27" iMac hard drive noise
Anyone else having this issue? Are these things supposed to be this noisy?
imac
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imac
I have a 27" iMac from 2010 and it seems to be making the grinding noise more then it did in the past. The hard drive is: ST31000528AS.
I'm going to turn off the indexing of my entire hard drive from the Spotlight settings and see if that helps.
John, did that work? I noticed the same thing today. it's quite loud. I did notice it going away when I shut down iTunes. I couldn't find anything running in the background. Wondering if it's the iCloud or match process. Anyway, did you find a solution on your end? Thanks
No, turning off indexing did not help.
I guess the drive must be naturally noisy and has been getting worse as it gets older? I guess I'll give up trying to find a solution and eventually just replace the drive with a SSD drive.
i have mine for two years and everything was great until this evening. As I mentioned I closed my iTunes, which has iTunes Match enabled, and nothing but quiet for the last hour. Also, I am in the process of erasing free space and have tons of apps running without that annoying sound now that iTunes is closed.
Hello -
I got my first iMac 27" i5 a few days ago and am a little worried about the noises ist generates. I would like to know if this is something I should/should not worry about. Description:
A clicking sound every couple of seconds, sometimes several times per second, sounds like access to HDD, not audible during sleep mode
a humming which is modulated ith a regular frequency of about 2Hz (difference frequency), about as loud as a regular Dell laptop fan in standby mode, meaning audible but not too loud.
According to various comments found after googling "iMac 27 noise" I can choose from regarding 1) to be normal up to a certain degree, but 2) to be worrisome since it could be the HDD off-center, thereby causing increased wear-and-tear over the course of the HDD lifetime
I also am surprised that my iMac, although purchased just 4 days ago (end of September 2012) says in its information "about this iMac": middle of 2011, and the HDD is one of the notorious Seagate, model # ST31000528AS, however, it is not eligible for the Apple exchange program.
Hardware testing reveals "no trouble", however, I am having difficulties starting the extended hardware check because the iMac doesn't recognize my bluetooth mouse when I do the D after pressing the power button, and the check box for the extended hardware check can't be accessed with the keyboard keys (or I don't know how).
I appreciate any information that would help me to evaluate the situation. I am definitely disappointed though in these weaknesses - there seem to be iMacs out there which are "dead silent" and working, but mine isn't one of those.
Thank you!
HI Minutes,
Although I can't confirm any humming sound, I have had a lot of experiece and done research into the Seagate HD stomach rumbling/thicking noise.
There is nothing wrong with your seagate drive - it makes this sound. As I've said before on this forum I have the exact same drive on a mac pro at work and it makes the same clicking/stomach rumbling sound as the one I have on my 27inch imac at home. It clicks, taps, thuds, rumbles away as you have described. The only difference is my mac pro is several feet away from my two monitors (I use it for recording music) so I don't notice it as much. Even when I'm writing this reply at the moment I can hear my 27inch imac tick tick tick away. Turning off spotlight and other suggestions you may hear about doesn't work so don't waste your time.
I have had the drive replaced twice and each time their is no difference in sound. It's just the sound if the 1TB seagate which you correctly say apple won't replace with another model. It seems hard to believe that a company such as apple won't listen to these complaints but I'm afraid to say they simply ignore you - they will not replace the drive with another model.
Before anyone says 'but all HDs make a noise' the point I have raised with apple time and time again is that I have owned imacs for YEARS and NONE have made a sound like this and been as loud as this. Indeed, I use 21.5 inch models at work and they are virually silient in operation. You have to place your ear to the back of the machine to hear the HD. You can hear my 27 inch from several yards away. As a result, I had no way of expecting that my top of the range imac would make this noise and I am an extremely disappointed apple customer. Yes all HDs (apart from solid state) make a noise but this seagate is really, really noisy and apple sould not have placed these in their machines or should listen to their customers. Many customers, like me, have been buying apple products since well before the days of fancy mac book pros, iphones and ipads and feel extremely let down over this.
I have taken this as far as a senior apple care member.
Regards,
Derek.
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Hi Derek,
thanks for your information on the stomach-grumbling sound. I do remember that kind of sound from the olden days, some HDD in some desktop PC. As I said, for my noise problem #1 which this is, I can live with this as long as I hear that it is normal for that drive. What I am not so sure about is my noise problem #2 - the modulated hum. If it were not modulated I would also say okay let's go with it, but the fact that it is modulated (2Hz, sounds like a slow regular wah-wah effect on the sound emanating from behind the apple symbol i.e. where the HDD is supposedly located). I just tilted the iMac wrt to the base and I got another effect, the modulating frq increasing until it merged with the underlying hum, i.e. it faded. Who or what might be interfering with what to generate that modulation? BTW it is not present in sleep mode.
Hmph.
Grateful for more ideas,
minutes
I've had a listen to mine and can hear something similar to the noise you describe. I have to say though that my machines at work make a similar 'hum' to this so I just thought this was normal.
My imacs at work (not the mac pro) don't though make the regular thump, tick, rumble so that's my main issue.
Please email the guy though as we won't get anywhere unless we work together on this!
Hope this help,
Derek.
Okay! I will. At this moment (with me still in a state of ignorant semi-bliss) I suspect that the seagate HDD may simply not be the best of all possible choices for the iMac... That Apple advertises the silent running for the iMac seems absurd in light (or sound) of this HDD-performance, because it is simply not running silently with this particular HDD. They would call that a "unique selling point" which in this case isn't fulfilled.
Currently I'm still experimenting with angle of iMac wrt desk and ways of insulating iMac from rest of world. Yesterday I inserted a rubber mouse pad to insulate the iMac from the desk, that improved things a bit. I am also not sure if this wah-wah effect is or isn't the result of two parts with a certain similar but not equal and slightly variable frequency, both independently fault-free, but through some sound bridge (the iMac case? ...something inside the iMac?) their respective frequencies start mingling with each other...
