MacBook Pro hard disk storage really seem to be down on its luck this generation. First was the 3Gbps SATA transfers (
now fixed), which honestly didn't affected but a marginal percentage of users upgrading to SSD themselves. Now comes word from a number of irate users on the Apple support forums that claim their HDDs, specifically those spec'd at 7200RPM, are suffering from performance issues and some audible clicking / beeping sounds. The folks at
Other World Computing chimed in to say that it
might have something to do with the
Seagate Momentus 7200.4 G-Force drives, which takes anti-shock precautions that are possibly causing both noise and extra strain. If you're not hearing anything now, we wouldn't suggest you start getting hyper paranoid over the issue -- it's the internet, where things often get blown way out of proportion, in case you haven't noticed. If you're still worried / curious, hit up the read link for the full collection of anecdotes.
[Via
Engadget Spanish and
MacNN]
posted Jul 12th 2009 4:16AM
I have a 7200rpm 500GB drive and a 5400rpm 500GB drive in my 17" uMBP. I'm using an MCE Optibay.
I am experiencing none of these problems.
I trust your computer advise no more than i do your medical advise Dr. Spaceman.
Take my advice then I'm smarter than him
All good 7.200 drives is a little bit noisy compared to the good 5.400 drives
your 1999 drives doesn't count people
I have been using 7200rpm hard drives for nearly 2 years now. No problems!
I would not be surprised at all if it is the anti-shock precaution in the Seagate drives. With many things you CAN have to much of a good thing, eg: the two different anti-shock devices now with the MBP's and this drive.
Where is Paul a. Chapel, saviour of the internet, when you need him?
Mac Book Pro users! If you can afford a MacBookPro and have HDD issues with it, you can surely afford SSD hard drive, which has none of these problems.
Peace!
Why do you like Paul Chapel he is a tool. You should be banned for even saying his name. Why don't you go and play with your little pathetic MacBook Somboini! Microsoft owns you!
what apple does as a computer MANUFACTURER is merely putting together a load of components shipped from other companies and screw it up in places.
battery overheating, hard-drive noise, why would it all come down to apple's fault? and once a single apple product goes wrong, the whole world talks about it, does it mean dell products are any better? i've never had a dell machine that lasts longer than 3 years(broke up physically into pieces), whereas my original powerbook g4's still working at 7-year old.
of cos all products have a certain rate of manufacture defects, but issues like this are with component suppliers and all computer makers who take their supply from them suffers, NOT JUST apple.
Who let all these doctors in here?
Saint, I suggest you go look up the word 'facetious'. I'd also suggest, going off your shoddy grammar and inability to even type my name correctly, that you read the rest of the dictionary cover to cover.
I have a 320GB 7200PRM Seagate Momentus with the G-force sensor in my MBP, no issues since I installed it. (Model # is ST9320421ASG)
You said you wanted to be saved by Paul Chapel a well known troll Somboini so that makes you a troll too. I guess you think that Macbooks are perfect and have a fanboi poster of Steve Jobs in your bedroom. Do you worship it in the morning. Ha ha.
Why don't you put your head in a sausage blender Chapel right after you get back from Starbucks with your fanboi friend Somboini. I bet you have some gaming to do together---oh wait macs don't have any games and even if you did your hard drive would be to noisy and you couldn't here the game anyway. Ha ha.
Ha ha. The Wii is for children and girls. I bet he plays it with a Justin Long lookalike and they kiss the poster of Steve Jobs before playing. The Wii looks like a Apple TV so maybe even got confused and bought it because it was shiny and looks like the Steve Jobs little toy. You guys are lame. I bet you play it together every morning before you come here to troll.
OMG you guys are nasty. You should get a room together. Ha ha.
It just works...
What?
It just works...
WHAT?
IT JUST WORKS!!!!
You go ahead and rag on Paul a. Chapel, but I'll tell you what, that guy has a character shaped by honor and nobility.
Oh my sweet Jesus, this is one of the most ridiculous and hilarious interchanges I've ever seen here.
