External firewire drive issue

[Suze]

Mac Mini 2.26 Ghz late 2009 model with 22- and 24-inch monitors, with a
160 G external Western Digital Firewire drive (circa 2006)

The drive has started causing monitor flickering when it cycles up and
it's getting kind of noisy with the cycling down. If I dismount the
drive but leave it turned on, no flicker.

I also have an aging LaCie Porsche external firewire 250 G close the
same age as the WD, but it's not causing any problems with flickering or
anything else.

Any thoughts from those more knowledgable than I regarding the WD drive?
Reckon it's reaching end of life?
--
Live every day like it's your last--someday you'll be right.

[Fred Moore]

In article
<replytome-BB69D...@news.eternal-september.org>,

Suze <repl...@thenewsgroup.com> wrote:

> Mac Mini 2.26 Ghz late 2009 model with 22- and 24-inch monitors, with a
> 160 G external Western Digital Firewire drive (circa 2006)
>
> The drive has started causing monitor flickering when it cycles up and
> it's getting kind of noisy with the cycling down. If I dismount the
> drive but leave it turned on, no flicker.

The noise is probably the biggest clue. The drive is >6 years old so the
lubricant on the main bearing may have dried up. This can cause spurious
reads on start up which I suppose could cause the flickering. (Don't
really know about the monitor impact.) However, the fact that the
problem is gone when the drive has been running for a while, even though
it has been dismounted, reinforces the main-bearing lubricant
hypothesis. Once the bearing is warm, the remaining lubricant is enough.

Because of the drive's age, I'd get a new drive *immediately* and
transfer the data before it's too late.

> I also have an aging LaCie Porsche external firewire 250 G close the
> same age as the WD, but it's not causing any problems with flickering or
> anything else.
>
> Any thoughts from those more knowledgable than I regarding the WD drive?
> Reckon it's reaching end of life?

--

I'm tempted to stop acting randomly.
--Wally, Dilbert 2010.1.9

[Suze]

In article
<replytome-BB69D...@news.eternal-september.org>,
Suze <repl...@thenewsgroup.com> wrote:

> Mac Mini 2.26 Ghz late 2009 model with 22- and 24-inch monitors, with a
> 160 G external Western Digital Firewire drive (circa 2006)
>
> The drive has started causing monitor flickering when it cycles up and
> it's getting kind of noisy with the cycling down. If I dismount the
> drive but leave it turned on, no flicker.
>
> I also have an aging LaCie Porsche external firewire 250 G close the
> same age as the WD, but it's not causing any problems with flickering or
> anything else.
>
> Any thoughts from those more knowledgable than I regarding the WD drive?
> Reckon it's reaching end of life?

Thanks for the replies, I appreciate it.