IBM Travelstar knocking problems
Tim Mavers
subsequently died several times and was brought back to life. This is my
2nd drive (the first one experienced the same problems but couldn't be
resucitated) that IBM replaced.
A friend with an A20p and the same drive also had to replace his after the
same thing happend. I have read about others having the same problems. I
heard there is a class-action lawsuit against IBM for a Deskstar model. Is
there anything regarding the Travelstar?
It seems to me that this is a common problem and could be a design-defect.
AJ
>Recently my IBM 32GB Travelstar HD started "knocking" again. It then
>subsequently died several times and was brought back to life. This is my
>2nd drive (the first one experienced the same problems but couldn't be
>resucitated) that IBM replaced.
>
>A friend with an A20p and the same drive also had to replace his after the
>same thing happend. I have read about others having the same problems. I
>heard there is a class-action lawsuit against IBM for a Deskstar model. Is
>there anything regarding the Travelstar?
As of a week ago, no.
>
>It seems to me that this is a common problem and could be a design-defect.
>
My 30GB Travelstar was silent with NTFS. Other people have reported
that also. Because of a WiFi compatability problem I removed XP. Now
with FAT32 I see what all the complaints are about. It might not be
very loud, but it is loud. The 10GB Toshiba with FAT32, was silent. If
you upgrade to XP, you might be very happy with it. As long as you use
NTFS.
AJ
AJ
chris
other person. The knocking on my A30p 48gh Travelstar drive has gotten
longer in its interval but the loudness of the noise is the same, as is the
frequency of the noise - intermittent and unpredictable (though increasingly
likely with frequent disk i/o).
What really, really angers me is that 1st level support seems to either be
totally surprised at this issue or is lying about knowing of it. I wouldn't
be surprised on either count, but I know for a fact they have given me bogus
stories about "no known issues with the A30p", when in reality all it takes
is to go out to the IBM forum and lookup things like "screen flicker",
"white spots on my screen", strange "buzzing/humming noise" from fan area,
and now, knocking. I still think my Thinkpad is an awesome machine
(recently confirmed by looking over a dozen different models in various
stores and noting all the flaws with them).
"Tim Mavers" <web...@hotmail.com> wrote in message
news:3c309dea$0$96824$45be...@newscene.com...
Bernhard Mayer
"chris" <usenet_...@hotmail.com> wrote in message
news:us6Y7.3129$TM3....@nwrddc02.gnilink.net...
> Holy shit, I thought I was like the only person to have this issue, save
one
> other person. The knocking on my A30p 48gh Travelstar drive has gotten
> longer in its interval but the loudness of the noise is the same, as is
the
> frequency of the noise - intermittent and unpredictable (though
increasingly
> likely with frequent disk i/o).
Come on guys, go to IBM's webpage and you'll find many sources that say that
this noise is perfectly normal (check FAQ and try the Ask-an-Expert
section).
In terms of first level support: well, some call it knocking, some clicking,
some scratching... how the heck are you (the call center) supposed to know
what actually the caller is talking about?
All the older generation DJSA drives from IBM (and Hitachi and Fujitsu for
that matter) have the clicken/knocking feature. Some have it more, some have
it less...
The knocking itself is not a problem at as it is just the heads parking.
What actually initiates the parking is beyond me. Switching off power
certainly causes the harddrive's head to park, but I suspect that a change
in voltage also causes the drive to send its heads parking.
During the knocking, the harddrive is virtually frozen (compareable to
freeze/sleep mode) which leads to a slight interruption in Windows or any
other operating system.
Some people suggest that the knocking gets worse over time and ends in a
corrupt/broken harddrive. I highly doubt that. I am dealing with lots of
notebooks and all of them have IBM Travelstar harddrive. They are used by
ignorant college girls & boys (read: consultants) and have been in use for
several years with more or less frequent knockings and no issue whatsoever.
They do get louder over time, though.
If this bothers you, I suggest you get the new ICN Travelstar series with
fluid spindle drives (Fujitsu has similar drives) which produce almost no
noise whatsoever... except for the head moving during data access. You
cannot hear the spindle at all.