It's the first time I've actually ever ranked up the real Paul a. Chapel.
But yes Saint, none of the 6 xbox 360s we've been through at my house had any problems. Microsoft just has a really sweet exchange program where they give you a new xbox every 2-9 months or so.
@b,
You're right, apple is just there to compile the parts, but you should could probably agree that any company that compiles parts for you should make sure that, since they're gonna force you to live with the choices for selections they're gonna give you, they had BETTER damn well pick out good, reliable, high quality ones. Also, since apple specifically tries to make it difficult for people to go out and build a custom mac-compatible computer, when something goes wrong with a mac laptop, it's a pretty damn big deal. You're right, dell should get a little bit of a hit for not building reliable machines, but any idiot can go out and build a windows-compatible computer. It takes a little research and knowledge to build a mac-compatible computer.
(because they "just work".)
In my mind, unless you need massive storage, if you are going to spend ~$2000 or more on a new laptop, why would you not spend $350 on an aftermarket SSD like an OCZ Vertex/Patriot Torqx/Corsair P128/etc. The best thing is to lower the processor speed a bit and pick the cheapest harddrive when you order, and then put in the SSD when you get it.
Getting a modern, high performance SSD will increase your machine's perceived quickness more than any other upgrade possible. Your boot time is cut in half, large applications load almost instantaneously, etc. Unless you need 500GB of storage, it is stupid not to.
Paul, just this once, I'll commend your replies. People, note this date!
Breaking news alert: 7200RPM 2.5" drives are noisy. More at 11.
Go fuck yourself, San Diego.
Ha ha Microsoft never has problems like this so Apple can suck it. They can't make one thing that doesn't break after using it a week. Ha ha.
Maybe because Microsoft makes software, see?
Microsoft made the Xbox 360 and it is perfect and never has has a problem so suck it Apple fanboi. Ha ha.
Id hate to break ur bubble.....
buuuuuuuuuuuuutttt I wouldn't go so far as saying the X360 hasn't had ANY problems...
ahem ~30% RROD?
That is so false. There are no problems with Xbox just summer heat on them. Those numbers are just reports from the Apple biased gadget media. They are in the tank for Apple and totally hyped those numbers. The Xbox 360 has no problems. It's perfect and totally owning the Wii and PS3. Ha ha.
I know irony is hard to get, but you need to try and understand when someones mocking not being truthful.
And I thought Apple fanboys were bad, until I saw Saints comments.
I'll give Saint credit for something.......he must have been strong to have climbed out of the abortion pail.
@ Saint, Please shut up. U are making other microsoft users look bad. RROD is real, but microsoft is earning loads of profit right now with price reduction for XBox 360 compared to PS3. Noisy hard drives are part of ALL computers and laptop issues, not Mac alone. It's just that for Mac, u dont get much of a variety.
Hey Chang I didn't have those problems with my Xbox. Where are you getting your numbers? You sound like just another fake Apple fanboi to me. You don't even own a pc I bet. Don't tell me how to act I've been a Xbox user forever and there is nothing wrong with it. Maybe you watch too many Mac commercials. Don't believe everyting you see on TV especailly if it has to do with Apple.
I have an XBox 360. It's not the one I bought. It's the third one Microsoft sent me because of the red ring of death. It works great now. Doesn't make Microsoft the worst company in the world.
Hey Saint, your reality does not make everyone else's reality.
http://mckinlay.net.nz/hdapm/
lol how can you guys take such obvious trolling seriously? Even a genuine Xbox 360 fanboy would admit it's been a problematic console since the people who play on their 360's all the time have probably gone through a couple consoles already. My first 360 was problematic out of the box-kept locking up on random levels of games, and it had the older kill all your discs if you move it drive to boot.
Anyways most MS hardware other than the 360 has been pretty decent, keyboards and mice and routers have all been pretty good. But what that has to do with 7200RPM hard drives being noisy is beyond me.
I think anybody who buys a Macbook Pro and ticks off the 7200RPM option box should just blame themselves for being too anal. Being surprised that a 7200RPM drive is marginally louder than a slower drive is just plain stupid...it's like getting the upgraded V8 engine in a car then whining that the engine makes loud sounds.
