2011 Macbook Pro Hard Drive noise.

Take it in to an Apple genius and see what they say. Since we can't actually hear your machine it is difficult to tell whether or not it is normal.

Hi Anderson,

I just bought the new MBP 13" yesterday. I use to have the 2010 MBP 13" and it did seem much more quite compare to the new one. I'm not sure if this is a defected model or it is normal with the faster cpu.

Please let me know if you find and additional information on this issue.

Hi,

I, too, have noticed a louder hard drive. I just swapped my 2010 15" 2.66 GHz dual-core i7 MbP (purchased 2 weeks ago) for the newly released 2011 2.2 GHz quad-core i7. After a couple of days of use it seems to me that the hard drive is slightly noisier than the last one. It's not an abnormal sound, but just seems to be a bit more noticeable in a quiet room. I thought it could very well have something to do with the fact that the new 750 GB drive is manufactured by Toshiba versus the old 500 GB by Hitachi - different manufacturers, slightly different construction and noise level - but on another thread ( http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?threadID=2768864) someone mentioned it could be related to the fact that more noise is associated with larger drives.

Would be interested in what other 2011 MbP owners have to say...

Cheers,

Chris

I too noticed this. I got a new 13"i7 yesterday as an advance replacement for my new MBP 13" 2010 model. While setting it up to transfer data from the old MBP to the new one I immediately noticed that the 2011 i7 was much much louder. There is this constant buzzing sound coming from the right bottom corner. Is this what you are experiencing too? I;ve searching other forums too and this seems to be happening to a LOT of people!

I was wondering what to do: go back or just wait it out maybe if so many peopel are experiencing this it's normal?

FYI, I had to exchange my MbP for an unrelated issue today, and the hard drive noise on the new one is no different. This is obviously something related to the new drive size/manufacturer, and is likely nothing to be concerned about.

Cheers,

Chris

Just got my Macbook pro 13" this week and noticed while the house was exceptionally quiet (usually not the case) that the HDD was making intermittent noises a bit metallic sounding but definitely head movement. Does not sound like a "failing" nose as herd at this site: http://datacent.com/harddrivesounds.php
According to my system info the installed HDD is a: Hitachi HTS545032B9A302. My experience with other Hitachi drives is that they tend to be nosier than some others.I figure I have a one year warranty and back up regularly so if it fails in warranty which if the noises are not normal it should do, no problem. if it fails out of warranty fine as well. I eventually want to upgrade to a 500GB or greater HDD anyway. Just my thoughts.

I just got my new 2011 15" 2.0 I7 about a week ago. It has the 5400 rpm drive. To me it is very, very quiet. I don't have any other MBP to compare to because I switched from a Toshiba laptops. The new MBP is very quiet compared to the Toshiba. I actually have to really force myself to even hear the new Apple.

I managed to actually record some of the HDD sounds I mentioned in my previous post using a digital voice recorder with the mic directly above the right palm rest. See Link here: http://s658.photobucket.com/albums/uu305/bobyouh/Public%20Photos/?action=view&cu rrent=MacPro2011HDD_Sounds.mp4
Let me know if any of yours sound similar.

Just wondering if anyone has had success getting this issue fixed with AppleCare.

I have a 2010 MBP with a Hitachi 500gb HD that makes a fairly loud "whirring" noise. The noise disappears when i apply a bit of pressure to the area (such as placing my wrist on it when typing). I doubt this could be considered a faulty hard drive but it's a bit disconcerting, as the computer was dead silent for the first 2 weeks I owned it.

Hi I am getting the exact same noise! Did you find out why it's happening?

My new 2011 MBP has the same issue. The noise is not loud, but very annoying. I have the Mac on all day and my office is usually very quiet. I have tried to ignore it for a week, so far, still bothered quite a bit by the noise. Quite frustrating. I understand that nothing is perfect, but the noise is really bothersome when you are in a quiet place.

I am not sure what to do at the moment. Has anyone have a new MBP that doesn't have the noise? Or exchanged one that is quiet? From the postings here, doesn't sound like an exchange will get me a quieter one.

Take a look at a picture of the inside of my MBP 13". http://i658.photobucket.com/albums/uu305/bobyouh/Public%20Photos/HDDMountingMacb ookpro13.jpg The HDD is very close to the enclosure frame. At the bottom right corner of the HDD you can see the rubber isolator, and believe me that there is not much distance to the aluminum frame of the enclosure. After time, movement,and thermal cycles things can shift and if the HDD housing even slightly contacts the aluminum enclosure noise from the HDD can be amplified through the aluminum enclosure.In my case I do not believe the noise is indicating an impending failure but this is only my best guess we should always rely on a habit of backing up our data regularly because if the HDD will fail is not the question but rather when it will fail.

i got the same issue, i only notice it when the room is extremely quiet. its much more noticeable than my 2007 macbook and 2009 macbook pro though. all in all am happy with my new 15inch mbp!

btw i got the 750gb HD

Hi all,

Well, I'm happy to see I'm not the only one having the same issue. The noise isn't that loud, but it's definitely annoying. From all the macs I had, it's the first one with this kind of issue. Now I have to put my wrist on the right side of the trackpad all the time 😟

I doubt Apple Care will do anything about this, but has anyone tried ? I've also looked at a software to check the rotation speed of the disk but I had no luck. Does anyone know a software to check / control the rotation speed ?

I too have the 15" MBP early 2011 with the standard 750 GB @ 5400 rpm.

Looking forward for an answer to this issue ...

Cedric.