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a N00b's Journey in Hard Drive Replacement
- Thread starter ohla313
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If it's within the store's return policy, send it back. Any sort of clicks on a brand new drive are bad.
That's what I was worried about because this is a brand new drive! I got it in the mail on Wednesday so I think I can get a new one back. I mean other people say their drives are quiet in their MBPs so I should have a quiet one as well.
My 1TB is pretty well silent and is only audible if you rest an ear on the case, but it does vibrate slightly. It can be felt through the area either side of the pad and through the lower case if it is being used on your lap.
I am pretty pleased at the speed of the thing too. I guess that is down to the high density, given the relatively slow spindle speed.
I am pretty pleased at the speed of the thing too. I guess that is down to the high density, given the relatively slow spindle speed.
does yours click as well? Because mine has the same vibration you are describing now. I mean I hear clicks and feel slight vibration but performance wise, this thing ROCKS! It loads up even faster than the stock drive and feels super fast.
First, you can install this little menu app: http://www.macupdate.com/info.php/id/23777/smartctl
then once installed in your menu, look at attribute 193, the Load_Cycle_Count. Wait a few moments and count the clicks you hear.... when you check the load cycle count, it should have increased by the # of clicks you heard. If this is true, then there is no malfunction per-se.
However, it has been suggested that hard drives will only take ~ half a million load cycle counts before failing. There are several threads explaining how to get in installed floating around on these forums ( eg here or here)
then once installed in your menu, look at attribute 193, the Load_Cycle_Count. Wait a few moments and count the clicks you hear.... when you check the load cycle count, it should have increased by the # of clicks you heard. If this is true, then there is no malfunction per-se.
However, it has been suggested that hard drives will only take ~ half a million load cycle counts before failing. There are several threads explaining how to get in installed floating around on these forums ( eg here or here)
So this program will reduce the number of clicks the HD makes? How long do I need to listen in for the clicks? Can this program be uninstalled once I figure out the clicks?
Also what do you mean about the load cycle clicks indicating a failing drive? So if my drive clicks or anything, it also hints at drive failure, despite SMART status being verified?
so these clicks should be a reason for concern? i should go ahead and call newegg? cuz this drive cost a lot for me, since i am a college student, and i really need a stable drive.
but if I force the HDD to ignore the power management commands will that compromise the HD's performance?
okay, so the clicking (well, at least this clicking) does not indicate anything like a failing drive. note that clicking that sounds metal-on-metal is a serious indication of a failing hard drive. this clicking is not that click.
in any case, the components of the hard drive are rated for only so many uses before they will fail, on average. typical max ratings for load cycle counts are in the 300k to 600k range, so if you have one every 6 seconds (like I was when I installed my hard drive), you can imagine that 600k clicks * 6 sec/click * 1 min/ 60 sec * 1 hour / 60 min * 1 day/24h ~= 42 days expected mean lifetime on the high end of the spectrum. One click / 2 minutes would mean ~ 420 - 840 days.
So, post hdapm, instead of getting 600 clicks / hour, I average about 0.42 clicks / hour (basically, it only does the load cycle whenever my laptop sleeps / restarts).
///
and yes, the smartctl can be uninstalled. however, the hdapm program needs to be run whenever your computer is booted / woken from sleep (but there is a script to install that does all of that for you once it is set up correctly)
what causes this clicking in some HDs and not in others? I feel like the only one with the clicking 1TB drive, others say theirs is even MORE silent than the stock drive!
this hdapm program will resolve this issue? If others didn't need to do this and still have silent drives doesnt that mean my drive has an issue?
a N00b's Journey in Hard Drive Replacement
Ok since I posted so many threads regarding my Western Digital Scorpio Blue 1 TB hard drive and my Macbook Pro 13" (late 2009), I figured I'd make this thread the central hub for it.
So recently I bought this drive and installed it. It worked great! Lots of room, easy install, fast, everything! But then I kept hearing random clicking sounds and it would vibrate a lot. So I was really concerned and asked around here. I finally contacted Newegg today and they told me to return the drive and get a refund. And to buy the same drive after the refund, since they cannot do exchanges. I can't be without my laptop for a bit so i decided to keep the drive and order a new one and once it arrives do the swap and return the drive.
My question is: How can I erase the 1TB if I don't have any enclosures that fit it?? My current resources are: an external enclosure that fits the stock 160GB Hitachi hard drive my MBP came with, the MBP 160GB drive, and of course the 1TB drive. Is there a way I can install OS on the 160GB drive through the external drive, then boot from the external, and then erase the 1 TB drive while it is inside the MBP? So can I erase the 1TB while it is in my MBP if I boot from the 160gb drive that is in the enclosure and attached through USB? And how would I go about installing Mac OS X on the 160gb and booting from it? Another issue is that I used the 160GB drive as a time machine, so would I just erase the backup and then install OS X?
Thank you for taking the time to read all this!
Ok since I posted so many threads regarding my Western Digital Scorpio Blue 1 TB hard drive and my Macbook Pro 13" (late 2009), I figured I'd make this thread the central hub for it.
So recently I bought this drive and installed it. It worked great! Lots of room, easy install, fast, everything! But then I kept hearing random clicking sounds and it would vibrate a lot. So I was really concerned and asked around here. I finally contacted Newegg today and they told me to return the drive and get a refund. And to buy the same drive after the refund, since they cannot do exchanges. I can't be without my laptop for a bit so i decided to keep the drive and order a new one and once it arrives do the swap and return the drive.