@saint too bad people don't get sarcasm here, only reason you could be low ranked.
Everyone knows that temperatures rise in the summer and people keep their Xboxes in closed cabinets and play on them on the long hot summer days all day long so a small percentage of them experiences thermal issues. Nothing to worry about.
:P
I got my MBP before the new ones got released and put a 500GB 7200 rpm drive in it, doesn't seem any louder than when I had the 5400 rpm drive in it. I feel it vibrate the laptop a bit more than it did before, but it's not any louder.
I don't think people are complaining about the noise necessarily. Of course 7200RPM drives are going to be a bit louder, I would say more audible actually - drives today aren't "loud", from the increase in speed. I believe the issues are excessive clicking (probably from the heads stopping) and some drives make actual beeps. The clicking and beeping would definitely drive me insane, but I don't get 7200RPM drives in the first place because I can't stand the increase in noise.
I have a 5,400 RPM HDD that clicks whenever the accelerometers detect a sudden motion and stop the heads. It's supposed to do that and it's really not very that audible...
I have a Seagate 500GB 7200rpm drive in my ThinkPad, I purpose didn't get the G-Drive because the machine has its own drive shock system and I didn't want any issues with the two conflicting. I haven't noticed any differences in ambient noise or any clicking. Vibration is a bit more over a 320GB 5400rpm WD Blue that was replaced, however it is less noticeable that the optical drive spinning up. Hell I hear the fan more than I hear the HD.
I remember i had an old Maxtor in an external case, and under high load it would start to beep... the drive died a month later due to heat buildup :/
Mad props for the Say Anything reference. I was pondering a 7200 RPM for my MBP (the last pre-unibody revision), but the heat concerns and battery drain were giving me pause. Now this? I think I'll stick with 5400.
i can't find the Say Anything reference and now i can't stop looking for it and i feel inferior to you. please show me
oh you meant Say Anything the MOVIE not he band. and you meant the huge friggin boombox on the picture. wow. im going to bed now.....
Yeah I thought he meant the band too. A reference to the movie is just HARDLY commonplace these days..
While apple deserves a good working over for all the crap they do, you have got to be kidding yourself if you think this is legitimate.
On a side note, I have 7200 rpm Seagate drive in my laptop and it quieter then 5400 rpm Toshiba (i think) that was in it before.
Its a computer, using regular computer parts...things like this happen.
I thought only the 13" units had the 1.5GBit problem. And 13" units aren't offered with 7200 RPM drives so they can't have this problem. So why tie the two together?
"First was the 3Gbps SATA transfers (now fixed), which honestly didn't affected but a marginal percentage of users upgrading to SSD themselves."
something doesn't sound right.
"which honestly didn't affected" there you go
pretty sure that just made it worse
Article: "which honestly didn't affected but a marginal percentage of users upgrading to SSD themselves."
Possible intention #1 : "which honestly only affected a marginal percentage..."
i.e. not many people suffered
Possible intention #2 : "which honestly didn't affect a marginal percentage..."
i.e. almost everybody suffered
Throw the 'but' back into the mix and you get the inverse of each of those.
Is there a proof-reader in the house?
i was just quoting the off part. yes i can clearly see whats wrong with it
Did you all read the article?
"If you're not hearing anything now, we wouldn't suggest you start getting hyper paranoid over the issue -- it's the internet, where things often get blown way out of proportion"
Yet most of the comments are just that (on either side of the fence)
I have one of the brand new 15" MB Pros with the 7200 RPM 500 gig HD option + I have two more of them in the office and none are experiencing this issue.
A MacBook Pro does not need G-shock protection built into the hard drive, because the same tech is already built into the laptop. Installing a G-shock-equipped Seagate Momentus drive could actually cause the two technologies to conflict with each other should a sudden movement or free-fall be detected.
That would be "G-Force", not "G-shock".
So having the drop detection built into the laptop and not the harddrive serves what purpose? I'm pretty sure the drop detection is to lock the harddrive, the only moving part.
