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27" iMac Hard Drive Noise

Hi all,

I went to the Apple Store tonight, and wanted to speak to a Genius but the place was mobbed.. I talked to someone who seemed to be in management, and explained the situation.. She went in the back for about 10 minutes, came back out and explained to me that she discussed this with their lead Genius, and he did some research and that there is not currently a bulletin from Apple regarding a noisy hard drive on the new iMac (great).. So they want me to make an appointment, bring the iMac in and they want to do some testing on the drive (she said it would take them about an hour). She said make sure I back up my data, and they are going to make the drive fail? Not sure what that means..

I explained to her that I want a quiet iMac, she agreed completely and stated that yes, the iMac should not produce any noise. I get the feeling however when I stated I may need to get the 2tb drive (less noise) that I may have been trying to do an exchange for an upgrade and get out paying the restocking fees (maybe my imagination).

I am disappointed that Apple has not provided a bulletin on this yet, maybe there have not been enough people that have reported this? For example, my wife heard the noise and stated "yeah, I hear it but it would not bother me..." Also I have not seen any posts regarding this on the support page of apple.com.

So I am bringing it in on Wed, and we will see what happens.. I know, I just know it will be silent for them when they test it! (-:

She did state to me that it is a great Apple store, and they will make sure I am happy...

Also, I know that Apple Stores do some level of servicing on the machines in the store, so maybe they can try another drive in the iMac? I know you cant switch manufacturers, but maybe another Seagate?? I really dont want to spend the extra $250 for the 2tb, so I would try that option...

I will let everyone know what happens after my Wed visit to the Apple store.. In the meantime, for those folks that recently got new Seagate iMacs and they have started out quiet, please keep us updated!!!
 
Harddrive noise issue

My wife has the 21.5 inch 3.06 with a 1 TB Hitachi. Very slight low level noise when accessing. Her hearing is very acute and the noise is of no issue with her.

I am using the i5 with the 2 TB Hitachi. It is remarkably silent!

I am so happy with the current Hitachi experience it influenced my ordering the G-Technology 2 TB (Hitachi) external drive. Will be tethered to the i5 Firewire port.

Hope everyone gets some resolution on the issue. I have been there and done that on other machines and I know how frustrating it is!
 
mdewberry said:
Hi all,I went to the Apple Store tonight, and wanted to speak to a Genius but the place was mobbed.. I talked to someone who seemed to be in management, and explained the situation.. She went in the back for about 10 minutes, came back out and explained to me that she discussed this with their lead Genius, and he did some research and that there is not currently a bulletin from Apple regarding a noisy hard drive on the new iMac (great).. So they want me to make an appointment, bring the iMac in and they want to do some testing on the drive (she said it would take them about an hour). She said make sure I back up my data, and they are going to make the drive fail? Not sure what that means..
Click to expand...

Hello there they want you to back up your drive just in case they have to exchange/replace your imac or to make sure you have a backup if they replace the hdd in your current imac. Hope that helps hope everything works out for ya.
 
mdewberry said:
In the meantime, for those folks that recently got new Seagate iMacs and they have started out quiet, please keep us updated!!!
Click to expand...

Since Saturday, things are still quiet and smooth with my replacement i5/Seagate. No sign at all of the dreadful rumblings with the previous, exchanged i5. I'm entirely satisfied with things at the moment. I hope it continue like this...
 
I have the grumbling HDD "issue" so I'm finding this thread great to keep abreast of developments. Interesting that Sir Cecil now has a silent 1TB - gives us hope that it's not just us being overtly sensitive. Also, thanks to mdewberry for your updates, I'll await any resolution with great interest. On my part, I've logged the issue with with Applecare but have not asked for a replacement just yet as want to see if this becomes a "known issue" by Apple - also seems that I could just end up with another rumbling Seagate HDD being shipped from China.

I know some posters think that this is a non issue as HDD are mechnical but it really does begin to grate on you, late at night when you're working in the quiet and all you can hear is this "grumble" - it sounds like I've got the sh%@s :). On the positive I'm giving my new Harmon Kardon Soundsticks II a play with to obscure the grumble and they sound great.
 