Thank you very much for now,
minutes
Hello,
since I can find numerous posts in various boards wrt noise produced by the so-called so-silent-you'll-hardly-know-it's-working iMac, I thought it might be helpful if I conclude my own post by summarizing what I (think I) found out about my noise problem.
1. The clicking sound is produced by the Seagate HDD with the model # ST31000528AS. It rumbles a bit and produces an irregular clicking sound which might be described by a muted dripping of water droplets. I know this sound from HDDs from way back. Apparently, if one checks with the Apple support pages, this is supposed to be "normal". Okay, it may be normal for these types of drives, but it is not good in terms of what has been promised as a USP.
2. The modulated hum that I described is indeed a superposition of the hums of the two devices sitting on my IKEA Galant office table, one iMac, one Dell Laptop, both have an HDD with 7,200rpm; the rpms seem to differ only slightly which explains the low (difference) frequency of about 2Hz. If I shut down either one of the two devices, the annoying modulated hum changes to a smooth even hum. Same result if I lift the laptop off the table (it is kind of stationery there), that gave it away in the end. I won't lift the iMac at this time :-)
The IKEA Galant table might not be the best choice as far as sound absorption is concerned.
I find it disappointing that Apple finds it necessary or can't come up with a HDD that is in fact quiet. There is a completely quiet drive in my Dell laptop, and also, there are quiet HDD in the iMacs that I know and was able to "test-audit". However, I don't see how Apple would be willing to help me anytime soon since there is no actual operational problem, just a discrepancy between what they claim to sell and actually deliver.
This to whom it may concern.
Best regards,
minutes
minutes,
All correct. The only thing I haven't been able to work out is the fact that I have in the past placed my ear at the back of a 27inch imac (with the same seagate dive, I've checked) in a mac store, got a memeber of staff the start up a piece of heavy duty software such as logic and I honestly could only hear what I would describe as whisper like clicks, ie what I'd expect.
I do the same on my mac at home and the HD goes into a noise like a stomach grumbling frenzy that you can hear from the hallway outside my study.
I know the mac store shop floor is noisy but I could honestly take my mac into the same environment and you would be able to hear the rumbling. Yet on the shop floor models you hear virtually nothing. I know all of this sounds hard to believe but I can assure you that I have done this several time, I just keep asking a different member of staff to help me out. None of them have an answer, they just keep saying bring it to the Genius bar but all they will do is replace the seagate with another seagate. As I've said before, I'm now on my 3rd seagate drive and they all have made the same noise so there's just no point in going through it all again.
What you say about other imacs is correct too. I have several 21.5inch models at work and they are virtually silent in operation. On my mac at home I can hear every operation the HD does (including backups when the machine is idle) as these are accompanied by a grunt, dunt and rumble. At work the same tasks using the same sotware are accompanied by small clicks that you have to place your ear against the machines to hear.
In in all it's just so disappointing from a company worth millions.
Regards,
Derek.
hi minutes, that wasn't a great idea to buy an iMac recently... what they sell is now a heavily outdated model. and actually hard drive models were not updated since 2009 there! Apple probably had a contract on a huge number of HDDs with a great discount that's why they're obsolete. My HDD has a constant sound reminding a vacuum cleaner (of course not that loud, but sometimes annoying). they just put a bad components inside, that's it. HDDs were poor in all Mac models I had. Very soom they will release iMac 2012 hopefully they will fix something cause HDD market has so many wonderful models today. But you cannot put those models inside -Apple does not permit a HDD change anymore. If you think your sound is too bad I recommend to replace the HDD for free using your warranty. But not a fact it will help.
took mine in this morning and picked it up this afternoon with the new HD. So far I've only heard the HD during the intial startup! I have had it running for the last few hours...nothing but silence. Perfect, although, it did get replaced with the same Seagate ST31000528as. I was told that is what they were replacing them with...at least in my area
I have purchased 2 27imac i5 in the last 5 months. the one i got in june has a noisy hard drive but also when the hard drive is being noisy the mac seems to slow down.2 weeks ago i bought a 2nd i5 imac for my office and that one has the same hard drive and spec. I run the same software on both and i am the only user. The newer 1 is perfect and runs lightning fast.
They both list as being manufactured in mid 2011.
I have checked the hard drive warranty program that apple are running and i do not qualify.
I am just waiting for apple support to contact me back.
southcoastweb,
can you give us all an up-date as to how you got on? As I've mentioned before, I took my issue right to the top of apple care but failed to get a resolution to my complaint.
They said this was a normal HD operational noise. However, as you point out some machines are quiet and some, like mine on it's 3rd replacement HD are noisy even though they have the same spec and run the same software. I've not had an answer from anyone that can explain this. As I've mentioned before, I have on several occasions went to an apple store, placed my ear against the back of the mac where the HD is situated, got someone to run a large piece of software such as logic and I honestly could only hear whisper like clicks, virtually silent and what you would expect (and what I've had from previous imacs I've owned as well as the new 21.5 inch models I have at work). Yet I do the same with my 27 inch machine at home, same spec, same software and you can hear the HD rumbling and grumbling from the hallway outside my study! The thing never shuts up rumbling, grumbling and poping away. As a result, this is the same as what you're going through (one machine perfect, the other noisy even though it's the same spec) and I'm really interested to see how things are resolved for you.
As I've said before, please, please contact apple care tell them your story I'm fed up with them saying that they 'haven't heard of this issue before'. We all need to work together on this to try and get it resolved.
Cheers,
Derek.
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27" iMac hard drive noise