So are you sure the drop detection built into the laptop isn't the drop detection built into the harddrive that's built into the laptop?
Cos I can't imagine it being useful for RAM, or the CPU. Can maybe stop the fan, but that's not exactly a critical component is it.
Noise is not the issue here.
For most people, the noise is accompanied by a freeze in disk access. This video demonstrates the behavior with Halo, but it happens with everything. Apple needs to fix this fast, because it's making the machine unusable for professional video and audio work.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rsg84yqzvhs
Some hard drives make a beeping noise when parking their heads. The Momentus 7200.4 500 GB is one of them.
If the app you are running is not using the HD then it might go to sleep to save power.
First disable the "put hard drives to sleep when possible" option in the energy saver pref pane.
If the sudden motion sensor in your Macbook Pro is too sensitive, try to turn it off and see if the beep continues.
Follow this Apple knowledge base article:
http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1934
My 2009 15" Macbook Pro with the Momentus 7200.4 500 GB beeps when I shake it or if the HD goes to sleep.
Nothing to worry about.
Another advice: close you MBP before moving it to prevent HD accidents, a spinning HD is more vulnerable than a sleeping HD.
I have both SMS and "Put the hard disk(s) to sleep when possible" disabled.
The computer is firmly on the table and applications are constantly writing to the hard drive while that happens. Whatever the reason for the hard drive parking, it's absolutely faulty behavior.
More than this issue, what about the heat problems when running vista. Why hasn't apple even considered that yet?
Ummm maybe because Apple shouldn't have to fix Microsofts mess?
Two things are wrong with your comment Adderz.
1. It isn't a question, I don't understand why you would use a question mark.
2. It isn't Microsoft's mess. Apple chose to start supporting Windows operating systems with bootcamp. If HP computers were overheating while running vista would people turn to HP to fix it or Microsoft? Exactly, its Apple's faulty hardware that has compatibility issues with Microsoft's software.
Actually the reason this is on Apple to fix is because they provide the drivers via boot-camp for Vista/Xp compatibility. So if there is a hardware issue under Vista (overheating?) the first place to look is driver support for power/thermal management, and the responsibility for that is Apple's--it's their hardware & drivers.
And what about fixing Quicktime and Itunes on pc... they are the only weak point of my home workstation. compressing a quicktime in h264 give you shitty colors.
If you can afford a macbook pro, you can afford an SSD
Actually, Intel just doubled the size and cut the price of it's SSD offering. So, possibly a little broader like people who can only marginally afford $1200 - $3200 laptop.
I have the same problem on my Rev A MacBook Air. I thought it was normal though.
No issues here with mine.
mine clicks if you hold it at weird angles other than that is silent.. .
I get this at least once a day - sometimes more. I'll be playing music or doing something that involves constant disk access whilst my MBP is sitting on my desk and it'll just freeze for about a minute, the music will stop playing during this time - presumably because the disk can't be read. I have the 7200 RPM drive so this sounds like my issue.
The problem might be the seagate hard drive. I once put on in my LG X110 netbook, and the netbook vibrates so badly that I had to remove it and put the 5200rpm hd back. It isnt a vibration you will see, it is something you feel every time your hand touches the laptop and it is disconfitting.
yes engadget, praise your overlord... gloryfiing the 1,5gbit sata "mistake" apple made as only affecting a small percentage and calling it fixed in the same sentence...
1. it affected a big share of mbp-users because sata II is a feature one would assume as given if the last generation had it. and i guess a lot of the new mbps will see a ssd in their not too short lifetime
2. it aint really fixed just because apple "fixed" it: there are reports that now even mbps with normal hdds, especially custom upgraded 7200-rpm-drives wont boot up. great fix pals!
and please dont call me troll or hater, i really would like to purchase a 13"mbp myself put there a few gripes i dont want to live with atm.
(glass-screen, mini-dp sans sound,...)
The exact same thing happened to My 1TB Barracuda 7200.11 with its post unBRICKing firmware from Seagate. After free recovery from Seagate it clicks randomly and oftenly. Every clicks are accompanied by half a second freeze.