Just curious as what's the new development with this issue. Mine has the exact same problem. super quiet for the first couple days, then comes the annoying grumbling sound. really don't want to carry the 40 pound thing back to Apple if they can't do anything with it.
 
blankdisc said:
Just curious as what's the new development with this issue. Mine has the exact same problem. super quiet for the first couple days, then comes the annoying grumbling sound. really don't want to carry the 40 pound thing back to Apple if they can't do anything with it.
Click to expand...

on my 7th now still the same situation so i am just going to now sit back and relax and enjoy my mac instead of stressing over something which i am now convinced is meant to really be, as we all keep forgetting its mechanical im sure people have these hard drives in pc's they wouldnt hear it simply because its in a desktop tower!!

at the end of the day this is what it aint doing
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3-BXPBIFlI4&feature=related
 
MesMaker said:
@The Samurai: What drive do you have? Are you saying that your room environment is near silent (basically can hear the light whirl of the fans only) and when you transfer some data to and from the drive lets say from an external drive you hear nothing, silents? Or are you say more like opening and moving around in apps it is silent?
Click to expand...

mdewberry said:
Can you give us an update in a few days.. I did not hear the noise at all my first two days (including after doing a Migration Assistant from my old mac). Started hearing the noise after day 3...
Click to expand...

Apologies for the lack of updates. The only sound I can hear at all times is a very low fan noise - which is hardly noticeable. I have noticed over a 12 hour period that a louder noise will kick in for 3-5 seconds (about 3-4 times during this 12 hour period). I take it this is the hard drive noise but no biggie for me.

I have tried copying files from my external hard drive to the desktop and no issues with hard drive sound kicking in?

I've had this machine on for pretty much 12 hours+ a day and I guess I am not having the issues which some of you are having. Is there a video or audio someone has recorded in relation to this problem?

Cheers
 
The Samurai said:
Apologies for the lack of updates. The only sound I can hear at all times is a very low fan noise - which is hardly noticeable. I have noticed over a 12 hour period that a louder noise will kick in for 3-5 seconds (about 3-4 times during this 12 hour period). I take it this is the hard drive noise but no biggie for me.

I have tried copying files from my external hard drive to the desktop and no issues with hard drive sound kicking in?

I've had this machine on for pretty much 12 hours+ a day and I guess I am not having the issues which some of you are having. Is there a video or audio someone has recorded in relation to this problem?

Cheers
Click to expand...

what HDD do u have in the mac is it WD or ST
 
I just spotted an article on The Register where they review a Hitachi Ultrastar 2TB Hard Drive. It's the 'higher reliability' version of the Deskstar but they're more or less the same drive according to the article. What's interesting is that they say that it's not particularly quiet compared to a Western Digital Caviar Black 2TB.

I just remember reading that people have been upgrading to the 2TB iMac which has a Hitachi 2TB drive in order to get a quieter system - those Seagates must be REALLY noisy!

http://www.reghardware.co.uk/2009/11/24/review_storage_hitachi_2tb_ultrastar_a7k200/
 
For those who think they have a HDD noise issue you should definitely log your complaint with Applecare - if you don't then Apple remain oblivious to it and cannot address this as a possible issue.
 
Hey guys! I received my new iMac yesterday with a 2TB Harddrive (it's a Hitachi). It is a lot quieter than the old 1TB Seagate model. The seagate drive caused some annoying low frequency vibrations even when it was idle. I could feel the entire desk vibrating! Now it sounds and feels normal... so everybody get a 2TB version now!!!

I love my new iMac :D !!!
 
DFXThomas said:
Hey guys! I received my new iMac yesterday with a 2TB Harddrive (it's a Hitachi). It is a lot quieter than the old 1TB Seagate model. The seagate drive caused some annoying low frequency vibrations even when it was idle. I could feel the entire desk vibrating! Now it sounds and feels normal... so everybody get a 2TB version now!!!

I love my new iMac :D !!!
Click to expand...

yeah just ordered my 2TB i thought i would may as well go for the i7 whilst i was at it
 
<I updated the other thread "Seagate 1tb drive normal" with this note, but wanted to update this thread as well>

Ok, so went to the Apple store tonight with my iMac..

