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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...

hmmm your the first with a loud hitachi i find that really surprising, especially that i have just ordered one to get away from the noise
 
Yes, my first one was also a Hitachi. It's the kind of noise that fills the room with low, alarming vibration.

so are you experiencing the belly rumbling noise and web browsing noise like we are experiencing on the seagate drives....our do you have more of a fan vibration noise
 
oh forgot to add....
2 faulty ones in a row?? Imagine 7 and about to receive my 8th.... i wouldnt give up just yet
 
so are you experiencing the belly rumbling noise and web browsing noise like we are experiencing on the seagate drives....our do you have more of a fan vibration noise

No, I don't think it's the same problem. I can hardly hear my HDD do its actual work work (the read / write sound is very soft). It's the constant, low-frequency hum, similar to what you can hear standing next to an electric station.

I'm now engaged into moving the desks around my apartment in an attempt to acoustically orchestrate a more silent operation.

Already broke a very expensive black glass on my wife's stylish coffee table :D
 
oh forgot to add....
2 faulty ones in a row?? Imagine 7 and about to receive my 8th.... i wouldnt give up just yet

I think I'll give up. I just want all my multi-media back.

I found that if I place it on the very corner of one of my desks, and place the desk into the middle of the room, then the sound becomes just about bearable.

Of course, with three kids at home, this balancing act will end up in more shattered glass for me...
 
I think I'll give up. I just want all my multi-media back.

I found that if I place it on the very corner of one of my desks, and place the desk into the middle of the room, then the sound becomes just about bearable.

Of course, with three kids at home, this balancing act will end up in more shattered glass for me...

tip: as silly as this sounds get a nice thick foam mouse mat and put the mac on top of it, worth a shot
 
Of course, with three kids at home, this balancing act will end up in more shattered glass for me...

I was going to ask how you were able hear anything with 3 kids in the house.

I've got 3 kids in the house too. Anyone who doesn't want to be bothered with the noise from their iMac should get 3 kids in the house. :D

If you lift the machine up off the desk does the sound persist? That would seem to indicate a sympathetic resonance issue. If so I agree with the advice of the foam/rubber mat under the iMac or even a different desk.
 
Well, my study is sort of isolated from the rest of the apartment... it's outside of the kids' normal trajectory :)

I put the iMac on a rubber mousepad, it's a bit quieter now - thanks for the idea.

If I lift the machine by its corners, the sound fades away. It does lurk deep inside, but very quietly.

I guess after all this, I'm deciding to keep this version of the iMac. It was nice of Apple to let me use both machine side-by-side at home - the second one's clearly better.
 
yeah just ordered my 2TB i thought i would may as well go for the i7 whilst i was at it

Frenchie0101, when you took your iMac i5 back to the Apple store with the complaint of the noisy hard drive, and asked for a refund (versus switching out to a different machine), did they give you a hard time or want you to pay a $200 restocking fee?

I am going to the Apple Store tomorrow to return mine and order the 2tb drive on line, but was curious if they will give me a hard time (as I essentially want my money back versus another swap)..

I have a subtle gray shadow of a line (someone mentioned a graphics card problem) going across the lower screen so hopefully it will not be an issue, but it is kinda hard to see... Just can see them saying, "hey, there is nothing wrong with the hard drive, it is a little noisy but that is within specification, you will need to pay a restocking fee"...
 
Frenchie0101, when you took your iMac i5 back to the Apple store with the complaint of the noisy hard drive, and asked for a refund (versus switching out to a different machine), did they give you a hard time or want you to pay a $200 restocking fee?

I am going to the Apple Store tomorrow to return mine and order the 2tb drive on line, but was curious if they will give me a hard time (as I essentially want my money back versus another swap)..

I have a subtle gray shadow of a line (someone mentioned a graphics card problem) going across the lower screen so hopefully it will not be an issue, but it is kinda hard to see... Just can see them saying, "hey, there is nothing wrong with the hard drive, it is a little noisy but that is within specification, you will need to pay a restocking fee"...

the store was fantastic i ended up dealing with the main manager after my 5th try. on the 6th we actually went behind the scenes in the store to listen to it, unfortunately the day after it developed the dreaded noise yet again plus it was heavily scratching disks... went back seen him again and i simply said im calling it a day, he fully refunded me....well they had to do a bank transfer so still waiting for it to clear
 
the store was fantastic i ended up dealing with the main manager after my 5th try. on the 6th we actually went behind the scenes in the store to listen to it, unfortunately the day after it developed the dreaded noise yet again plus it was heavily scratching disks... went back seen him again and i simply said im calling it a day, he fully refunded me....well they had to do a bank transfer so still waiting for it to clear

...so are you going to wait for the next Rev before getting another iMac?

Do you currently have a prev gen model :apple:, or was this your first?
 
iMac 27' Noisy Hard Drive

I've got a brand new iMac 27' with 1tb.

As reported by other users it makes noises with the HD constantly doing noises even on idle mode or browsing websites.

This is the SeaGate HD, and I've read reports of the 2TB drive and even some 1tb from Western Digital and Hitachi being better (meaning no noise) in *some* cases... but not all

What's my best bet, how should I proceed? I'm confused!

The noise is really irritating, having worked with a completely silent 24'.

Thanks!
 
Does not require it's own thread, mods could we merge with existing threads.

To the OP - read through the other threads and really it's up to you what you do
 
...so are you going to wait for the next Rev before getting another iMac?