That drive was originally for Movie editing scratch disk, renders, and other Pro Stuff. Now it's only good for time machine and as a media for passing tons of Hi-Definition porn to my buddies but you can't even watch them because it lags every time it clicks.
uh oh ahhh CLICK ahh CLICK ohhhh CLICK yeahhh baby CLICK gimme CLICK
They are all the same old brand new Seagate 7200 drives, folks. Just demand your rights already. Sue Apple. Sue Seagate. Sue somebody. Anybody (except me) so we can enjoy our porn properly; The way it's meant to be enjoyed!!!
-ND
I have one of the new mid-2009 17" MacBook Pros with the 500gb 7200rpm drive. I don't give a crap about the beeping noise I agree that's a tiny non-issue. What I care about is the laptop freezing for a period 30-40 seconds several times a day.
Apparently Seagate told Apple they shouldn't be including these drives in MacBooks with their own logic board protection because of conflicts. But because of a shortage on the drives without the Seagate sensor Apple has been using them anyway just so they can continue churning orders out.
So much for paying for a quality product. Shoddy standards are destroying Apple's hard earned reputation for delivering high quality products.
It should be also noted this not just an Apple issue. For example, Dell users reporting the exact same thing here:
http://forums.seagate.com/stx/board/message?board.id=ata_drives&thread.id=13411
However Apple is of course held to a higher standard due to their reputation of making premium machines, so this is understandable. And frankly, as an Apple user I'm happy about that -- keeps them on their toes and fixing the faults!
"However Apple is of course held to a higher standard due to their reputation of making premium machines"
Uhhhhh, not for that reason.
They are held to a higher standard because they go around bragging about how superior they are compared to other companies products or they directly attack companies for making, in their view, shoddy devices/software. It's an attitude that is broadcast in their ads, spoken by their top brass, and parroted by their fanatics on the internet.
When people point out the flaws in their products, all of a sudden it's either the component manufacturer's fault or it's just flat-out made up.
Well, I'm not interested in the debate as to why they're under so much scrutiny. I'm just glad they are, and hopefully things get fixed as a result.
All macs are quite noisy. My Mac pro is like a tornado compare to the XSP of the next desk... They could have use larger fans to reduce the noise. The cool point when you build your own system is you can choose really silent parts.
Mine is noisy as hell!
Whew! Good thing my MacBook has a 5400RPM drive so this didn't affected me!
I'm a laptop builder. Those hitachi's are loud and do get hot! Go with a western digital for a quieter and cooler running drive. Hitachi is probably used because they're much cheaper than seagate and WD.
http://www.engadget.com/2007/11/27/some-macbook-hard-drives-contain-fatal-defect-according-to-repo/
Why is Apple still using Seagate? Between the Seagate drive and the unreasonable upgrade cost, The first thing I do with a new mac is switch out the drive.
I have a 15 MBP w/ a seagate 500GB /7200rpm drive
So far no lock up's and very quiet.
Seagate drive suck in general because of their cheap Chinese outsource companies they choose to use. Don't you remember the Complaint about the 7200.12 that almost all had issues a few months ago. I got 5 bad ones that died back them. Seagate is crap.
I'm running the same drive in my older macbook pro with no issues at all.
I was looking to upgrade the HDD in my older MacBook Pro (last gen before unibody - glad I dodged that bullet!) and I got a Seagate 500 GB 7200 drive, and in my research saw this problem people were having with custom upgrades using the Seagates that had built-in G- sensors and opted for the version without. And this is before Apple started using them themselves.
Maybe Apple should start googling what parts are compatible with their own computers :/
Well if you look at the problem from a different perspective you will notice.
Not much gagdet news to report at the weekend so ad clicks drop especially on an internet-hot day like
Engagdet post an Apple non-story about potential quality problems with MBP HDDs on Sunday and a fanboy flamewar is started.
Engagdet's lack of news on a sunday does not reduce their potential ad click value.
