The (unfortunate) solution to SL beach balls

[catachip]

I, like many people, have been dealing with constant beach balls in Snow Leopard. I was getting really frustrated after two clean installs. The performance update made no difference. So I swapped by old 160 gb drive back in (I was using a 500 gb, 5400 scorpio blue) and reinstalled Snow Leopard.

Bingo... no beach balls at all. This sucks though, because I don't know what to do with this 500 gb drive drive now. With my photo collection I have barely any space on a 160 gb drive. Should I just get a 320 gb drive? I don't have to waste any more money on this issue...

Did this "performance update" actually resolve anyones beach ball issues on snow leopard, and did you guys have 500 gb drives?

Thanks!

[dukebound85]

no beach ball issue here. sounds more like a hdd issue for you

[Richard1028]

Originally Posted by catachip

Did this "performance update" actually resolve anyones beach ball issues on snow leopard, and did you guys have 500 gb drives?

No update is going to make a faulty drive work any better.

You should contact WD about the crappy scorpio. Once again, this just proves my point... all HDD's are merely recycled from the same chinese parts.

On the bright side, at least you know it's not SL and can move on.

[SnowLeopard2008]

I always stay away from WD drives because they really are terrible in quality. I can find a Seagate drive that performs better for a lesser price. So really, you are paying for lower quality when you buy WD drives. Spend less, get less frustration by buying quality drives, such as Seagate, Hitachi and Samsung. Toshiba isn't bad either.

[dukebound85]

Originally Posted by SnowLeopard2008

I always stay away from WD drives because they really are terrible in quality. I can find a Seagate drive that performs better for a lesser price. So really, you are paying for lower quality when you buy WD drives. Spend less, get less frustration by buying quality drives, such as Seagate, Hitachi and Samsung. Toshiba isn't bad either.

wd drives are not terrible in quality...
wd, seagate, hitachi, etc are all good drives. depending on people's luck with a brand, they either love them or hate them

[NT1440]

I actually just installed a new 500 gb drive from an image of the stock 160 gb drive and no problems whatsoever. Though, I didnt have any beach ball issues before other than a 3 second beach ball when i play videos in itunes.

[siorai]

Originally Posted by catachip

I don't have to waste any more money on this issue..

Actually, yes you probably do. A faulty drive is a faulty drive. Nothing can be done with it that will mean it's 100% safe to keep using. Suck it up and go buy a new drive. Drives are so cheap now you should seriously think of buying something that far exceeds what you need right at this moment. Go for a 1GB drive so you're at least set for quite some time.

[scaredpoet]

Some of the compact WD 2.5 inch hard drives I've noticed are quite finicky. The OP should definitely get a warranty replacement, or even a return for a different model if possible. Sadly, the 500 GB 2.5 inch drives, for now anyway, are very hit and miss. Hopefully as the capacities mature, things will get better.

[theone09]

Originally Posted by catachip

I, like many people, have been dealing with constant beach balls in Snow Leopard. I was getting really frustrated after two clean installs. The performance update made no difference. So I swapped by old 160 gb drive back in (I was using a 500 gb, 5400 scorpio blue) and reinstalled Snow Leopard.

Bingo... no beach balls at all. This sucks though, because I don't know what to do with this 500 gb drive drive now. With my photo collection I have barely any space on a 160 gb drive. Should I just get a 320 gb drive? I don't have to waste any more money on this issue...

Did this "performance update" actually resolve anyones beach ball issues on snow leopard, and did you guys have 500 gb drives?

Thanks!

Hey Catachip,

i got the exact same issue likes yours.. I just swapped my seagate 500GB/7200rpm to seagate 320GB/7200rpm and it works fine. And i also got a cheap enclosure for the 500G for using with the time machine...