Do you currently have a prev gen model :apple:, or was this your first?

i have ordered the i7 with a 2TB drive as this is the hitachi drive not the seagate. yes i have a previous model im using a 20" currently, and have also had the 24". At work we also work from mac's
 
Mission accomplished.. I took my (second) 1tb iMac to the apple store, and explained to the Genius that the drive is noisy, and also there were issues with a gray shadow-y line across the bottom of the screen and yellow tinting on the right side. I explained that feedback on line has been 2tb drive is quiet, and I wanted to return mine and order the 2bt drive. They were great about it. No need to fire up the iMac, they issued me an Apple gift certificate for the amount of the computer (and printer) on the spot and an Apple employee helped me order the 2tb on line. No re-stocking fee applied.

I explained to him (Apple employee) the situation, and he stated that he is picky about that stuff as well, but he thought that spending an extra $225 for a 2tb drive (educator discount) when I don't need it was a bit extreme, and stated that Apple may address it via a firmware update in the future. Didn't want to take that chance, so I ordered the 2tb. Now I will never ever ever worry about hard drive space again!! (-:

Now a two week wait, but that is ok. I will drop everyone an update once the new machine comes.
 
Mission accomplished.. I took my (second) 1tb iMac to the apple store, and explained to the Genius that the drive is noisy, and also there were issues with a gray shadow-y line across the bottom of the screen and yellow tinting on the right side. I explained that feedback on line has been 2tb drive is quiet, and I wanted to return mine and order the 2bt drive. They were great about it. No need to fire up the iMac, they issued me an Apple gift certificate for the amount of the computer (and printer) on the spot and an Apple employee helped me order the 2tb on line. No re-stocking fee applied.

I explained to him (Apple employee) the situation, and he stated that he is picky about that stuff as well, but he thought that spending an extra $225 for a 2tb drive (educator discount) when I don't need it was a bit extreme, and stated that Apple may address it via a firmware update in the future. Didn't want to take that chance, so I ordered the 2tb. Now I will never ever ever worry about hard drive space again!! (-:

Now a two week wait, but that is ok. I will drop everyone an update once the new machine comes.

good news and you have done the same as me, yeah it is a bit extreme we have to pay alot just to have a bit of quite but on the upside there is no chance to run out of space... look forward to comparing notes with you when we end up getting them
 
My replacement is finally "prepared for shipment" today. I really hope that it doesn't have the same problem. I work in a quiet (usually quiet) home office and I cant stand that grumbling. Its basically a deal killer for me. If this one isn't quiet I'll try the 2TB and if that one grumbles then I'm done.
 
Well, guess what .... I have a brand new 27 inch i7 with a Hitachi 2TB HDD and it rumbles. Yup, sounds like a tummy rumbling or a trapped frog! Happens every five seconds or so.

That said, I love the computer, and can live with it. I'm not sending it back, but have Applecare so I guess i'm covered if needs be.

Helluva computer, the frog aside, of course.

Those of you chasing super quiet units are doing just that .... chasing. I don't think they exist.
 
^^^
Well that's great to hear. You made my day, thanks.

I just cant imagine that apple would go so far out of its way to make the machine so quiet, especially the fans, and then put the drive right in the center as close to your head as possible.

Why doesn't my unibody drive make that noise OR my 1TB external? Sure I can hear them spinning and making noise while I'm reading/writing but not constantly making reading/writing noises.

I have always suspected that the 27" design amplifies the HDD noise. (but I'm just guessing)
 
Re rumbling noise on the 27inch imac

I have the same noise just started on my new 27inch imac.
As you say just like your tummy rumbling...has anyone any ideas.

Guess I will call Apple to find out a bit more about it

If anyone can help please ....
 
Well, guess what .... I have a brand new 27 inch i7 with a Hitachi 2TB HDD and it rumbles. Yup, sounds like a tummy rumbling or a trapped frog! Happens every five seconds or so.

That is good to know.. Sounds like even some of the 2tb drives are noisy... I still have hope as it seems that the majority of the 2tb drive owners have very quiet drives, while the majority of the 1tb have noisy drives..

Frenchie0101, DEFINITELY let me know how you make out.. I will of course update the thread when my new machine gets here and provide an update as well..

Assuming ELC is experiencing the same noise as myself and the other 1tb drive owners, that will be disappointing, but if I get a rumbling drive I may just call it a day... (I debated a MacBook Pro as those seem to be pretty quiet, but I am just so in love with the 27inch screen... can't go 17" now!) And as mentioned earlier, I have a hard drive that I may never have to worry about filling! (-:
 
i5 with 1TB drive... I also have the rumbling... it mainly happens when I am doing multiple downloads and starting apps.

I guess I can live with it... don't really want to, but not worth returning the computer.

Maybe I can upgrade to a ssd within a year or so. Maybe apple can offer a ssd upgrade?
 
i5 with 1TB drive... I also have the rumbling... it mainly happens when I am doing multiple downloads and starting apps.

I guess I can live with it... don't really want to, but not worth returning the computer.

Maybe I can upgrade to a ssd within a year or so. Maybe apple can offer a ssd upgrade?

Same experience here. Oddly enough, I moved my iMac from my parent's home to my apartment today and the grumbling nearly vanished. Now its a lighter clicking sound that I have to consciously listen for. Perhaps the change in environment helped? (Slightly more ambient noise, different desk, etc) Frankly, this was my only complaint about the machine and now it is nearly silent. I'm still in awe over the awesome screen and massive reserves of power this thing has - I've thrown so much at it and it just brushes it off like nothing.
 
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