Shinigami wrote (Jul 12th 2009 5:47AM): "Mac Book Pro users! If you can afford a MacBookPro and have HDD issues with it, you can surely afford SSD hard drive, which has none of these problems."
digitallysick wrote (Jul 12th 2009 4:06AM): "If you can afford a macbook pro, you can afford an SSD."
On the contrary: If someone has overstretched his budget or exhausted his savings to buy a MBP with a 500GB 7200rpm drive, he may have nothing left to splurge on a solid-state drive. Shinigami and digitallysick remind me of the parents who scold their bladder-challenged child with the twisted logic, "If you could hold it in for 2 hours, you can hold it in another 20 minutes." Who is more able to hold his pee for another 20 minutes: Someone whose bladder is already full, or someone whose bladder has just been emptied?
Also, the MBP 13 costs less than the old unibody MacBook 13.
And no, I don't own a MacBook anything.
My brand new uMBP that I got 3 weeks ago had this issue right out of the box (and I have the 7200rpm drive). I took it to my local Apple store and they did fix it. Basically what was happening was that there would be a audible click noise followed by a beep from the HDD. After I got it replaced tho I haven't noticed any more beeping but if it's really quite this drive does get a bit noisy sometimes. No more beeping though so I really don't mind it that much.
They're worried about noise with all that glare coming off those crappy glass screens? I wouldn’t buy one of these things for $500. Stick it Steve!
I've had a 17" 3.06 with a 7200 drive for few days now and this issue is most definitely 100% genuine. Over the weekend I've experienced probably about 20 random beeps and clicks and the machine hasn't been moved from my desk. Its even happened when I was away from the computer in the kitchen (could hear the beep).
My friend brought the same spec machine at the same time and hes experiencing exactly the same issue. The beep is very audible and the clicks are quite loud sometimes but seem to vary. It doesn't appear to affect the system, no temporary locks ups or beach balls, whatevers going on it seems to correct itself immediately, having said that though I've only been messing around installing software and surfing the internet. Apple please fix this ASAP! How on earth could this get past quality control? I noticed it within an hour of turning it on for the first time.
It figures. It's quality control on behalf of Seagate. I have had MANY Seagate drive lines come through my shop ( 20+ in buisness, Seagate has always been our major drive manufacturer. ) and their recent ones have been spectacular FAILures. Mainly their 500gb, 250gb desktop 7200.11 drives but toss these notebook 7200s in there too. Many people I know believe that Seagate is "the best" drive manufacturer; no thanks, I'll take my WD RE2's / RE3's any day over a Seagate drive. I have had to RMA probably 20 Barracuda drives in the last few weeks, a number that is at least four times higher than usual. Rest assured, I don't want to see AAPL get away with anything either;) Why don't you guys ask apple for REMOVABLE HARD DISKS. Something every laptop has had for...............yeah unibody construction my *** when you can't upgrade anything but memory.
This happened to the Dell 1537 that I bought for my girlfriend. It was a SATA 250 GB HDD that would click like the clicking of cell phone keys... It was loud enough to be heard and plenty annoying. I felt bad cuz I couldn't fix it and Dell couldn't do anything for me besides replace the entire thing. That was outta the question so clickity on.
I've had this problem with my 17" MacBook Pro configure-to-order machine.
The drive made a clicking noise, followed by a "chirp" or "beep", and then another click. This would sometimes happen several times in a row.
Apart from the obvious annoyance (the sound was audible from 50 feet away!), whenever the noise happens, access to the drive also stalls momentarily. Playing video? Hiccup. Slideshow? Hiccup. Capturing video? Well, I never did that, but I'd predict dropped frames.
Anyway, I had the drive replaced at the Genius Bar at the Apple Store where I bought it, and the new drive has been quiet (knock wood). The 7200 definitely is louder and has greater vibration than a 5400, but this click/chirp noise is not normal.
My 5400rpm HD on my new 13" MBP has a quite loud clunky motion sensor. If I pick it up or move it, it's pretty loud.
I have one (installed it in my 2006 MBP) and it drives me crazy.