New 1 Terrabyte Seagate clicking loudly

[WinsomeWorks]

I just bought a new HD, a Seagate 1 Terrabyte. I'll have to post back with the model number. I got it a few days ago, and started loading stuff onto it. It has a USB connection to my Dell Dimension C521 computer. The thing that's bugging me is that it clicks a lot-- pretty loudly, enough that if it keeps this up I don't think I can stand it. It does it even when I haven't even done anything with saving stuff to it for awhile. Sometimes it's a rapid succession of clicks, sometimes a slower one. I has been doing it up through about noon today. At that point, it must have read my emails and heard my complaints about it, because it's been a lot quieter the second half of the day, even though I've been uploading from it, etc. Maybe it was just new-ness?

Is this normal for these? I don't trust it, and if it's gonna lose my stuff I want to get rid of it. Is it just because it's 1 Terrabyte? If it's abnormal, I'd like to get another one, or a different brand. I paid $88 for it at BestBuy, which was the online price. (I asked & they gave the online price to me). I don't want to spend much more. I am/was very happy with my 500 Gig Maxtor One-Touch. It never clicks & I've only heard a whirring from it when I'm actually sending a major batch of stuff from it. I can't seem to find many Maxtors though-- it's possible Seagate merged with them, but I had a hard time finding out for sure. And I need a terrabyte now. Meanwhile, I got a SmugVault & am backing up more jpgs to SmugMug as well. I'd be thrilled w/ any advice. Thanks!

[angevin1]

I just bought a new HD, a Seagate 1 Terrabyte. I'll have to post back with the model number. I got it a few days ago, and started loading stuff onto it. It has a USB connection to my Dell Dimension C521 computer. The thing that's bugging me is that it clicks a lot-- pretty loudly, enough that if it keeps this up I don't think I can stand it. It does it even when I haven't even done anything with saving stuff to it for awhile. Sometimes it's a rapid succession of clicks, sometimes a slower one. I has been doing it up through about noon today. At that point, it must have read my emails and heard my complaints about it, because it's been a lot quieter the second half of the day, even though I've been uploading from it, etc. Maybe it was just new-ness?

Is this normal for these? I don't trust it, and if it's gonna lose my stuff I want to get rid of it. Is it just because it's 1 Terrabyte? If it's abnormal, I'd like to get another one, or a different brand. I paid $88 for it at BestBuy, which was the online price. (I asked & they gave the online price to me). I don't want to spend much more. I am/was very happy with my 500 Gig Maxtor One-Touch. It never clicks & I've only heard a whirring from it when I'm actually sending a major batch of stuff from it. I can't seem to find many Maxtors though-- it's possible Seagate merged with them, but I had a hard time finding out for sure. And I need a terrabyte now. Meanwhile, I got a SmugVault & am backing up more jpgs to SmugMug as well. I'd be thrilled w/ any advice. Thanks!


Quick Google, points to probs with that piece...call.chat with them and see what they say..they may suggest you RMA it! I think I'd get my stuff of it!

[astrostu]

Get EVERYTHING off of it. Clicks on hard drives are an almost certain sign of imminent failure. I call it (and I'm sure others do, as well) the "click of death."

[WinsomeWorks]

Get EVERYTHING off of it. Clicks on hard drives are an almost certain sign of imminent failure. I call it (and I'm sure others do, as well) the "click of death." It hasn't been clicking anymore, even when I've been using it. It stopped after just a couple days. I dunno... everything I have on it is backed up at least couple times elsewhere, including here. Is there any such thing as "it just needed warming up"? I have no trouble reading from or writing to it, etc. At any rate, does someone have a terrabyte HD in the under $100 price range to suggest, in case I do decide to replace it?

[Andy]

Side question, Do you not use Backblaze or similar service to backup all your stuff for about $60 a year?

[ian408]

Get EVERYTHING off of it. Clicks on hard drives are an almost certain sign of imminent failure. I call it (and I'm sure others do, as well) the "click of death."

I'll second this advice.

[angevin1]

It hasn't been clicking anymore, even when I've been using it. It stopped after just a couple days. I dunno... everything I have on it is backed up at least couple times elsewhere, including here. Is there any such thing as "it just needed warming up"? I have no trouble reading from or writing to it, etc. At any rate, does someone have a terrabyte HD in the under $100 price range to suggest, in case I do decide to replace it?


Newegg has a Seagate 7200 RPM 1TB for $70 right now

[WinsomeWorks]

Newegg has a Seagate 7200 RPM 1TB for $70 right now
Would I want to get another Seagate if this is typical for them, as someone suggested? And, @Andy-- no, I don't have other purchased backup besides all my photo backup. I know nothing about the rest of the computer backup, which is what I think you're talking about. We do have other important stuff backed up somehow, but I don't know the details on that... just know it's not a monthly/yearly fee. For me, my photos represent the bulk of my back-up worries.

[Art Scott]

Would I want to get another Seagate if this is typical for them, as someone suggested?

