iMAC Hard Drive noise

Hi

I have recently got the new imac (2011) 21.5". I got the upgraded version with 1TB WD1001FALS-403AA0. The drive is so noisy! The constant humming is enough to drive one crazy when the machine is on and and the room is quiet. Mounting the machine on some foam rubber reduces the hum but it is still annoying. I think it must be the spindle motor causing it to be so noisy - when you touch the aluminium case or screen you can feel the vibration. I am just outside the 14 return period but I may take it back to my local Apple store to get it checked.

I have an imac 2008 and that is so quiet.

Bought my iMac 27" 1TB last week, same problem.

Hard drive modell: ST31000528AS

I think it's the hard drive, what makes the constant noise. When you turn to sleeping mode and then turn back: First the fans start with a quiet noise, then the hard drive spins up. It's much louder than the fans. Very annoying in calm surroundigs.

I will bring it back to my dealer tomorrow. Lets see what they say.

I've put some rubber under the stand as some people recommended. This will cancel most of the hum, but the spinning noise of the drive remains unchanged.

Same issue here with drive ST31000528AS, iMac i7 3.4 ghz. Not terrible but somewhat annoying.

Have any of you talked to AppleCare or taken into an Apple Store?

Could swapping for a new HD solve the issue?

I've been to the reseller store where I bought it. They will exchange the drive, but they couldn't promise it would get better afterwards.

I will get back the iMac next Tuesday and will report of the effect.

Did the new hard drive fix your problem?

I called Apple Care and they replaced all the fans and the hard drive. New hard is Western Digital. Maybe slightly quieter but still hear the constant spin of the HD.

Same problem for me ever since I recieved my 2010 i5 iMac. The WD1001FALS HDD produces rotiational/vibrational noise (some 120Hz constantly annoying hum as you may expect from a 7200rpm drive) as long as it is ON. As I my iMac has a SSD as well, it stops when I eject the HDD... not really a sustainable solution... I can actually feel the vibration when I put my hand on the stand... seems that there is a design issue with resonance in the aluminum body and stand that amplifies the vibration as far as I can tell. Pity that Apple do not offer replacement with silent drives that exist in the market even from their suppliers. Putting the machine onto a dampening pad doesn´t solve the issue as much of the noise comes from the machine itself... not to be expected from a computer this expensive. So I am considering of getting on of the really quiet drives (ie from those Green Series), some of which rotate at lower rpm which may add to getting the resonance minimized.

I confirm that my iMac 21.5'' Core i5 2011 has a constant HDD humming as well. It's not too loud, but very recognizable in a silent room even from some meters away. the HDD access noise does not bother me as it's quiet enough. Actually all Apple coomputers I have had a crappy loud hard drives, which is weird for the computers of such price. While the silent drives do exist on the market, Apple prefers to install a cheap hard drives to save some bucks. I am really disappointed that 2011 models have a proprietary hard drives, which limit the upgrade. I tried to listen to this Mac at the shop where I purchased it and heard nothing, but the room was not perfectly silent. When I ran it at home I've got the noise immediately. I have Hitachi 2 Tb drive (it's pretty old model to install in 2011 computers, what a shame Apple). While the drive speed is good, the humming just kills the entire iMac idea , because you have it right at your face. I don't wish to go back to the shop cause it's actually in another country and it will be not easy to move it back and forth.. And I doubt they will be able to help me.

I am just curious is this humming in every iMacs with 2 Tb Hitachi, or mine is not OK?

BTW there are LOTS of complaints on noisy iMAc HDDs for years, and it's weird Apple does nothing to fix it.

I would probably prefer to have a 1 Tb HDD without a humming, than pay so much extra for BTO iMac just to get this problem. I think I will try to replace my HDD at some moment, but with 2011 iMac limitations that could be some problem if you are not in the USA.

Meantime, the WD100FALS 1TB HDD (which had been tested to be most noisy and most vibrational) is now replaced by a Samsung Spinpoint HD204UI 2TB HDD (5200rpm/32MB/8.9ms, best ratings on heat, noise, and vibration): Aaaaaaaah! All that´s left is a gentle fan noise.

However, even in the 2010 model, Apple used a propietary fan control with an extra wire connector. So at first start, the HDD fan began revving up to 3000+ rpm because in the absence of the desired temp signal, it assumed a temp sensor fail. If you do not want to replace one noise issue for another, try the "HDD Fan Control" app that allows to control fan speeds thru System Preferences via the SATA HDD temp signal and still ramps up fans if the computer heats up. Works fine, but is an extra $30... There are cost-free ways to reduce fan speeds, but they don´t seem to provide the progressive fan speeds, which may result in a overheating risk.However, this may be limited by using a really "cool" drive such as the HD204UI. I just preferred belts and braces here...

System has been running well for a couple of weeks now with no issue at all, and no noticable difference in performance! System temps are usually driven by monitor brightness, if you watch iStat.

BTW: the reason I choose Samsung vs The WD Green Caviar alternative is that the WD Green series allegedly do a lot of "parking" of the HDD to save energy, which may result in limited lifetime, according to some forums, and may also increase practical response times in standard use.

Also, you may want to check that OWC may now have developed a viable workaround for the 2011 proprietary HDD issue.

And I cannot agree more with the other folks here that a top-of-the line and top-priced desktop should not be compromised by saving $10 on the HDD, if at all.... that just stinks!

Zebadger, do you mean your Samsung HDD still sounds like a gentle fan noise, or you don't hear hdd spinning at all now?

I used Barracuda 1.5 Tb drive in older 2007 iMac and it was almost dead silent there, I could hear it only with my ear touching the screen panel. It's also 7200 RPM and it's unclear why vendors continue to ship noisy Hdds in 2011 and how Apple chooses components for their pricey systems.

Hitachi Hdd used in my brand new IIMac with Lion pre-installed has 32 mb cache while all new Hitachi drives on the market are 64 mb cache. Apple really saves some bucks by putting crappy hard drives inside. What a nonsense, they couod at least ask custokers what do they want.

By the way, on iMac pwebpage Apple advertises You can hardly hear your iMac is ON. What a ********.