Bottom line: what you call knocking is not a problem.
AJ
>
>All the older generation DJSA drives from IBM (and Hitachi and Fujitsu for
>that matter) have the clicken/knocking feature. Some have it more, some have
>it less...
>
AJ
chris
"Bernhard Mayer" <usen...@jet2web.cc> wrote in message
news:a0t1cq$msfeh$1...@ID-82827.news.dfncis.de...
>
> "chris" <usenet_...@hotmail.com> wrote in message
> news:us6Y7.3129$TM3....@nwrddc02.gnilink.net...
> > Holy shit, I thought I was like the only person to have this issue, save
> one
> > other person. The knocking on my A30p 48gh Travelstar drive has gotten
> > longer in its interval but the loudness of the noise is the same, as is
> the
> > frequency of the noise - intermittent and unpredictable (though
> increasingly
> > likely with frequent disk i/o).
>
> Come on guys, go to IBM's webpage and you'll find many sources that say
that
> this noise is perfectly normal (check FAQ and try the Ask-an-Expert
> section).
Then IBM's own support should get in sync with their webpage, because
they've told me that such a noise (i.e. a knocking) is definitely NOT normal
operational drive noies characteristics. Now, maybe IBM tech support is
wrong, God knows they've been wrong before, but either way, they should not
parrot something contradictory to IBM's other support documentatoin and FAQ
answers
>
> In terms of first level support: well, some call it knocking, some
clicking,
> some scratching... how the heck are you (the call center) supposed to know
> what actually the caller is talking about?
Yeah, and how can the words "scratching" and "knocking" possibly infer the
same noise? I believe IBM Thinkpad users have a much better command of the
English language that that! "Clicking" is also a known "feature" of many
hard drives, and I've made it very, very clear to support that I AM NOT
TALKING ABOUT CLICKING. Clicking noise sounds much different than the
KNOCKING noise which I have gone to much trouble to demonstrate to IBM tech
support. Actually, to my ears, the "knocking" noise can be simulated almost
exactly by simply tapping your finger on the ABS plastic case of the
Thinkpad, which makes me wonder whether what I'm dealing with is something
causing the actual drive to shift and slightly bump up against the underside
of the case. In any case, IBM's policy on this issue is this: 1.) either I
can let them hear the noise so they can decide what it is, and whether it is
normal or not (impossible since the noise is random and only lasts a few
seconds which isn't enough time to pick up the phone and dial the IBM
support number). I've tried to stay on the phone with an IBM support rep
for up to 30 minutes, and unforntunately, the noise never came up. 2.) I
can take it to an IBM service partner and have the run the Fitness Drive
Test (since the A30p does not come standard with a floppy drive or 3.) I can
send the laptop in to IBM and have them look at the drive. And ofcourse,
should the drive physically fail, then they'll replace it. I'm going with
option 3.) since I have to send my A30P unit in anyway to get the screen
repaired (it has the white spot problem on the left edge - see archives for
details on -that-)
>
> All the older generation DJSA drives from IBM (and Hitachi and Fujitsu for
> that matter) have the clicken/knocking feature. Some have it more, some
have
> it less...
Then I wish the IBM support people could simply state that instead of
drawing a complete blank. I mean, what you say here is independent of any
confusion over definitions of words used to describe either "clicking" or
"knocking", as both, according to you, are 'features'.
>
> The knocking itself is not a problem at as it is just the heads parking.
> What actually initiates the parking is beyond me. Switching off power
> certainly causes the harddrive's head to park, but I suspect that a change
> in voltage also causes the drive to send its heads parking.
That may be true, but again, the IBM staff should know this - they don't, or
they're not stating it. Now, I've heard other Travelstar models park their
heads and it makes a much louder and less frequent noise, and sounds more
like the mental image one gets when thinking of what is happening internally
when heads park. The *knocking* noise happens randomly, frequently during,
*and* in between, heavy I/O, makes stuttering, repetitive noises, like
tapping, that can happen up to a DOZEN or more times over the course of
about 3-10 seconds.
>
> During the knocking, the harddrive is virtually frozen (compareable to
> freeze/sleep mode) which leads to a slight interruption in Windows or any
> other operating system.
