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Seagate rumble is still present in 27" refresh!
- Thread starter cbster
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Interesting. I have a 27" i5 and had the 1TB Seagate drive - which was dead quiet. The drive failed and Apple replaced it with a 1TB Western Digital. Now when the house is real quiet this one has a faint sound like a small refrigerator hum. If this was my first drive I probably would not have thought anything about it as it's not that bad. But knowing that I had a perfectly quiet one before it bothers me a little - not enough to return it though.
Also, I got my old drive back so I could get some data I needed and on the Seagate drive is a small piece of foam glued to the drive case. I'm guessing that due to the compact nature of the iMac the drive comes in contact with something and they probably did not replace the foam. Now the motor hum is being transferred through the case to my stand and to my wood desk. FYI the desk is a big solid piece of wood so no issue there. Also, if I slightly lift the iMac to take pressure of the stand the sound goes away - which is how I know it's resonating through the PC.
My wife thinks I'm nuts and just looking for something wrong - which may be partially true. Like she said, just play something on iTunes and the sounds goes away LOL.
Also, I got my old drive back so I could get some data I needed and on the Seagate drive is a small piece of foam glued to the drive case. I'm guessing that due to the compact nature of the iMac the drive comes in contact with something and they probably did not replace the foam. Now the motor hum is being transferred through the case to my stand and to my wood desk. FYI the desk is a big solid piece of wood so no issue there. Also, if I slightly lift the iMac to take pressure of the stand the sound goes away - which is how I know it's resonating through the PC.
My wife thinks I'm nuts and just looking for something wrong - which may be partially true. Like she said, just play something on iTunes and the sounds goes away LOL.
Will be snagging a i7 next week or the week after that with just a 1 TB HD from the apple store, NOT online.
Is there any way I can request to have a Western Digital over a Seagate? I'm guessing not because it seems to be randomly inserted in the imacs.
Anybody in the know with some advice/suggestions I would appreciate your knowledge.
Thank you and Cheers
Is there any way I can request to have a Western Digital over a Seagate? I'm guessing not because it seems to be randomly inserted in the imacs.
Anybody in the know with some advice/suggestions I would appreciate your knowledge.
Thank you and Cheers
i really need to find out how noisy everyone thinks "noisy" is enough to return it. My seagate grumbles a little but I don't think it's that big of a deal...
Noisy to one person may be completely inaudible to another. I am very sensitive to sound so I notice my computer rumbling.
The old quantum fireball drives in the imacs we once used at the office were LOUD for sure, these current Seagates are VERY quiet in comparison.
Viewing distance is key too, moving the iMac farther away helps with viewing the massive screen with less drive noise as a result.
What is going on with the seagate HDD? I also have a rumble but Apple does not see it as a problem
I read the web but there is no real fix for it. Some have luck re-install everything. Could it be a software thing????
All my hardware tests show my Seagate HDD 1TB is working fine!
I read the web but there is no real fix for it. Some have luck re-install everything. Could it be a software thing????
All my hardware tests show my Seagate HDD 1TB is working fine!
It IS working fine.. It's just something strange, every 3 seconds it gives a few 'grumps'. It's annoying.. I really hope it IS a software issue. If more people could confirm it's fixed by reinstalling? Where did you read that?
Just check this post.
https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/806850/
I is somewhere in here. Also the format to 30gb option could be a option..... but would that not be strange??? I mean.... come on! A 1TB drive should work right?
A noisy HDD can make for some very mediocre audio recordings. You would understand instantly if you have ever attempted to record an acoustic guitar or violin, etc.
you're right, i don't record so i probably can't grasp just how annoying the HD noise can be.
Yeah I get this too. Constant rumble. It is extremely annoying. :\ Not sure what I'm going to do - try to get used to it or swap it out. I got a BTO 21.5" i5.
i think it varies by drive...I know seagates have been known for their audible read/write/seeking/spinning. Not all, but some.
I use mainly WD Blacks & Greens and have never had an audible drive. unless its right next to your ear. (but then anything is audible at that point lol).
I dont think there is much of a software fix for it, maybe a firmware fix.
I know Hitachis are sometimes audible during read/write/seeking performances.
Theres not much you can do without adjusting the firmware of the drive itself as far as I know.
I use mainly WD Blacks & Greens and have never had an audible drive. unless its right next to your ear. (but then anything is audible at that point lol).
I dont think there is much of a software fix for it, maybe a firmware fix.
I know Hitachis are sometimes audible during read/write/seeking performances.
Theres not much you can do without adjusting the firmware of the drive itself as far as I know.
I called Apple Care and after verifying the noise, they advised me to bring it back to the Apple store to swap it out. When I got there, the sales girl said they need to duplicate the concern. I tried to explain to her that Apple care already heard the noise, and I am just here to swap it out. Anyways, after about an hour (and a lot of B.S.) - they told me i would have to pay a restocking fee to swap it out.
After explaining my story three times, i realized that they were not going to help me.
So, I returned it and paid the restocking fee. I then came home and emailed sjobs.
Almost 24 hours later, no response.
After explaining my story three times, i realized that they were not going to help me.
So, I returned it and paid the restocking fee. I then came home and emailed sjobs.
Almost 24 hours later, no response.
Ditto. The only time I've heard it at all is when it spins up from idle. Once up to speed, it doesn't make any noise.
Very quiet (the SSD helps, too
)sorry but sjobs isn't going to help alleviate your problems. I'll give you a hundred dollars if he calls up apple care and explains to them to swap out a drive for you
Yesterday i arranged a replacement (has HD rumble, yellow screen + brightness buzz) and i asked if it was possible to get another make of the HD instead of the Seagate. They looked it up but they said that's impossible.. Maybe, if my next one also suffers some problems and the rumble is also present, i'll call back, ask for another and demand a 2TB harddrive as those seem to be hitachis which SEEM to be quiet (according to the majority of the posts here) for the same price.
You know what the funny part is.. Right now i'm transferring about 10GB from my external HD via firewire to my iMac. During that transfer, i can't hear the rumble at all. In fact, i don't hear any noise at all! So it seems the seagate rumble is only during idle moments. :s
Returned mine today and no ordered an i7 online with a 2tb drive to make sure I can avoid the Seagate
I consider myself lucky, I got a WD HDD. Hitachi isn't that much better than seagate.
Mine is 1 TB model ST31000528AS- absolutely no noise whatsoever so its not true that all these drives rumble and make noise.
Having read these forums for a while now it does seem like people can become a bit paranoid - its a mechanical devce after all!
Having read these forums for a while now it does seem like people can become a bit paranoid - its a mechanical devce after all!
Of course but then again I've been using a 24" iMac for three years and it had no such rumbling. It doesn't sound any different when I start up apps.