T61p - (Seagate) Hard Drive click every few seconds

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danny_isr · #1 Post by **danny_isr** » Sun Aug 26, 2007 5:06 am

i notice this at night when there absolutely no noise.
it's kinda random, but when it starts its like every 3-4 seconds i hear a click from the drive.
anyone there heard the same ? what could that be ?

thanks Danny

crazyfrog · #2 Post by **crazyfrog** » Sun Aug 26, 2007 5:19 am

The same thing happens sometimes on my T60. So far nothing abnormal has been detected.

Maybe the electricity wasn't stable sometimes?

#3 Post by **erik** » Sun Aug 26, 2007 9:04 am

is it a hitachi or seagate drive?

danny_isr · #4 Post by **danny_isr** » Sun Aug 26, 2007 10:28 am

first why , does it matter ?

and second no idea how to find out ..??

#5 Post by **erik** » Sun Aug 26, 2007 10:53 am

i was simply curious. i had a hitachi drive that used to click like that under XPP. in server 2003 it didn't do it. mine was likely due to the OS but yours could be different. check the task manager and see if any processes are accessing the drive every few seconds.

this is how you find out what parts are installed in your thinkpad: parts lookup

Daniel · #6 Post by **Daniel** » Sun Aug 26, 2007 11:12 am

Not sure about your click since it's really quiet. However, usually when a HDD starts doing that, it's singing its last song.

#7 Post by **carbon_unit** » Sun Aug 26, 2007 11:29 am

Usually a quiet clicking indicates the heads parking in the hard drive and it is normal. The OS may un-park the heads to look for something and then they re-park after a predetermined amount of time.
A loud clunking sound usually indicates and impending drive failure.
Knowing the manufacturer of the drive will allow you to go get the proper diagnostic software for the drive and run it to see if there really is a problem. Usually "Device Manager" will give you a clue.

danny_isr · #8 Post by **danny_isr** » Sun Aug 26, 2007 11:42 am

yes it does sounds like parking.
but does it make sense that it will park every 3,4 seconds ?

my T43 didnt do that ,or maybe did it in a quite way ...

danny_isr · #9 Post by **danny_isr** » Sun Aug 26, 2007 11:55 am

looks like it's a Seagate (FRU 39T2799)

and the LCD is TMD <- Toshiba ?

#10 Post by **carbon_unit** » Sun Aug 26, 2007 12:07 pm

danny_isr wrote:yes it does sounds like parking.
but does it make sense that it will park every 3,4 seconds ?

my T43 didnt do that ,or maybe did it in a quite way ...

Like I said earlier, maybe the OS (windows) is un-parking the head for some reason, then the head must re-park every 3-4 seconds. It sounds like a windows issue. Who knows what is causing it. It might be the Hard drive APS. Run services.msc and see if there is something suspicious in there like an indexing service.
Either that or ignore it. It isn't going to hurt anything.

doppelganger · #11 Post by **doppelganger** » Sun Aug 26, 2007 7:41 pm

I think this is just a characteristic of some Seagate drives. My T61 shipped with a Seagate that consistently made noises by itself every few seconds. Eventually I requested a replacement HDD from IBM (same model) which sometimes does the same thing, but at a much quieter and less noticeable level. I suppose it's simply the luck of the draw whether you get a noisy or quiet hard drive.

Brad · #12 Post by **Brad** » Sun Aug 26, 2007 8:08 pm

Could it also be thermal recalibration?

Brad

#13 Post by **carbon_unit** » Sun Aug 26, 2007 9:09 pm

Could be I suppose.h

grimmster · #14 Post by **grimmster** » Sun Aug 26, 2007 9:22 pm

Active Shock Protection? You using it in a spot that you are moving around a lot?

#15 Post by **ryengineer** » Sun Aug 26, 2007 9:55 pm

Sir, IBM support and replacement is one phone call away: 1-800-426-7378 (24/7)!, if you do not have Product Recovery disks then please do mention it as well.

danny_isr · #16 Post by **danny_isr** » Sun Aug 26, 2007 10:11 pm

not moving it what soever . and yeah i don't have re recovery CDs.
i doubt it's bad Drive , it got probably less then 5 hours on it ....
but it is annoying while working on it at night ...

thanks

danny_isr · #17 Post by **danny_isr** » Sun Oct 07, 2007 11:27 pm

just wanted to update , i got a new hard drive from Lenovo.
exact same size and model and it DOESN'T clicks.

so if one of you guys have clicking noise every few seconds and it's under warranty - REPLACE it.

