Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.

Do you own an iMac with Seagate's ST31000528ASQ HD?

  • Yes, it is quiet with no loud clicking noises.

    Votes: 114 52.8%
  • Yes, it is loud but it is working fine.

    Votes: 74 34.3%
  • Yes, I get long pauses when transferring data or opening applications.

    Votes: 12 5.6%
  • I did but I returned it because it became defective due to the hard drive's failing.

    Votes: 16 7.4%

  • Total voters
    216
I've got a week 06 i5 with a Seagate drive (ST31000528ASQ), and it rumbles and makes a fair bit of noise. Performance seems to be fine, but that noise just doesn't seem right. Time Machine backing up often, just in case.
 
i use mine as a secondary drive for storage and an intel ssd as the boot drive. i've never heard it make a noise yet! i transfer alot of large files to it.
 
I've got a week 06 i5 with a Seagate drive (ST31000528ASQ), and it rumbles and makes a fair bit of noise. Performance seems to be fine, but that noise just doesn't seem right. Time Machine backing up often, just in case.

How do I find out what drive id I have? I am a mac newbie!
 
Do you own one?

Yes, and I also have a 1.5TB Seagate 7200.11 HDD in an IcyDock Firewire 800 enclosure that has been running flawlessly for going on 2 years. I've had far better experiences over the years with Seagate than Western Digital/Maxtor/Hitachi, etc.

1. Has your drive failed?

No

2. Does it make loud clicking noises?

No

3.Do you get long pauses and the beach ball every once in a while or when loading an application?

No

4. Do you get errors when transferring data?

No
 
How do I find out what drive id I have? I am a mac newbie!

Click the black Apple icon at the top left of the screen > About This Mac > More Info. That will open System Profiler and therein click on Serial ATA (under Hardware) and your hard disk will be the top device in the list in the window on the right.
 
I want to know from people's experience who own an iMac with a Seagate drive?
I hate Seagate as a hard drive manufacturer and with my luck I received my iMac i7 today with a Seagate ST31000528ASQ Drive.

I have read horrible reviews about loud clicking noises and people's hard drive failing.

Do you own one?

1. Has your drive failed?

2. Does it make loud clicking noises?

3.Do you get long pauses and the beach ball every once in a while or when loading an application?

4. Do you get errors when transferring data?



Try going into system preferences and under hardware go to energy saver. On the put the computer to sleep slide it over to never, leave the display where it is. Then take the check mark out of the first box (put the hard disk(s) to sleep when possible) to keep your hard drive awake.
 
I want to know from people's experience who own an iMac with a Seagate drive?
I hate Seagate as a hard drive manufacturer and with my luck I received my iMac i7 today with a Seagate ST31000528ASQ Drive.

I have read horrible reviews about loud clicking noises and people's hard drive failing.

Do you own one?

yes
1. Has your drive failed?
no
2. Does it make loud clicking noises?
no
3.Do you get long pauses and the beach ball every once in a while or when loading an application?
no
4. Do you get errors when transferring data?
no
so far so good...knock on wood
 
Mine sounds like boiling water in a hot mist humidifier. Or a growling stomach. all the time. :mad:
 
Of the two iMacs I had (first one returned due to the glass being half filled with piss), the one I have now acts much better than the other one.

My first iMac would pause and beach ball a lot. I mean coming in from sleep would take a good 10 seconds, then 10 seconds of watching a beach ball spin. I would get it constantly when using iMovie and iPhoto.

This one (current iMac) has the same HDD, and its not done any of those things. Could have just been a defective HDD. They both make the same grumble noise while they are accessing, which I don't mind... I am a pretty old school computer guy, I like the sound of a hard drive reading/writing.... I don't know what it is. Its not really loud, and you can easily ignore it.... and usually only audible when you are accessing a large file or opening up a large application.
 
I want to know from people's experience who own an iMac with a Seagate drive?
I hate Seagate as a hard drive manufacturer and with my luck I received my iMac i7 today with a Seagate ST31000528ASQ Drive.

