New Penryn MBP hard drive problem?

[danzzz]

I returned my Penryn MBP today due to the continuous clicking sound from HD (occurred every 30 seconds). After being checked by Genius Bar, they replaced me with a new one.

I've just started to use the new one for less than one hour and had this problem again. So, I doubt if most of the Penryn MBPs in LA market have this "defect"? (Two MBP are from different stores - Pasadena, and The Grove)

I don't even know if I should go to Apple store again to ask for a replacement since there's a big chance that I will receive another new MBP with same problem.

For people who do not have this issue, could you help me check the model of your HD? Mine is FUJITSU MHY2200BH (for both).

Thank you.


(Forgot to mention the yellowish screen problem - both of the MBP I used have this issue, but this does not really bother me)

 

[rezonat0r]

Sounds to me like the drive is simply going into a standby/power saving mode and parking the heads. More than likely it's entirely normal, but if it bothers you, see if you can get a unit with a different drive, like the higher capacity 250GB.

 

[danzzz]

Sounds to me like the drive is simply going into a standby/power saving mode and parking the heads. More than likely it's entirely normal, but if it bothers you, see if you can get a unit with a different drive, like the higher capacity 250GB.

I'm sorry but why getting a 250gb hd can solve this problem?

 

[rezonat0r]

Well, a different model/brand of drive should have different power saving characteristics depending on the firmware and the hardware inside. I know, definitely not a perfect solution : )

Unfortunately your drive is just a little noisy when it sleeps - it's possible not all drives of the same model do that, but as you've said, 2 have been very similar. There might be a firmware update for that drive, or some way to disable its sleep mode, but I don't think it could be done easily. That's why I'm thinking just getting a different brand of drive, either lower or higher capacity, would be the easiest fix.

 

[chihau]

the same problem

I have the same Macbook PRO with the same hard disk (FUJITSU MHY2200BH) and the same click sound (every 30 seconds).

it's normal ??? I am from Chile

Thanks

 

[Sir Cecil]

All hard drives emit some degree of light clicking. Only a few days ago, I was a bit concerned that my new MBP HD was a little clickier-sounding than my old Powerbook's. But I'm glad I didn't take it back because now that I've mentally "switched off" from listening for it and imagining something might be wrong, I don't even notice it.

Seems to me, if one listens out for this stuff on ANY laptop, one can find it. There must be hundreds of perfectly good laptops returned because people get hung up on what are actually normal and very minor mechanical sounds (which are still there on replacements).

Needless to say, if there is a real problem (very loud clicking or clear sounds of distress), that's an entirely different matter!

 

[skorpien]

This is just the hard drive's head parking. OSX does this more aggressively than other operating systems from my research. I, too, was worried when my (first ever) MacBook Pro started making these sounds. I did a lot of research online and found that it's the OS that does this as a safety measure. There are ways of turning it off, but it's not recommended as it can severely damage your HDD in a drop. My drive's the 7200 rpm Hitachi drive, and from what I've read that's even noisier than the stock 250 GB 5400 rpm drives. Like the person above me suggested, it's best not to be paranoid about this issue and tune it out when you're working on your MBP. I only noticed the noise because I was using my MBP in a quiet environment for the first time since getting it, so it's probably always been there.