27" iMac hard drive noise

I'm on my third Imac (1st, yellow tinge, 2nd screen dimming noise) and I just want this to be the one but there's a humming noise comming from the screen: it's the hard disk. It's a 120Hz constant noise and it also vibrates a little.

Seek noises are perfectly normal but the idle noise it's a bit distracting at night. The hard disk is a WD Caviar Black and i've read that these disk are famous for being one of the noisiest in it's class (but excellent performers). Anyone it's getting this noise/vibration too with a WD? Is it possible to get a quiet iMac like my 3 year old 20" iMac?

Thanks!

My hard drive is noisy as well. Have a 1TB SAMSUNG HD103SJ and find it hard to concentrate when working on the comp since it's constantly making the grumbling sound.

If I have it replaced by Apple, will I most likely just get another noisy hard drive? Should I upgrade to the 2tb drive since it's quieter, or will it make as much noise as my current one?

Thanks!

Just got my new imac i7 1TB and it also has the noise. Its all over the internet, wish I would have seen it before buying - Apple will just ignore it. Had noisy fan in a macbook, they kept it for a while and when it came back no difference. I'm sure if I brought it in they would put it on a shelf then call me back in a week and tell me its fixed. We're screwed - now do we return our machines or start listening to music very load and eventually our hearing will deteriorate enough so we can't hear it ....

I HATE my new mac!!!!!!!!!!!!!! i just cant hear that noise!!!!!!!!! seems like old radio!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! but i have just saw that i m not the only one!!!!!!!! if this machine wasnt that good why they have it in stores!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! soooooooooo disapoinded!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Message was edited by: noise imac

I feel you man. I'm a student and was finally able to save up enough money to get a new iMac. Now I'm just frustrated and disappointed. Seems like the more popular Apple gets, the more the quality of their products decreases...

Just got off the phone with apple care. A senior advisor told me that they are aware of the hard drive noise issues, and have researched it. If you're iMac is newer than August 29th, it should be fine... I bought a refurbished in November, but it might be older than August.

Well, the guy told me to return my current one and get a new one instead so hopefully I wont have any issues with the hard drive. I'm getting a 2TB this time since it seems to be quieter.

just got off the phone with apple care. They said it should be silent so they set up an appointment at the local apple store - pain to bring in a 27" imac but better I make sure it's not failing - not to optimistic they will do anything but its only one day old ..... wish me luck! I'll let you know the outcome.

Surprise applecare wasn't aware of problem - called the store to make sure I wasn't wasting my time they said to bring it in - we'll see .....

Left my imac overnight at apple and they did the old testing routine and everything is fine. Well it's not fine but I wasn't going to argue with them. I tried seagate's bootable disc to upgrade firmware but the model is correct the version was not compatible. I'll keep looking for a solution, may just call one of the approved apple shops and see what they would charge for a new drive - I asked apple if they would do it and they said no, the machine is fine and they don't do upgrades. I have had many mac products over the years, every once in a while I have run into problem trying to resolve an issue - this is just another one. This issue is all over the internet, many different countries, seagate and apple could be trying to ignore it to see if it will go away - it probably will as the product gets replaced. So I'm done posting on this subject unless I come up with a solution ....

I have the same frustation and disappointment. It's the seagate ST31000528AS. I'm waiting for a convenient time to have it replaced for the 3rd time and demand a different brand hdd. But here's what i did in the meantime : I needed an external drive for backup anyway, so i copied all my stuff including snow leopard to the the external drive, and used that one as the new startup disk. Probably not the way to go, but now i can browse internet, use iTunes, write a document at the same time without the annoying rumbling sounds. It even runs Logic pro 9 with a multitude of plugins working....i'm finally experiencing my iMac as i hoped i would. External disk: 7200/ 8mb cache/ firewire 800...works great. Maybe i' gonna use the internal seagate for backing up 🙂

I recently purchased a 27" iMac with the i5 quad processor and a Seagate 1TB HD. I find the hard drive noise to be very distracting. It is the stomach grumbling sound that most report here and elsewhere. My older 24" iMac is almost dead quiet using a WD Caviar Black drive. I keep searching to see if Apple has a firmware update, but nothing shows up. To compensate for the HD noise, I now run a fan in the room for some white noise to help cover up the stomach grumbling sound.

@Devo: If you can return the computer. Yeah I know it's a hassle but you paid a lot for it so should try to get a quieter one.

My previous one was extremely loud and instead of having apple check it out I just returned it since the Genius Bar ppl could not hear anything due to all the noise in the store. I know have a WD Caviar Black drive and thought it still makes noise it's much better now.

So if you're still within the 14 days I might consider just returning it and buying a new one.


And now that my hard drive is better I'm having issues with my iMac overheating 😟 It's getting frustrating...

Thanks for the suggestion, but it is too late for an exchange. I'd gladly give up some performance for a quieter hard drive. Maybe a firmware update will be available at some point. Here's hoping anyway.

If the HD is giving the noise you say then it is breaking down. Backup your current HD and bring it back to Apple for a substitute HD. If the Genius says he/she can't hear it because of store noise then bring it when not crowded or somewhere in the back of the store where it's more quiet.

Got my third one, the humming noise like an air conditioner is gone but the same thumping/knocking noise that was in the first one is back on this third one. I had them open the computer in the store to check the hard drive and it is a seagate. I told them i didn't want one with a seagate hard drive but they said, it would be hard to find one with a hitachi or wd without having to open up each one. They took the computer in the back and said they didn't hear the humming noise but they didn't listen for the thumping/knocking noise. I am going back to ask for a replacement hard drive.

I purchased my 27" I7 Quad core yesterday January 1st and started it up and ran the transfer assistant and all seemed good. I hadn't read anything about any of these problems but soon I started hearing the hard drive working and it was pretty loud than the humming started. It has a constant humming that will get louder at times. I have listened all around the back and it seems to be coming from the center of the back of the Imac. Everything else has been perfect but I can't stand the noise. It sits on my desk and I can feel the vibration on the desk top. I called the Apple store where I purchased it and am returning it tomorrow. I really don't know if I will get another one or just get my money back. I have a 24" extreme version from early Jan 2008 and it is very quiet and runs great so I may just keep it and use it. I can even hear it with the TV going in the office where I have it.