I have read horrible reviews about loud clicking noises and people's hard drive failing.

Do you own one?

1. Has your drive failed?

2. Does it make loud clicking noises?

3.Do you get long pauses and the beach ball every once in a while or when loading an application?

4. Do you get errors when transferring data?

Yes I own an i7 with the Seagate 1TB drive you're talking about.

1. No
2. It makes a fairly quiet ticking sound (kind of like a car idling but way quieter).. 'volume' is fairly relative. Coming from a PC that sounds like a helicopter, the ticking seems quiet to me :p
3. (I'm new to mac.. beach ball = the multicoloured mouse icon on-screen?). Not that I've noticed so far.
4. Haven't put any files on my i7 thanks to the yellow tinge so can't comment.

What I have noticed though is a little grumbling / intermittent noises, almost as if it's accessing the drive, while it is sleeping.
 
Ordered a 27" iMac i5 for a client in November 09, FINALLY received it today. It has a ST31000528ASQ in it.

While I was setting it up, it began performing sluggish, then became unresponsive after about an hour. I turned it off and on again. Now it doesnt boot. I just get folder with ? mark

It was hot enough to burn me on the top left (about 65 degrees C).

SMART status - fine
verify disk - fine
apple hardware test - fine (quick and extended)

Format and reinstall - failed.
zero all data - failed.

error: "Assert: internal error or unimplemented"

spent 2 hours on the phone to apple and the muppets finally believe my hard disk is faulty. Looks like the apple hardware test doesn't test the hard disk. FFS!

I think I might convince the client to buy the applecare warranty.
 
I have this drive and it failed in my i7. I sent it back and am awaiting a replacement. When I called Apple they were not shocked at all and almost rushed to get me an exchange ordered. I bet it happens frequently.
 
I have this drive and it failed in my i7. I sent it back and am awaiting a replacement. When I called Apple they were not shocked at all and almost rushed to get me an exchange ordered. I bet it happens frequently.

Sorry to hear about your situation but why would they be shocked to hear about a hard disk failure (of any model) at AppleCare, considering the only reason people call them is to request warranty service on their Macs? Did you expect them to gasp in horror?

The HD in my previous iMac (mid-2007 24") failed two years into AppleCare and they rushed to replace it for me too. Oh, and that was a Western Digital.
 
Sorry to hear about your situation but why would they be shocked to hear about a hard disk failure (of any model) at AppleCare, considering the only reason people call them is to request warranty service on their Macs? Did you expect them to gasp in horror?

The HD in my previous iMac (mid-2007 24") failed two years into AppleCare and they rushed to replace it for me too. Oh, and that was a Western Digital.

Why? I worked telephone tech support for over two years. As a support agent for Apple, I would have at least had the customer reboot and run Disk Utility to initiate a repair. The fact that they didn't even have me perform this task raises flags of known, more broad problems they are having for them to assume such a failure. I had already performed this but they didn't know that.
 
The other machine in my residence is an i5 iMac with the ST31000528ASQ drive. I can verify that it makes clicking sounds on occasional, often at boot and wake from sleep,a s well as a few other occasional times. I would think that its the drive spinning up, I'm not too worried (especially since data is backed up).
 
I just check mine [Hitachi]..mine arrived Jan15 ..Is this just as good as a seagate?
Very happy with first mac.
 
Why? I worked telephone tech support for over two years. As a support agent for Apple, I would have at least had the customer reboot and run Disk Utility to initiate a repair. The fact that they didn't even have me perform this task raises flags of known, more broad problems they are having for them to assume such a failure. I had already performed this but they didn't know that.

That depends entirely on the situation. If you're getting a flashing folder with a question mark at bootup, for example, this is an indication of HD failure and they aren't going to ask you to run Disk Utility.

