Thinkpads Forum

Hello thinkpad forums

I've had my wonderful T41p since fall 2004, and I am very happy with it. When I got it, it was TOTALLY quiet. I mean, when running on batteries the unit didn't even whisper! The CPU would be off, and the 7K60 hitachi HDD would be spinning so quiet, that I would have to put my ear to the palmrest to remotely hear it.

The CPU fan hardly runs at all. At least, when im running on batteries - which is nice, and why I am wondering that so many TXX users have all these problems with fan-noise.

BUT, my harddrive is quite loud. By loud, I don't mean that it can be hear three metres away. But it has a constant low-pitch sound, like a fan spinning. And it's NOT the fan, i've checked. Maybe I'm just being quirky, but it's very annoing that the drive is (by far) the noisiest thing there, and it really gets to me when working on an otherwise silent machine.

Could the bearing (fluid?) be wearing out, or is this normal? Can the drive be cleaned or serviced?

Are you sure it is HDD ?

Make a short test: increase the brightness of your display and if it will be worse or if it will stop on the maximum brightness it is LCD.

Also check your AC/DC adapter and USB connectors by plugin and unplugin them.

It is possible that the HDD's motor is making the noise. My desktop's Western Digital WD400JB started making awful noises after only a few months and had to be replaced.

The drive would most likely be replaced if you wanted to make a warranty claim. You will not be able to clean and service the drive yourself unless you have a cleanroom and specialized equipment! Even 1 tiny speck of dust can completely screw up a HDD platter.

K. Eng wrote:It is possible that the HDD's motor is making the noise. My desktop's Western Digital WD400JB started making awful noises after only a few months and had to be replaced.

The drive would most likely be replaced if you wanted to make a warranty claim. You will not be able to clean and service the drive yourself unless you have a cleanroom and specialized equipment! Even 1 tiny speck of dust can completely screw up a HDD platter.

I have been thinking about making a warranty claim on the HDD, but I wasn't sure if IBM would cover it, since it's more of a convenience-issue.

But I think you are right. I could very well sound like a motor, or a bearing thats wearing down.

K. Eng wrote:It is possible that the HDD's motor is making the noise. My desktop's Western Digital WD400JB started making awful noises after only a few months and had to be replaced.

The drive would most likely be replaced if you wanted to make a warranty claim. You will not be able to clean and service the drive yourself unless you have a cleanroom and specialized equipment! Even 1 tiny speck of dust can completely screw up a HDD platter.

Yes, I have some older desktop's HDDs making squeezing noises too - IBM's The bearing should be broken. But the affected and noisy HDDs usually make vibrations and noises with variable frequencies.

Do you have there IAPS there ? Using this tool you can park HDD and if the noise will stop, it is definitely HDD.

My T42p started to be very noisy as well. And it's coming from the HDD beneath the right palmrest. Also if I move the laptop and the APS kicks in, the noise stops for a second (because the HDD stops). I live in a really quiet place but this is really bothering. And I can hear it three metres away for sure.

You guys suggest that I take it back for?

Petra

Replace that noisy 7K60 (and hot) with a NEW 5K100. You won't regret it. I did and the 5K100 is MUCH quieter, runs MUCH cooler, and almost as fast as the 7K60. You can get the 5K100 from www.zipzoomfly.com.

Check out these postings for more info:

http://forum.thinkpads.com/viewtopic.ph ... highlight=

http://forum.thinkpads.com/viewtopic.ph ... highlight=

BTW, My E7K60 was quiet when I first bought it and then after a few days/weeks, it developed a periodic buzzing noise, got hotter and noisier.

Hope this helps,
Michael

...

Where do I find this log?


Petra