Ugly sounds from IBM 48 GB Travelstar

tjj · 12-30-2002, 03:13 AM

I recently upgraded 10.2.2->10.2.3 on a Powerbook (Pismo 500MHz).
Shortly thereafter, but not immediately, my 48 GB IBM Travelstar drive (about 1 y old) started to emit VERY unpleasant clicking and cackling sounds during which the drive was inaccessible. Fearing the worst, I tried reformatting the drive and cloning back from my back-up. Still had the ugly sounds. Disk utility (v 10.2.2 10.2.3 9.2.2) and TechTool Pro v 3.08 reported no faults. Tried zeroing the drive from 9.2.2 and failed.
Repartioned and reinstalled from a cloned drive (10.2.2). Then Installer wouldn't run. Some sort of permissions issue. Couldn't fix permissions due to permissions!! Then logged in as root, and now permissions could be repaired, but the installer still wouldn't launch. Then I copied (CpMac -r) Installer.app from original 10.2 CD into /Applications/Utilities. Now it was possible to upgrade to 10.2.3. Since then, I haven't been able to reproduce the very mechanical sounding noises from the drive. Everything seems to work, but I am not comfortable trusting the drive...Any advice?

[Point that others may use is that permissions repair may need to be run when logged in as root.]

griffman · 12-30-2002, 10:41 AM

Sounds like the drive may be on the verge of dying. A friend had two go recently, one of which was a Travelstar and emitted similar noises. Have anything you can make a backup on?

-rob.

chabig · 12-30-2002, 11:04 AM

Thomas,

I concur. It sounds like your drive may be about to die. Then again I have a desktop drive that's been making ugly noises for over a year. I would recommend regular backups, and consider simply replacing the drive.

Chris

tjj · 12-30-2002, 04:36 PM

Thanks for the advice.
The noise is back!
I have a cron job doing daily backups to an external firewire drive, and I can run from this. It's a big soab, and it isn't very portable! But hey, at least it works.
It's a hassle to reinstall everything, but I can recommend Carbon Copy Cloner to make it less time consuming.
I just finished zeroing the drive from 10.2.3 and plan to give it a last try, with frequent back-ups.

I hope I'm able to get the drive replaced under the warranty.

Thomas

chabig · 12-30-2002, 04:43 PM

One more thing Thomas. If I remember correctly, IBM used to actually post sound files on their storage support website, with common sounds, and bad sounds. You could then determine whether the sound was something to worry about. I haven't been there lately, but try http://www.storage.ibm.com/hdd/support/index.htm

Chris

chabig · 12-30-2002, 04:45 PM

Here is the direct link to the drive noises page:

http://ssddom01.storage.ibm.com/hddt...c?OpenDocument

Chris

tjj · 12-30-2002, 05:07 PM

Thanks Chris,
I had forgotten about the IBM noise page.
My drive sounds very much like a bad head.
Shucks!:(

griffman · 01-02-2003, 06:22 PM

MacFixit mentioned today that the Travelstar/Deskstar drives are the subject of a class action lawsuit. I strongly recommend you back up ASAP; I'm not sure how long your drive will live...

-rob.

tjj · 01-03-2003, 03:34 AM

Rob- thanks for pointing it out.
I used a fresh install of 10.2->10.2.3 on a drive mounted in the expansion bay to reformat the drive and write zeroes. During the format the clicking sounds appeared several times but the format succeeded. Afterwards a fresh 10.2 and combo updater to 10.2.3: 2 days before the sounds reoccurred. It's still working but I back-up everything several times a day. I guess the drive will have to be replaced. It appears that one should choose a different manufacturer this time.

Any suggestions? I'd like a very silent drive, but one that will perform a little longer than 1 yr with daily long hours of use.

-Thomas

tjj · 01-08-2003, 02:41 AM

About two weeks did it take for the drive to fail completely.