In the case of the Western Digital that failed on my previous iMac I couldn't even see the drive from Disk Utility on the Leopard DVD anymore much less repair it.

In any event, it hardly validates your conspiracy theories that they offered to replace your HD for you no questions asked. The replacement will be the same make and model by the way.
 
The other machine in my residence is an i5 iMac with the ST31000528ASQ drive. I can verify that it makes clicking sounds on occasional, often at boot and wake from sleep,a s well as a few other occasional times. I would think that its the drive spinning up, I'm not too worried (especially since data is backed up).

This sounds similar to what mine does.. sounds more like 'operational' clicking than 'broken' clicking :eek:

I mentioned it to the Authorised Service place I took my i7 to to have the LCD panel replaced (for The Tinge). They ran the hardware check thing and had a bit of a listen and said it is fine, any clicks they heard are from the hard drive 'parking' itself when it's worked out that the drive isn't being used. ie it spins down and then locks itself in place. I should only get concerned if I start getting delays when accessing apps / files.

Sounded like a genuine explanation to me.. anyone think otherwise?
 
Ordered a 27" iMac i5 for a client in November 09, FINALLY received it today. It has a ST31000528ASQ in it.

While I was setting it up, it began performing sluggish, then became unresponsive after about an hour. I turned it off and on again. Now it doesnt boot. I just get folder with ? mark

It was hot enough to burn me on the top left (about 65 degrees C).

SMART status - fine
verify disk - fine
apple hardware test - fine (quick and extended)

Format and reinstall - failed.
zero all data - failed.

error: "Assert: internal error or unimplemented"

spent 2 hours on the phone to apple and the muppets finally believe my hard disk is faulty. Looks like the apple hardware test doesn't test the hard disk. FFS!

I think I might convince the client to buy the applecare warranty.

Just got it back from the Appleshop. They replaced it with a hitachi drive, which is silent and is working fine at the moment.
 
Internal HD noise iMac 27 inch

Hello. Yes I do have the noise also, which is very quiet, but noticeable in a quiet environment. Various operations of the iMac do it, for example opening items from the Dock, like iPhoto. It isnt loud enough to bother you normally but it is definitely noticeable. The best way I have heard it described is as a very weak stomach grumbling noise or one person in the Apple form described it as a 'coffee pot on idle'!
Obviously it is difficult to describe a sound but the best one I've seen (heard) is someone on the Apple Forum who made a recording of it. You will hear a bit of mike noise at the beginning and end, but in the middle you can hear the sound that is trying to be described. You will have to listen quietly to hear it.
http://pieter-1asfz.posterous.com/9152957
I have the i5 with the Seagate Hard Drive. I don't think we will gain anything by an individuals personal hate against Seagate. I would assume they make some very good equipment and this may just be one problem area that should be looked into.

Otherwise I am happy with the iMac, it has worked very well but this noise can be noticeable and I would hope there is a way of curing it eventually.
Cheers.
 
New i7 iMac Seagate lasts one day

I just bought a 27 inch i7 yesterday. Today after it completed a 850 MB software update the iMac wouldn't reboot sucessfully. It got the gray falling curtain failure. Tried several things and decided to reinstall the system from the DVD. The DVD booted fine, the re-install seemed to go OK but wouldn't reboot from the hard drive. I decided to see if reinstalling from an external drive would work. That went great. I'm running on an external WD 2TB drive right now and writing zeroes to the internal Seagate. Will try reinstall after that.

No clicking noises or other unusual noises. The drive seems reasonably quiet. I don't really want to drive back to the Apple store unless I have to. The drive performed flawlessly for ONE DAY. Haven't had a bad hard drive since the IBM Hungarian DeathStar drives. Seagate is having a hard time competing with WD.
 
Mine sounds like boiling water in a hot mist humidifier. Or a growling stomach. all the time. :mad:
That's what mine sounds like sometimes...a grumbling stomach.
Bad news, got a S.M.A.R.T. failure over the weekend. :(
 
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.