#18 Post by **erik** » Mon Oct 08, 2007 10:57 am

my original 100GB seagate ended up clicking quite a bit under vista so i had it replaced under warranty with a hitachi 7K100. no more clicks here, either.

rlchapin · #19 Post by **rlchapin** » Thu Nov 08, 2007 11:41 pm

This seems to be the problem I am having with my new T61. The drive is a Seagate ST980811AS, Lenovo part number: 42T1304.

If I call Lenovo and they agree on a new hard drive, what usually happens:

1: they send me a new hard drive and I rebuild.
2: i send just hard drive to lenovo and they send a new one back (after they get mine).
3: I ship the whole laptop to lenovo.

Thanks,
Bob

#20 Post by **ryengineer** » Fri Nov 09, 2007 12:04 am

rlchapin wrote:snip....If I call Lenovo and they agree on a new hard drive, what usually happens:
1: they send me a new hard drive and I rebuild.
2: i send just hard drive to lenovo and they send a new one back (after they get mine).
3: I ship the whole laptop to lenovo.....snip

Number 1 and 3 is what lenovo does. The 3rd option that lenovo offers is to tell you to go to a nearby IBM authorized repair Center to get it installed on-site. In all cases you will be required to return the malfunctioning part.

rlchapin · #21 Post by **rlchapin** » Fri Nov 09, 2007 12:16 am

Funny thing it is doing it less and less and in the last hour I dont think it has happened at all. Yesterday it was at least once or twice a minute.

Does the drive need a "break in" period? I also uninstalled diskeeper lite this evening, i dont know if that had any impact.

Thanks in advance for all replies.

-Bob

#22 Post by **ryengineer** » Fri Nov 09, 2007 12:33 am

For a new machine it can be normal for a HDD to make such noises, Windows XP and Vista both indexes it for a while. Give it a day or two, you can always ask IBM for a replacement of faulty part as long as your machine is in warranty.

danny_isr · #23 Post by **danny_isr** » Fri Nov 09, 2007 2:42 am

i didnt replace my drive with the new one that i got from Lenovo.
the noise didnt go away here.

rlchapin · #24 Post by **rlchapin** » Fri Nov 09, 2007 7:47 am

danny did you not replace your drive because you dont think it will solve problem or because it is an all day project and you dont have the time atm?

danny_isr · #25 Post by **danny_isr** » Fri Nov 09, 2007 9:28 am

i know it will solve the problem. i tried the new drive and it didn't have the clicking noise.
just too much work to transfer all my stuff. or re-install everything again with the dual boot VIsta/XP i got. i will do it "tomorrow"

or actually when my Vista64 upgrade CD will arrive

rlchapin · #26 Post by **rlchapin** » Mon Nov 12, 2007 8:45 am

I called Lenovo this morning. They are sending me a new drive, but it is backordered. They will send me the first 80GB drive that comes in.

See above for my current drive.

I am debating buying a different drive. I don't need super performance or a large capacity. 80GB is fine, 5400 speed is fine.
Quiet is important to me.

Any recommendations on a quiet drive?

Thanks,
Bob

#27 Post by **erik** » Mon Nov 12, 2007 1:00 pm

rlchapin wrote:Any recommendations on a quiet drive?

the hitachi 7K200 series is extremely quiet. i currently have two of them now (a 200GB and a 100GB) and they're easily the most quiet notebook hard drives i've had in over 12 years.

plus, you'd benefit by the added speed of a 7200rpm drive. going from 5400 to 7200rpm can give one of the most noticeable speed improvements in a notebook.

rlchapin · #28 Post by **rlchapin** » Mon Nov 12, 2007 3:25 pm

I just ordered an Hitachi 7K200 100GB drive for $109.99 from CDW.

Newegg.com did not have the 100GB drive.

The drive I get from Lenovo will be a spare or on ebay in the next few days.

-Bob

T61p - (Seagate) Hard Drive click every few seconds

T61p - (Seagate) Hard Drive click every few seconds

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