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Help with noisy hard drive


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My new Gateway is fast and quiet (one of their selling points), EXCEPT for the hard drive, which sounds very crackly/static whenever it's seeking. Is this normal for Barracuda SATA 160GB 7200 rpm drives, or do you think I have a lemon? Gateway is sending a new one, but I'm, skeptical it will be any different. Any recommendations for quiet hard drives? None of my older computers have this issue. Thanks.
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Bad drive I'll bet. I'm not familiar with the Barracude SATA drive but the other Barracudas I've had were as quiet as anything else I've used.

 

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Originally posted by doug osborne:

Yes, Seagate Barracudas are from my experience the quietest drives.

 

When you say noisy, do you mean that the crackle/static comes from the drive (acoustic noise) or from the speakers as the drives seek?

Crackle comes from drive itself. Speakers aren't even hooked up yet. It sounds like fireworks going off in the far distance, or like static electricity. I know drives make some noise when they seek/write, but this seems excessive. Any way to tell if it's the drive (or my obsession about wanting a quiet computer) without replacing it? Although my daughter even commented coming into the room -- "what's that noise?"
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It sounds like a flaky drive. It happens with all of them.

 

I also buy Seagate Barracuda drives for their quietness. I just put 4 80GB SATA drives (ST3808317AS -- the same class as yours) into a RAID-5 hot swap system. Very quiet and fast.

 

Let us know how it goes.

 

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Thanks everyone. Guess my plan to use the holiday weekend setting up my new computer is a bust. Replacement drive won't be here till next week. At least I hope it solves the problem -- I'll keep you posted on results.
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Originally posted by where02190:

Originally posted by WaterMan:

My new Gateway....

Contact Gateway or your point of purchase, it surely is under warranty.
I did, thanks. They're sending a new one, but I wasn't sure it would be any better, not being familiar with these newer drives. Based on the responses here, it shouldn't be making a scratching noise, so I'm hopeful replacing it will resolve the problem.
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