My question is: How can I erase the 1TB if I don't have any enclosures that fit it?? My current resources are: an external enclosure that fits the stock 160GB Hitachi hard drive my MBP came with, the MBP 160GB drive, and of course the 1TB drive. Is there a way I can install OS on the 160GB drive through the external drive, then boot from the external, and then erase the 1 TB drive while it is inside the MBP? So can I erase the 1TB while it is in my MBP if I boot from the 160gb drive that is in the enclosure and attached through USB? And how would I go about installing Mac OS X on the 160gb and booting from it? Another issue is that I used the 160GB drive as a time machine, so would I just erase the backup and then install OS X?
Thank you for taking the time to read all this!
Just put the drive in enclosure and boot from OS X disk, open Disk Utility and zero- or 7-pass erase it
what does zero or 7-pass erase it mean? so I would first erase the external, then boot from the CD, press c when booting, put mac os x on the external, then I would erase the 1tb drive while still in my MBP?
All your threads have now been merged together. Do not make any more new threads about this topic, please.
No, you put the 1TB in enclosure and then boot from install disks, you don't OS X for this. Then you erase it with Disk Utility. Pass erase means that your HD is overwritten once (zero-pass) or 7 times (7-pass), 7-pass being more secure. When you erase it normally, nothing is actually removed, it just shows that space as free and will then overwrite if needed. Pass erase will make the data unrecoverable so nobody can recover your data from HD.
Oh but the problem is that my enclosure can't fit the TB drive. I can only keep it in my MBP in order to erase or anything. Is it possible for me to boot to the 1TB then open DU and erase, partition, and install OS X to the stock drive in the enclosure? Once this is done, can I boot from the external enclosure and erase the 1TB that way?
and yes I am a n00b in posting. sorry about that.
Update!
So my new 1TB drive came faster than I expected (i ordered it at noon and received it the next day at 4), I installed the drive and all my programs but the DRIVE STILL VIBRATES AND CLICKS! am i doing something wrong here?!
Here's my entire process:
1. Insert Mac OS X CD in MBP and turn off laptop.
2. Wait for MBP to cool down then open back of MBP and discharge myself by touching CD tray metal area.
3. Remove the bar where the HD is and take the SATA connector off of faulty 1 TB.
4. remove mounting screws and place on new drive.
5. install back into HD bay and screw everything back in.
6. turn MBP over and turn it on when the chime sounds, I press C until the OS X screen appears.
7. Go into Disc Utility and select partition
8. choose GUID and 1 Partition, name it "Mac HD"
9. after partition is done, exit DU and then install OS X.
10. OS X finishes installing and I update the software.
11. After software update, I install all my apps that worked FINE on my stock drive.
12. vibrate and clickin'
So that is my whole process of installing and setting up the drive. It works fine but the vibration and click drives me NUTS! Should I just return this one too and get the 750GB drive since its 9.5mm and only got 2 platters?
So my new 1TB drive came faster than I expected (i ordered it at noon and received it the next day at 4), I installed the drive and all my programs but the DRIVE STILL VIBRATES AND CLICKS! am i doing something wrong here?!
Here's my entire process:
1. Insert Mac OS X CD in MBP and turn off laptop.
2. Wait for MBP to cool down then open back of MBP and discharge myself by touching CD tray metal area.
3. Remove the bar where the HD is and take the SATA connector off of faulty 1 TB.
4. remove mounting screws and place on new drive.
5. install back into HD bay and screw everything back in.
6. turn MBP over and turn it on when the chime sounds, I press C until the OS X screen appears.
7. Go into Disc Utility and select partition
8. choose GUID and 1 Partition, name it "Mac HD"
9. after partition is done, exit DU and then install OS X.
10. OS X finishes installing and I update the software.
11. After software update, I install all my apps that worked FINE on my stock drive.
12. vibrate and clickin'
So that is my whole process of installing and setting up the drive. It works fine but the vibration and click drives me NUTS! Should I just return this one too and get the 750GB drive since its 9.5mm and only got 2 platters?
my understanding is that this is an issue that arises from a combination of the drive and software (os x). to illustrate, there was an issue in a version of ubuntu several years back that resulted in this exact issue. basically the ubuntu developers let the hdds use whatever their default power management settings were from the manufacturer.... some drives are very power management-aggressive and want to retract the heads very quickly. unfortunately, the unix/linux based systems are very active when it comes to hdd access, and therefore the heads need to be re-engaged almost immediately. supposedly windows is better about this, and does not have this issue, which is probably why the default settings can be left so aggressively and work out for most consumers.
but then why does this occur to me and not others who have the exact same setup as me?
So since no one seems to reply to my thread, I called western digital support and wow did I make a mistake. Totally incompetent and kept putting me on hold. So I guess I just gotta give up on this drive because the clicks and vibration is not right. I am going to return this drive and get the 750 gb model because it is a safer bet and has fewer platters.
But if anyone else can verify my previous post on install method, I'd greatly appreciate it.
Thanks!
But if anyone else can verify my previous post on install method, I'd greatly appreciate it.
Thanks!