Interesting story.. so went I went on Monday and explained my problem the store rep said the Genius would want to bring the iMac to the back room to listen to the drive, and really try to max the drive to hear the noise... This did not happen.. As they were so busy the Genius was trying to hear the noise at the Genius Bar while there was a packed store, and all of the stools to the left and right of me were full and people were chatting, etc... Well, he finally heard the noise and I had to explain to him two or three times it is a LOT louder in my quiet home office and not a loud Apple store..

Bottom line is he switched the machine, and confirmed it was a different batch then I had originally received.. After reading posts from others on this thread it seemed that a replacement may be better...

Brought my new iMac home, fired it up and quiet, did Migration Assistant with 50+ gb of data, quiet while running the data conversion (other than a smooth fan noise), used it afterward, and it is louder than ever... Yep, the hard drive on this one is even louder than my other one... what a disappointment... Go to a website, grumble, grumble, grumble... ugh, I am so frustrated.. And ever worse there is a subtle gray thick line running across the bottom of my screen when the screen is all one color... I am so disappointed and frustrated... It is literally grumbling while I am writing this email.. So, I am going to return it on Friday, and debate ordering a 2tb drive from apple.com, or just give up and wait until the next version... Or maybe reconsider a macbook pro...

I may call Applecare and see if I can do it over mail versus taking it back to the store...

Just an fyi, I checked the two 27" iMacs in the store and one did have the Western Digital drive, so I had some hope. Nope, just checked and this one and it has the Seagate.

Well, time for me to get over this crap, and really be thankful tomorrow for what is important...

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!
 
I have one of these:
Capacity: 1 TB (1,000,204,886,016 bytes)
Model: ST31000528ASQ
Revision: AP24

I assume that its a Seagate? Anyway, I can't hear a thing. Quiet as a mouse.
 
brisbaneguy29 said:
I have one of these:
Capacity: 1 TB (1,000,204,886,016 bytes)
Model: ST31000528ASQ
Revision: AP24

I assume that its a Seagate? Anyway, I can't hear a thing. Quiet as a mouse.
Click to expand...

yeah you have a seagate, depending how long you have had the mac its looking like after around 4 days it starts to settle and make the noise, it also depends what environment you are in
 
frenchie0101 said:
yeah you have a seagate, depending how long you have had the mac its looking like after around 4 days it starts to settle and make the noise, it also depends what environment you are in
Click to expand...

To be fair I'm not so sure this is a universal issue afflicting all Seagate Drives. Granted, I reckon they are more susceptible but he may be fortunate, and get a quiet one.
 
Hi,
a new aspect: my seagate grumbles too, but not all day long ... seems to refer to the time of use. It starts in the morning with grumbling and is absolutely quiet from late afternoon on ...
 
spcdust said:
To be fair I'm not so sure this is a universal issue afflicting all Seagate Drives. Granted, I reckon they are more susceptible but he may be fortunate, and get a quiet one.
Click to expand...

if you done as much research into as i have i think you would change your mind... i guarantee at some point it will develop the grumbling noise
 
I seemed to have received a Western Digital in my 27" iMac that just arrived this morning.

It is completely silent.

And FYI, I'm extremely nitpicky and can hear noises that seemingly no one else can (and they bother me). It's currently very quiet in here.

ALSO, I have two additional Caviar Blacks sitting in my Power Mac G5 (which is idling) and I can hear one or both of them chugging away.

Conclusion: This hard drive is likely of equal noise level to the two Caviar Blacks I already have, and the iMac must do a better job at dampening the "chugging" than my old Power Mac G5. So I'm pretty happy!

So for those with a real problem with the Seagate version… Demand a replacement drive, and ask specifically for a WD Caviar Black!
 
Just got my replacement iMac i7 with the 2GB Hitachi HDD. Same story - loud, low-frequency, constant noise from the hard drive.

Fast processor, beautiful screen, excellent speakers (actually, the speakers are better on this replacement one, I'd describe them as "amazing" for an all-in-one). But - I don't think it's possible to work on it. The constant noise drives me nuts.

Thinking about returning for a refund. Will be genuinely sad to stop buying these beautiful Macs, but 2 faulty ones in a row...
 
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