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Mac Forum / General / Hardware / December 2007External Hard Drive Humming
My elderly external hard drive is still functioning but had developed a fairly loud quavering hum or buzz. I doubt that this is a good thing, but is it a sign of impending failure? Thanks Ed > My elderly external hard drive is still functioning but had developed a > fairly loud quavering hum or buzz. I doubt that this is a good thing, > but is it a sign of impending failure? Thanks > Ed This may well be the cooling fan, these tend to be quite low quality and the bearings dry out after a year or 2, a quick test is to stick a matchstick through the air intake grill to stop the fan spinning, if the noise stops then it is the fan at fault, in that case you can either buy a replacement fan (most component suppliers have a range of 'generic' fans) or try to dismantle it and put a small drop of light oil on the bearing (I have done this many times, you can often get another year or 2 out of the fan). Ben. > > My elderly external hard drive is still functioning but had developed a > > fairly loud quavering hum or buzz. I doubt that this is a good thing, [quoted text clipped - 10 lines] > 2 out of the fan). > Ben. I had a couple external HD fans go bad in this way, noisy. The attempts at lubrication were only temporarily successful for me though. Try getting/ finding a replacement fan if possible. If it is not the fan, such noises from the HD itself is NOT a good sign. In that case I'd get any important data off the drive ASAP and or make good backups if (when ) it fails. Good Luck Morenuf  Signaturemorenuf@nobodyhome.com.invalid > If it is not the fan, such noises from the HD itself is NOT a good sign. > In that case I'd get any important data off the drive ASAP and or make > good backups if (when ) it fails. Preferably *before* it fails. SignatureWhile its true that "you can't fix stupid", apparently you can package it up and sell it. -- fnorgby on TMBO > My elderly external hard drive is still functioning but had developed a > fairly loud quavering hum or buzz. I doubt that this is a good thing, > but is it a sign of impending failure? Thanks Yes. A change in the normal sounds is a sign to perform a thorough backup ASAP and replace the drive. SignatureWhile its true that "you can't fix stupid", apparently you can package it up and sell it. -- fnorgby on TMBO > > My elderly external hard drive is still functioning but had developed a > > fairly loud quavering hum or buzz. I doubt that this is a good thing, > > but is it a sign of impending failure? Thanks > > Yes. A change in the normal sounds is a sign to perform a thorough > backup ASAP and replace the drive. Many thanks for all suggestions. I will get on it. Ed > My elderly external hard drive is still functioning but had developed a > fairly loud quavering hum or buzz. I doubt that this is a good thing, > but is it a sign of impending failure? Thanks > Ed Depends where the noise is coming from. A hum or buzz is probably coming from an old power supply. Hard drives themselves usually make more of a clicking or grinding sound when they're dying. Usually due to stiction or something. The fan could also be the culprit, but my money is on the power supply. Isolate the source of the noise. If it's the fan, it won't mean much for the integrity of your drive or the data on it. You should replace the fan, however, to ensure your external drive receives adequate cooling. If it's the power supply, you should be fine until the supply dies. You may want to check that the supply voltages are within acceptable range however. A hard drive that is not getting the required power can have read/write problems. This will usually manifest itself in read errors. However, you'll probably want to do something about replacing the supply/enclosure before you start running into write errors. If it happens to be the drive that is causing the noise, definitely err on the safe side and backup your data to another drive. You may wish to continue using the drive for files that you don't really care about. But definitely stop storing important stuff on there. > Depends where the noise is coming from. A hum or buzz is probably > coming from an old power supply. Hard drives themselves usually make > more of a clicking or grinding sound when they're dying. Usually due to > stiction or something. The fan could also be the culprit, but my money > is on the power supply. A drive can also make a high pitched squealing noise, getting louder and louder over time until the drive fails. SignatureWhile its true that "you can't fix stupid", apparently you can package it up and sell it. -- fnorgby on TMBO > My elderly external hard drive is still functioning but had developed a > fairly loud quavering hum or buzz. I doubt that this is a good thing, > but is it a sign of impending failure? Thanks > Ed Depends where the noise is coming from. A hum or buzz is probably coming from an old power supply. Hard drives themselves usually make more of a clicking or grinding sound when they're dying. Usually due to stiction or something. The fan could also be the culprit, but my money is on the power supply. Isolate the source of the noise. If it's the fan, it won't mean much for the integrity of your drive or the data on it. You should replace the fan, however, to ensure your external drive receives adequate cooling. If it's the power supply, you should be fine until the supply dies. You may want to check that the supply voltages are within acceptable range however. A hard drive that is not getting the required power can have read/write problems. This will usually manifest itself in read errors. However, you'll probably want to do something about replacing the supply/enclosure before you start running into write errors. If it happens to be the drive that is causing the noise, definitely err on the safe side and backup your data to another drive. You may wish to continue using the drive for files that you don't really care about. But definitely stop storing important stuff on there. |
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