installed a new 320GB Scorpio in X61t...loud clicking

[etherelithic]

So I bought and installed this brand new Scorpio 320GB 5400RRM 2.5" hard drive into my X61t and all seems to be great. It runs fast and it seems to slightly outperform my old 7200.1 100GB Seagate as well. I do notice one disconcerting thing, however. There is a very audible *click* when the thinkpad active protection system activates to park the heads of the HDD. It only happens when, say, I jerk the laptop, and otherwise seems completely normal. The sound is rather loud, and I was wondering if it was normal. Do I need to install a special hard drive BIOS or something? The whole system seems to be working fine, it's just this audible sound kinda worries me.

edit: oh nuts wrong forum! nonetheless, I suppose it applies to the T6x series too

[Peak2Peak]

Does this HDD have the WD's ShockGuard technology? - if so it may be inter-acting with the ThinkPads active protection system - Try disabling the ThinkPads active protection system and check if the problem still exists.

[thormdac]

howdy,

i`ve got a 160 GB WD scorpio bevs, disabled active protection and experience the same klicking sound when, presumably, the head is parked.

[etherelithic]

the 320GB scorpio drive I have is their latest and greatest, so I do believe it does have the shockguard technology. Is this a similar implementation of the thinkpad's own active protection system? Should I disable APS, then? I've done it from the taskbar, and it doesn't seem to suspend the disk at all when off, but I still do desire the protection offered by APS.

[Peak2Peak]

There is a very audible *click* when the thinkpad active protection system activates to park the heads of the HDD.

Is this just a SINGLE click or a SERIES of clicks / ticking - I had a Hitachi HDD installed in my T60p at idle it would continuously click / tick - very annoying! - but, according to Lenovo it's a design feature of the HDD! - I replaced it with a Seagate Momentus 7200.2 which is whisper quiet. (Also confirmed with a colleague his DELL which has an PATA Hitachi HDD also clicks too - My previous T43p had a Hitachi HDD that was quiet and never clicked / ticked)

Also check this Post.