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27" iMac hard drive noise

I just picked up a 27" iMac with the 1 T HD. I can hear the hard drive any time the computer is "working". Took the first one back to the Apple store and exchanged it, thinking I had a defective machine. The replacement makes the same noise.
Anyone else having this issue? Are these things supposed to be this noisy?

imac

Posted on Nov 24, 2009 8:13 PM

Reply
594 replies

Nov 25, 2009 4:55 AM in response to imracin68j

It seems some of the 1TB HDD suffer this issue, MacRumours has a thread discussing this. The best description that many have described is that it sounds like your stomach rumbling - it really is most disconcerting and intrusive. I cannot imagine Apple designed such a wonderful piece of kit with such silent fans only for the HDD to obnoxiously announce it's presence constantly.

Currently have Applecare looking into it and to be fair they have so far been very responsive to the issue, however I know I cannot live with this awful noise so it looks like I will have to exchange for a new iMac - my only worry is I get another noisy HDD in any exchange.

Nov 25, 2009 11:20 AM in response to Nathan Hill1

My first 21.5-inch iMac had a 1TB hard drive that made this chu-chug sound. Really quite loud and obtrusive, not at all Apple-like. But it probably wasn't a hardware defect, and simply a characteristic of the model of hard drive used in that particular iMac.

My second 21.5-inch iMac doesn't make this sound. The model of the hard drive is ST31000528ASQ. Apparently this is a Seagate hard drive.

The only problem with returning your iMac to get one with a quieter hard drive is that you could get a DIFFERENT problem, such as a whistling screen! In returning an Apple product you're often swapping one problem/annoyance for another.

Nov 25, 2009 11:28 AM in response to suzkid

Oh my God, I am freaking out. Should I order my i5 now or wait until Apple says something about these problems and have them fixed? (The screen flickering and DOA machines)

I live in El Salvador, Central America and I am having the machine sent from the States from a friend and as you may imagine, the returning may be a pain in the butt... Please help

Nov 25, 2009 1:16 PM in response to suzkid

Mine is doing the same. Sounds like a grinding noise. AppleCare asked me to take it to a Genius Bar.
They couldn't hear it because it was so **** noisy in the Apple Store. So I played the recording of it from my iPhone.
Anyway, he said it was probably a fan for the hard drive, since that's the only moving part in the machine. Of course, these machines are so new they don't have parts in the repair dept. yet.
So I wait till they call.
I hope that will fix it.

Nov 27, 2009 6:59 AM in response to suzkid

Hi all,

There are multiple threads on macrumors.com regarding this issue.. Here is what I have been able to piece together based upon all of the feedback:

1) The noise is indeed like a stomach grumbling, and it is happening often. When surfing the web, scrolling a webpage, typing an email, etc. It is annoying and distracting.

2) It seems limited to the Seagate 1 tb drive within the iMac, and is happening with both the 21.5 and 27 inch models. There are a few iMacs with a Western Digital drive, and it seems that is not making any noticeable noise, however the Western Digital drive iMacs seem to be few and far between.

3) It also seems that the 2tb Hitachi drive on the Build To Order iMac is completely silent (again based on feedback from folks)

Many folks have been returning their machines (including myself) to attempt to get another one with a quieter Seagate drive or the elusive Western Digital drive. A few folks have reported success, but it seems that most of us doing the swap are getting another noisy Seagate drive.

I took my iMac back to the Apple Store on Wed and had the same experience as someone else on this post. The Genius tried to troubleshoot it at a noisy and crowded Genius bar rather than taking it to a quiet room in the back. He heard the noise but did not understand the true impact of how noisy it is in a quiet environment, but did agree to switch out to a new iMac. My new iMac is even a bit louder however my experience has shown that it is sometimes louder than other times.

As my new iMac also has a gray shadow like bar at the bottom of the screen and considerable yellow shading on the right side of the screen, this machine is going back tomorrow and I will special order a 2tb drive as I do want a quiet experience when using the iMac (and a clean LCD screen of course). Actually, I will most likely wait until after the holidays once Apple has this stuff sorted out.

I have confirmed (as of Wednesday) that Apple has not addressed this in a knowledge base bulletin, so my guess is that this sound falls in Apple's normal noise limits. As someone else mentioned here, I find it really, really hard to believe that Apple would go to the trouble of creating this big, beautiful, elegant machine with virtually silent fans only to have a hard drive grumble, grumble, grumble at every visit to a website. I know folks will say, hey, its a hard drive, it makes noise, but this sound is aggravating, and happens a LOT. Also, as the feedback has been that the 2tb drive is virtually silent, it does appear that it is possible.

Nov 29, 2009 10:23 PM in response to SeminolesFan

Hi SeminolesFan and everyone on this forum:

Facing the same ANNOYING issue on my brand new i5. The grumbling is quite disturbing. I am also willing to upgrade my HD to 2TB.
Since my local store does not carry the 2TB model in stock, what are the steps that you or anyone else in this forum, recommend that I follow to exchange this i5 1TB for a 2TB?

ALL help is truly appreciated it!
Thanks

Nov 30, 2009 12:17 PM in response to suzkid

Hey guys,

I have a 2tb hitachi drive in my imac 27 inch core I7 it does make a little noise I can hear it work but it's normal. But some hard drives do make more noise than others I've been a apple tech for many years Ive noticed that a lot of hard do have a "break in period" which means that the first 70 to 100 hours of use might be a little bit noisier but that's normal because as the head of the hard drive arm mechanism is brand new so when it get's used up a little bit it won't be as loud as when it's brand new. Also the bearings get used up a bit so it operates more smoothly.

Cheers
Jeremie

Nov 30, 2009 2:37 PM in response to sobemen

Hi Sobemen,

I brought my (second) iMac back to the Apple store on Saturday, and explained the situation to the Genius, as well as the fact that my screen had some of the yellow tinting issues explained on the threads. I told him the 2tb drives seem to be less noisy (based upon feedback from the macrumors threads) and I wanted to give it a shot. They were totally cool about it, and issued me an apple gift card on the spot in the amount of the money I spent on the iMac, and I worked with an Apple Specialist to order the 2tb drive on line. No re-stocking fee applied. (I think the gift card scenario works better for the Apple store as well as they are not losing revenue on the purchase)...

Now I am waiting for my 2tb drive to arrive, and I can certainly update everyone once I get a chance to test it out. Bottom line is that some users have stated that the 2tb drive can be noisy as well, but the majority of 1tb Seagate users (including myself) have complained about the noise... I am hoping not to experience the constant grumbling with the 2tb drive!

Message was edited by: SeminolesFan

27" iMac hard drive noise

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