SATA Hard Drives.. high pitch tone?

Discussion in 'Hardware' started by gnome, Jun 18, 2008.

  1. gnome

    gnome

    It seems all of my SATA HDs omit a high pitched tone which rises and falls in tone as the spindle starts up and shuts down when powered down. Some of them are louder than others,... all-but-one of mine do it.

    All of my Seagates do it as well as my Spinpoint... but not my Maxtor.

    Have you guys found this to generally true? What about WD?

    TIA
     
  2. Tums

    Tums

    backup your drives now !
     
  3. gnome

    gnome


    That's not it. They all do it... or at least 5 out of 6 that I own..., even brand new. I contacted tech support at Seagate and they said "they should be silent".

    Or, maybe it's just that I've got ears like a frickin' bat... and others don't hear it.
     
  4. kinar

    kinar

    I can't hear a high pitched noise with my 3 sata drives (2WD and 1Maxtor) in my main computer...however, that is probably because my 10k rpm raptor is the loudest piece of hardware in my computer...
     
  5. gnome

    gnome

    3 HDs in one box? I couldn't stand the noise of 2...
     
  6. depending on the make and model they will make more or less noise.

    The WD AKS series is supposed to be the more silent ones.
     
  7. gnome

    gnome

    Yes, they all make a little noise... like the clicking of the arm thrashing about while seeking.. or a general hum.

    But this high pitched tone is new in my experience to SATAs. I never noticed it with IDE drives.

    The noise could be coming from the spindle, or perhaps some sort of capacitor(?)
     
  8. I use ony WD Raptor models with dis-coupled suspension to prevent more noise trasmitted to the metallic case (resonance effect); also my PC has internal anti-noise panels.
     
  9. gnome

    gnome

    It's not even that... not vibration noise.. it sounds like an electronic tone or the friction from the spindle at full speed...
     
  10. Banjo

    Banjo

    gnome, never had that prob. Did it just start with existing drives or are these new drives. If existing use a utility to check the drive temps. If the temps are all high it can be caused by faulty voltage , failing power supply. A wierd full moon is due, it may just be the bats in your belfry getting loose. :D
     
    #10     Jun 18, 2008