This is not typical of Seagate drives......it is a sign of a problem.....get everything off the drive and have it replaced.....if you bought it locally take it back if you are within your return window or go to Seagate for a replacement if you're not in that return window......I have been using Seagate's for many many many years and they have been the most reliable drive I have ever owned or dealt with......they were the drive of choice for my 13 years of computer manufacturing ......Seagate and Hitachi were the 2 that our warehouse was kept full of......they replaced all the other brands we had used with those 2 even if a customer had not complained of a prob...they got a brand new Seagate or Hitachi just in case and was told to move all data to the new drive and return the old one for disposal.


Good Luck

[jchin]

I have been using using Seagate drives for 15+ years and they have been very reliable. However, there has been a recent problem with their cheaper enclosures (External Desktop Drive, aka Expansion Drive);the problem is not the drive, it is the enclosure. The FreeAgent Desktop models work better and have a longer warranty.

FYI ... Seagate has an advance replacement option where they ship you the drive first. That way you can move all your data to the replacement drive before sending back the one that is going bad.

[Andy]

Would I want to get another Seagate if this is typical for them, as someone suggested? And, @Andy-- no, I don't have other purchased backup besides all my photo backup. I know nothing about the rest of the computer backup, which is what I think you're talking about. We do have other important stuff backed up somehow, but I don't know the details on that... just know it's not a monthly/yearly fee. For me, my photos represent the bulk of my back-up worries.
Stop what you are doing, NOW. Go and signup for Backblaze, or there are others. $60 a year and you'll NEVER have to worry about a mechanical disk drive failing, ever (and one will fail on you).

I use Backblaze. If my entire computer broke down and fried completely, all 4 Tb drives, it would be nothing more than a minor annoyance to me. All of my files, 10 years of digital stuff is fully backed up and off-site. And available to me via web access anytime, anywhere.

[pathfinder]

Wow, this is a great deal, Andy, they're even offering a $10 discount - $50 the first year.

[starlight]

Clicking HD = bad.

Maybe not today...maybe not tomorrow...but is it really worth the headache and risk?

Get it replaced and enjoy the piece of mind. :)

[rsquared]

I'd go beyond "clicking = bad" and say any abnormal noise from a hard drive is a warning of imminent failure. Don't walk, run to get a replacement.

And I've got to wholeheartedly agree with Andy. Backblaze is the greatest investment you could make. Seriously! For $5 per month it sits in the background and monitors for new and changed files, and automatically uploads them. Plus they keep everything for 30 days, so if you accidentally overwrite a file you can go back and download the previous version. The peace of mind is worth much more than the price of a latte each month.

[aquaticvideographer]

:agree

Backblaze just saved my friends' home-based business. When they were burgled, the burglars took both of their computers (one Mac, one PC) and external hard drives, including the Mac's Time Machine backup. The PC didn't have any kind of backup other than Backblaze.

So they ordered hard drives with all of their business files, previously backed up via Backblaze, and got them about two days later. Presto, all of their precious business data is back!

(Of course, ordering backups via hard drive costs more than the $50 or so bucks/year, but when you need hundreds of gigabytes of data in a hurry, it's still a great deal. You can also order backups to be delivered as files available for download over the internet, and that doesn't cost anything extra.)

I'm their volunteer IT guy, and we are all SO glad that they had Backblaze installed. It made all the difference between a bad situation that they could recover from quickly and a total catastrophe that could have shut down their business.

They are now back to work and their new computers are busy getting Backblaze to back everything up again.

So go get Backblaze! Hopefully, you'll never need it, but if you do, you'll be glad you've got it. :D

[WinsomeWorks]

I'd go beyond "clicking = bad" and say any abnormal noise from a hard drive is a warning of imminent failure. Don't walk, run to get a replacement.

And I've got to wholeheartedly agree with Andy. Backblaze is the greatest investment you could make. Seriously! For $5 per month it sits in the background and monitors for new and changed files, and automatically uploads them. Plus they keep everything for 30 days, so if you accidentally overwrite a file you can go back and download the previous version. The peace of mind is worth much more than the price of a latte each month. Well, ok, guys, you've basically sold me. It's just that there's always SOMEthing major we have to spend lots of $ on, & we're just not rich. $60 a yr. sounds fine on the surface, but when you're trying to scrape together pennies to put on a new roof & do $1300 car repairs, & I really need Lightroom, it's just... well... ya know... already don't buy many lattes! Anyway, as I said, I'd be way over my head w/ the whole computer back-up thing-- I don't even remotely understand how that's done by some online system. But I will def. talk to my spouse about this & see what we can do. His files are backed up elsewhere.

Really, not a lot happens on this computer that's important besides my photos, & as I said, they're backed up several other places besides HDs -- multiple DVDs, SmugMug, another computer, etc. Why is no one mentioning SmugVault for at least the non-jpg photo stuff? But yes, I will see if Seagate can send a replacement to move stuff to. Then learn about Backblaze. Aargh. Always something. I HATE moving folders around, too. But-- sounds like I just have to stop whining & bite the bullet. I just want to get finished reading the DAM book & spend time on that & reorganizing, and doing photography! My sister's MAC completely crashed & all her son's baby photos were non-recoverable, so I've seen that devastation first-hand, even while so many people seem to think MACs don't do such stuff! Backblaze would have saved her.