iMac disk quite loud

[majkom]

Hi, another question, i used to own 2010 imac (entry) and upgraded to 2011 entry - the previous one had really silent HD, I almost did not notice it, but the new one is quite loud, i think, i hear HD all the time.. is that normal?? (in both imacs, there are WD Hard drives)...

 

[Hellhammer]

About this Mac > More info... > Serial-ATA > Select your HD > Model

Can you copy paste that to this thread so I can check the model of the HD? Also, how big was the HD in your 2010 iMac?

 

[majkom]

WDC WD5000AAKS-402AA0

In both of imacs, it was 500 GB WD hard drive, but this new one is apparently more noisy... actually, i bought external HD to the previous imac and sold it, beacause it was noisy and now, i Have new iMac which is noisy

to make it clear, it is not some ticking noise, it is permanent typical HD noise, maybe fans or disk itself.. i dont know but I am quite dissapointed, whole machine is ruined by that

 

[Hellhammer]

WDC WD5000AAKS-402AA0

In both of imacs, it was 500 GB WD hard drive, but this new one is apparently more noisy... actually, i bought external HD to the previous imac and sold it, beacause it was noisy and now, i Have new iMac which is noisy

Hmmm, it's Caviar Blue so it shouldn't be that noisy. You can, of course, exchange it for a new one if you are within the 14-day return period.

 

[majkom]

not here in czech republic... there is no apple store

 

[Hellhammer]

not here in czech republic... there is no apple store

Where did you buy it from? Check the reseller's return policy and if nothing else, you can ask them to replace the HD if it really is noisy (then it has to be pretty noisy though).

 

[majkom]

some apple authorised reseller... i will see, Ive read somewhere that it takes approx 70 hours to new HD get less noisy.. ill see.. but im quite disappointed though

 

[macchiato2009]

Seagate 2 Tb 7200-rpm offered by Apple is very quiet in my 21.5 high-end 2011 iMac


ST32000541AS

 

[majkom]

just upgrade, i checked fans in istat pro, it says:
opt. drive fan 999 rpm
HD fan 1099 rpm
CPU fan 1199 rpm

so i guess it is not fan but HD... am i right?

 

[majkom]

and i found out that taking machine in to air (holding in hand) i hear nothing, while putting on desk, i hear that noise.. strange

 

[Kendo]

I have this model and my iMac is dead quiet.

ST31000528AS

Which one is this and is it supposed to be a good one?

 

[majkom]

well, i found out that the table might be problem... ill try it on different one and if vibrations disappear, problem is partially solved

 

[pavtan]

noisy hard drive

Hi majkom

I too bought a new imac 2011. The 1TB WD drive is noisy in that the spindle motor itself is making it "hum". It is a constant hum and is enough to drive one crazy when the machine itself including fans is very quiet. Disk head activity when accessing the drive is audible but tolerable. The only way to alleviate the drive "hum" is to put the imac onto a rubber / foam sheet and position it on the table so that the resonance is reduced. That seems to cut down the vibration noise. I also checked the mountings inside and whereas they have rubber bushings on the drive mount, this does not stop the overall drive hum.

Compared to my old imac (2008) the WD drive in that is silent - you only hear the head doing disc access which is fine.

 

[majkom]

Pavtan: i google out, that this problem occurs randomly to several users.. often connectd with ikea tables)) and i got one)) ill try another table during the day and write results here, becasue when imac is lifted, i hear nothing while on the table that deep sound is killing my head

 

[macchiato2009]

Pavtan: i google out, that this problem occurs randomly to several users.. often connectd with ikea tables)) and i got one)) ill try another table during the day and write results here, becasue when imac is lifted, i hear nothing while on the table that deep sound is killing my head

hey you are absolutely right !!!

my IKEA desk is the reason why most of my Macs were not silent, quiet, but no silent

 

[pavtan]

iMac disk quite loud

Hi All

Did some more research today. Managed to get the LCD screen up enough to examine the HDD whilst it was working. The HDD seems to suffer from quite a lot of hum-vibration from the spindle motor. It is a very noisy drive! The rubber bushings on the drive mount are not sufficient to suppress this. You can feel the vibration on the back of the case too. Even if you manage to some how just let the drive rest on some thin foam, say carpet backing foam, that does give some relief from the constant hum. However, if you are not careful, because all the components are so tightly squeezed into the imac, the top part of the drive actually touches the back of the LCD screen and that causes further vibration. I am striving to find a solution other than getting a new drive and then having to cheat the AHT etc and to stop excessive fan noise. ARGH!

My old 2008 imac is as silent as anything..

 

[majkom]

pavtan: did u try different table? ill try soon

 

[pavtan]

iMac disk quite loud

Hi Majkom

I know we should not have to make up for failures of otherwise good products, but, I found that if I put my new imac on a solid piece of wood like a chopping board or cork backed table mat on my desk, then the humming stops! I can still feel the imac case vibrating but the humming has been cut out and I am not being driven mad! I am happy with the result. But, it still begs the question of why the hard drive is so noisy.

I did not have to through all of this research and frustration with my imac 2008 ...