It is no longer mountable or even visible (10.2-CD, 10.2.3, 9.2.2); it appears that the heads are stuck. When started it just produces this annoying mechanical sounds and gets nowhere.
Now I'd like a 17" Powerbook

12-30-2002, 03:13 AM	#1
tjj Major Leaguer Join Date: Dec 2002 Location: Copenhagen, Denmark Posts: 271	Ugly sounds from IBM 48 GB Travelstar I recently upgraded 10.2.2->10.2.3 on a Powerbook (Pismo 500MHz). Shortly thereafter, but not immediately, my 48 GB IBM Travelstar drive (about 1 y old) started to emit VERY unpleasant clicking and cackling sounds during which the drive was inaccessible. Fearing the worst, I tried reformatting the drive and cloning back from my back-up. Still had the ugly sounds. Disk utility (v 10.2.2 10.2.3 9.2.2) and TechTool Pro v 3.08 reported no faults. Tried zeroing the drive from 9.2.2 and failed. Repartioned and reinstalled from a cloned drive (10.2.2). Then Installer wouldn't run. Some sort of permissions issue. Couldn't fix permissions due to permissions!! Then logged in as root, and now permissions could be repaired, but the installer still wouldn't launch. Then I copied (CpMac -r) Installer.app from original 10.2 CD into /Applications/Utilities. Now it was possible to upgrade to 10.2.3. Since then, I haven't been able to reproduce the very mechanical sounding noises from the drive. Everything seems to work, but I am not comfortable trusting the drive...Any advice? [Point that others may use is that permissions repair may need to be run when logged in as root.]

01-08-2003, 02:41 AM	#10
tjj Major Leaguer Join Date: Dec 2002 Location: Copenhagen, Denmark Posts: 271	Follow-up: Drive is no longer accessible About two weeks did it take for the drive to fail completely. It is no longer mountable or even visible (10.2-CD, 10.2.3, 9.2.2); it appears that the heads are stuck. When started it just produces this annoying mechanical sounds and gets nowhere. Now I'd like a 17" Powerbook

12-30-2002, 10:41 AM	#2
griffman MVP Join Date: Dec 2001 Location: Portland, OR Posts: 1,472	Sounds like the drive may be on the verge of dying. A friend had two go recently, one of which was a Travelstar and emitted similar noises. Have anything you can make a backup on? -rob.

12-30-2002, 11:04 AM	#3
chabig Hall of Famer Join Date: Jan 2002 Posts: 3,016	Thomas, I concur. It sounds like your drive may be about to die. Then again I have a desktop drive that's been making ugly noises for over a year. I would recommend regular backups, and consider simply replacing the drive. Chris

12-30-2002, 04:36 PM	#4
tjj Major Leaguer Join Date: Dec 2002 Location: Copenhagen, Denmark Posts: 271	Thanks for the advice. The noise is back! I have a cron job doing daily backups to an external firewire drive, and I can run from this. It's a big soab, and it isn't very portable! But hey, at least it works. It's a hassle to reinstall everything, but I can recommend Carbon Copy Cloner to make it less time consuming. I just finished zeroing the drive from 10.2.3 and plan to give it a last try, with frequent back-ups. I hope I'm able to get the drive replaced under the warranty. Thomas

12-30-2002, 04:43 PM	#5
chabig Hall of Famer Join Date: Jan 2002 Posts: 3,016	One more thing Thomas. If I remember correctly, IBM used to actually post sound files on their storage support website, with common sounds, and bad sounds. You could then determine whether the sound was something to worry about. I haven't been there lately, but try http://www.storage.ibm.com/hdd/support/index.htm Chris

12-30-2002, 04:45 PM	#6
chabig Hall of Famer Join Date: Jan 2002 Posts: 3,016	Here is the direct link to the drive noises page: http://ssddom01.storage.ibm.com/hddt...c?OpenDocument Chris

12-30-2002, 05:07 PM	#7
tjj Major Leaguer Join Date: Dec 2002 Location: Copenhagen, Denmark Posts: 271	Thanks Chris, I had forgotten about the IBM noise page. My drive sounds very much like a bad head. Shucks!:(

01-02-2003, 06:22 PM	#8
griffman MVP Join Date: Dec 2001 Location: Portland, OR Posts: 1,472	MacFixit mentioned today that the Travelstar/Deskstar drives are the subject of a class action lawsuit. I strongly recommend you back up ASAP; I'm not sure how long your drive will live... -rob.

01-03-2003, 03:34 AM	#9
tjj Major Leaguer Join Date: Dec 2002 Location: Copenhagen, Denmark Posts: 271	Rob- thanks for pointing it out. I used a fresh install of 10.2->10.2.3 on a drive mounted in the expansion bay to reformat the drive and write zeroes. During the format the clicking sounds appeared several times but the format succeeded. Afterwards a fresh 10.2 and combo updater to 10.2.3: 2 days before the sounds reoccurred. It's still working but I back-up everything several times a day. I guess the drive will have to be replaced. It appears that one should choose a different manufacturer this time. Any suggestions? I'd like a very silent drive, but one that will perform a little longer than 1 yr with daily long hours of use. -Thomas