Hitachi drive is making strange sounds!

[Julianne]

I've just bought a Hitachi Deskstar 160gb hard drive which I've installed as the slave drive to my main one, (I've taken out the previous second drive, copied its jumper settings and replaced it with this new one).

I don't know if there's something wrong with the Hitachi drive, as at seemingly regular intervals it makes a strange whining noise for a couple of seconds at a time. I've no idea why it's doing this - I've never had a hard drive make any noise other than a hum. The Hitachi also hums louder than any other hard drive I've had. I've not actually installed anything on it, so why is it humming at all? (It'll hum for a while and then "click off," - my previous second drive used to do that too.)

Does this sound normal? Should I ask for a replacement?

Cheers.

Ice hockey nostalgia at:

http://www.leevalleylions.co.uk

 

[ski]

Get it replaced.
HD's should not make strange noises.
It's possible that the bearings are defective.

 

[sixstrings4]

I also have a Hitachi Deskstar 80 Gig hard drive. It too makes those strange sounds from time to time. Replace it if you are able, but I've had mine for about a year and it's still working fine. Just thought that might comfort you.

 

[LankesterMerrin]

It might die on you soon. BACKUP BACKUP BACKUP!!!
I bought two of the identical Hitachi/IBM Deskstar 80 GB in 2002. Both make that 'clickity click..whine whine' type noise. One eventually died.
I was able to bring it back to life long enough to move my data by holding down a specific area of the circuit board (which was very hot!) while it booted. Every once in a while it would die again.

I did this over the course of several days but did recover all my files. The drive is dead now and the Hitachi's utility claims excessive g-forces.

I never dropped it! Now I'm in warranty dispute with them. The other is so far so good but I already bought a replacement for it. (Seagate, no more IBM/Hitachi for me)

 

[Julianne]

Thanks, everyone. I'm sending the drive back and have already bought a Seagate drive as a replacement. Result? Peace is restored! I did a bit of hunting around and came across a forum thread where lots of people were complaining about the unnerving noises from their Hitachi drives. Hitachi told them the noises are a "feature" - a feature they conveniently don't mention on their website. I'm sworn off them for life now.

Ice hockey nostalgia at:

http://www.leevalleylions.co.uk