo has been clickin for 9 months.......(but im not sure its the same thing)

thank u

[ktolis]

Originally posted by Jacque Lee:
thanx for the reply.....well i know its the hd but it is random....it might sound when im online, installing or copying files......

it is a random loud clicking noise..like a spring going off. it might be a single click or in a serios of 3 to 4 clicks.

when the first hd crashed after i pressed the power key it would just click nothing else....but the hd has been replaced and i have the same noises...is it normal or am i extremely unlucky ?

i have talked to some guy whoes pismo has been clickin for 9 months.......(but im not sure its the same thing)

thank u

I have been experiencing the same phenomenon.

The exact description for me would be:

The location of the sound (VERY loud clicking...something like hitting a window with a pen) is at the position where the HD is. My machine is a pismo powerbook@500 which I bought last August. The clicking occurs mostly when copying files on the HD or when accessing the network (but I assume this is quite the same because IE and other applications use temp files heavily). The clicking does NOT occur periodically or at more specific tasks so I have to say it is quite random (but I don't think it is).

As for the art of sound I would say that it sounds like if the head somehow knocks on the walls of the hd box (but as far as I know this is quite impossible yet alone disastrous for the head itself)

I have seen the .pdf that apple show the technicians but the only thing that exists in the same area would be the sound chip, but this does not have any moving parts.

For me the clicking is a fact from the beggining (almost 9 months now) and the system sometimes also hangs for some milliseconds.

The clicking is most of the time not one click. In most cases two three four (maybe even five but I haven't been able to conciously count them untill now) clicks occur as a sequence with equal spaced time between them (around 0.8 to 1 second).

As I study Computer Science and use Macs fanaticaly since 1994 I am quite concerned about this sound as nobody has been able to explain to me why this happens (not even by speculation).

I havn't seen such behaviour on a Desktop Mac (or even PC) anywhere (and I have an 6100 since 1994 which I upgraded last year too).

I know that some of the BB admins here have powerbooks so please answer if you have same occurances/problems or if you know what happens exactly and if this could be fatal for the HD.

thnx
ktolis

[email protected]
(p.s.-->Lee: modem hung up yesterday and couldn't connect again sorry-hope 2 see ou soon on P.O.M.)

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[The Dude]

I'd be willing to bet it's something with IBM drives. I have had two IBM drives in my Pismo and both clicked. But the stock 6GB drive clicked a LOT more, sometimes clicking 5 to 6 times in a row. But the 20GB drive in there now clicks once in a while, usually when using IE.

But, I must know, is your drive an IBM?

[This message has been edited by The Dude (edited 04-27-2001).]

[jeromep]

I can't really say much about your clicking sounds, but I had an IBM drive in my G3/500 that was starting to make so much shaft noise that I called up Apple and had them confirm that it was hardware (duh) and recall it for warranty replacement. The IBM 2.5 inch drives have a history of acting like this. I've never known IBM for drive quality control issues, but it certainly is a possibility.

Anyway, if your drive is making awful clicking noises, get Apple to replace it before it goes out of warranty.

Also, when the computer is out of warranty, you might think about RMAing defective drives back to the manufacturer directly. Hard drives, even the OEM ones that come with new computers usually have drives that have warrantees that are far superior to the computer warranty.

[Jacque Lee]

thank u for the replies. I dont know what make is my HD but i guess its an IBM.......well i hope it is so i know whats causing it

but is this clicking "dangerous" for the HD?

[ktolis]

Originally posted by Jacque Lee:
thank u for the replies. I dont know what make is my HD but i guess its an IBM.......well i hope it is so i know whats causing it

but is this clicking "dangerous" for the HD?

mine is also an ibm 12gb drive

who hasn't got an ibm in his pismo ?

ktolis

[PeteWK]

It is, in fact, the hard drive. I had the same problem with my 10gig IBM. I sent it in for replacement and got a Toshiba 10gig. All is now quiet.

PeteWK

[ktolis]

Originally posted by PeteWK:
It is, in fact, the hard drive. I had the same problem with my 10gig IBM. I sent it in for replacement and got a Toshiba 10gig. All is now quiet.

PeteWK

what is the rpm of the toshiba?
is the hd faster or slower? does it heat more/less?

ktolis

[seanyepez]

It's the same rotational speed. Apple bundles hard drives rated at 4200 RPM with their PowerBook models. It's been that way on the Pismo and the TiBook. The hard drives are nearly identical in performance specifications, but the manufacturing process and materials might differ. Apple uses various vendors including IBM, Toshiba, and Fujitsu.

How loud is the clicking? If it's just a little clicking noise, it's normal. If it sounds like someone is firing a handgun, then it's something to worry about. If this is the situation, your hard drive is being mauled and mutilated.

Well, I experience a few clicks here and there with all my notebooks (including IBM-compatible notebooks), and I know it's just the reader moving.

[Jacque Lee]

on my original ibm hd the clicking was more frequent that it is on the replacement (ibm again) but it is loud....no handgun going off but it is not the usual sound an hd should be going

if apple is not willing to replace it again with another make im considering the option of buying a new one and replacing it myself but is there somewhere i can buy an expansion bay case to install the clicking hd as a second internal hd?

thank u

[MacDaer]

The 6GB drive in my Pismo 400 is very quiet...and it is a Toshiba.

I had a noise develop in my 3400, and so I purchased an external PCMCIA hard-disk enclosure from MCE, and swapped the noisy drive to that for backup purposes, and put in a 12GB Hitachi drive...

aj

yeah - had the same problem with the 10 gb ibm travelstar... after a few months, i started getting this system message with increasing frequency: "There is a problem with the disk 'OS 9'. Some information may have been lost. Check any recently-used files for data loss, and use a disk-repair program on the disk." After this message appears, all unsaved work was lost (even though the app appeared to be saving the file). Of course both Disk First Aid & Norton Disk Doctor reported no problems. Had it replaced under warranty (with the same make drive), and no problems since - in fact i didn't realize how much the disk was slowing me down until it was replaced. I guess it could be normal for an aging drive, but if any data loss is involved, especially if the drive is somewhat new, it should be replaced under warranty.

for the expansion bay kit for 2.5 inch drives for lombard and pismo, check out MCE powerbook products at: http://store.powerbook1.com/xcarpro99med.html