ibook g3 clamshell 1st gen corrupts HDDS

[jrme421]

i bought very recently a clamshell, the hdd was making a clicking sound so i changed it before the screen would only show an exclamation mark. before completely putting it all back together i installed the OS and it was fine, i could format the hdd and everything worked smootly. so i turn the computer off,

i get myself a nice cold beer and watch tv for an hour as a reward

then i decide to turn on the computer and that new hdd is cliking and doesnt work like the one before

i dont know what to do now.

the computer i got is in brand new condition, the previous owner barely used it, it is the very first model ever released

i read online maybe it is the computer corrupting drive

but then what to do? i used a 6gb toshiba ATA as a replacement

please help

 

[2984839]

I suppose there could be an issue with how they're mounted. If a spinner HDD is not mounted solidly and correctly, it might shift and sitting at a weird angle could put unnatural stress on the bearings and cause it to fail. This would be less likely in a laptop however because there's less room for it to move around. In any case, an SSD would work at any angle and might be a good option.

But there's a more likely cause, which is just that you replaced a very old drive with a very old drive. Could be they were both ready to fail. Even if they were rarely used, they have had a lot of years to get kicked around in boxes, dropped, etc.

 

[jrme421]

I suppose there could be an issue with how they're mounted. If a spinner HDD is not mounted solidly and correctly, it might shift and sitting at a weird angle could put unnatural stress on the bearings and cause it to fail. This would be less likely in a laptop however because there's less room for it to move around. In any case, an SSD would work at any angle and might be a good option.

But there's a more likely cause, which is just that you replaced a very old drive with a very old drive. Could be they were both ready to fail. Even if they were rarely used, they have had a lot of years to get kicked around in boxes, dropped, etc.

it still would be a hell of a coincidence that this one hdd was ready to fail after one use. i dont mind getting a new one, even ssd. but if its to see the same thing happen. no thanks

 

[2984839]

it still would be a hell of a coincidence that this one hdd was ready to fail after one use. i dont mind getting a new one, even ssd. but if its to see the same thing happen. no thanks

It would be a coincidence, but when dealing with old components, I always suspect the components first. It sounds like whatever happened caused a mechanical failure rather than data corruption, so an SSD would not be susceptible to the same sorts of failures a spinner would.

 

[jrme421]

all rigth thanks, what if i get another but more recent ata hdd, you think it would fail too?

 

[weckart]

You could also look at that other neglected component - the ATA cable. That often causes many an upset that is blamed on the actual hard drive.

As for the hard drive, you should go for something like 40GB or larger even if you don't need or want the additional room. First, they are cheaper and more plentiful than older, lower capacity ATA drives, which are sometimes required for older notebooks, whose BIOS struggles with anything over 512MB/8GB or sometimes, somewhere in between. Second, they tend to be more frugal with power consumption, while still being faster than their predecessors, which is a good thing for battery life if that is an issue for you. Third, they are quieter. Much quieter. The stock Clamshell drives were noisy and ofter suffered from that annoying tinkling sound when spinning up. Fourth, the newer the drive, the less likely on average that it will fail, although I find hard drives are hardier than most people think. I have one from the 1980s that is still fine and dandy.