This I haven't noticed. The laptop seems to function perfectly whether the
noise is happening or not, which of course, doesn't mean it isn't virtually
frozen for very minute periods of time (which are undetectible). However,
the *duration* of this "frozen" state does NOT parallel the duration of the
NOISE. Because, if it did, I would have noticed it.
>
> Some people suggest that the knocking gets worse over time and ends in a
> corrupt/broken harddrive. I highly doubt that.
It's too early to tell. I've heard at least one person in this newsgroup
say that they've had the noise on an A series laptop for over a year with no
problems and I've also read those suggestions your refer to. Personally, my
guess is that the drive will keep on working fine with the noise. The
problem is, *I* don't keep working fine with the noise - it is VERY
ANNOYING.
>I am dealing with lots of
> notebooks and all of them have IBM Travelstar harddrive. They are used by
> ignorant college girls & boys (read: consultants) and have been in use for
> several years with more or less frequent knockings and no issue
whatsoever.
> They do get louder over time, though.
Which is what I don't want.
>
> If this bothers you, I suggest you get the new ICN Travelstar series with
> fluid spindle drives (Fujitsu has similar drives) which produce almost no
> noise whatsoever... except for the head moving during data access. You
> cannot hear the spindle at all.
Trust me, the noise would bother most people after a while. Even people
where I work, who sit the ten feet away, can here it when it's quiet. My
suggestion is IBM support get in sync with what their other online help
resources state, if only to be consistent, and secondly, have IBM try and
figure out why at least one person with an A30P on this newsgroups hears no
such noise while others, like me, obviously do, i.e. what is different about
our hardware? It could be an XP vs. 2000 issue, I don't know. If it is,
I'd like IBM tech support to have the competence to state that.
>
> Bottom line: what you call knocking is not a problem.
Bottom line: the customer is always right.
>
>
>
Ray McFinnish
"AJ" <aj...@hotmail.comremove> wrote in message
news:3c320edf...@news.rdc1.pa.home.com...
How about if you turn them on and use them?
> AJ
bobb
wrote:
>> They do get louder over time, though.
>
>Which is what I don't want.
General consensus is, this is true of the past generations of
travelstars. look at it this way, these are mechanical components,
they do wear out. If you get a year out of it, it's time to upgrade
anyway right, so upgrade to the fluid bearing type then.
>Trust me, the noise would bother most people after a while. Even people
>where I work, who sit the ten feet away, can here it when it's quiet. My
>suggestion is IBM support get in sync with what their other online help
>resources state, if only to be consistent, and secondly, have IBM try and
>figure out why at least one person with an A30P on this newsgroups hears no
>such noise while others, like me, obviously do, i.e. what is different about
>our hardware? It could be an XP vs. 2000 issue, I don't know. If it is,
>I'd like IBM tech support to have the competence to state that.
It's kinda subjective, but someone's post said he insisted, and IBM
replaced his HD anyway.
If IBM publicly acknowledge this to be a problem, they will have to do
a recall$ and if you own IBM stock, you would call them stupid.
-bobb
chris
"bobb" <no...@nowhere.com> wrote in message
news:3c38319f....@news.mindspring.com...
> On Tue, 01 Jan 2002 20:36:35 GMT, "chris" <usenet_...@hotmail.com>
> wrote:
>
> >> They do get louder over time, though.
> >
> >Which is what I don't want.
>
> General consensus is, this is true of the past generations of
> travelstars. look at it this way, these are mechanical components,
> they do wear out. If you get a year out of it, it's time to upgrade
> anyway right, so upgrade to the fluid bearing type then.
I understand what you're saying and yes, obviously these drives have many
mechanical parts that do have limited lifespans. However, again, I must
point out that this "consensus" you're referring to, as I've come to
understand it, revolves around the classic "clicking" noise, and other well
documented noises that seem inherent with a great majority of Travelstar
drives, old and new - one search on "clicking noise" in Google will confirm
this. But the "knocking" noise *is* different and, I believe, unusual.
And this knocking noise doesn't seem to part of the consensus, as a similar
search in Google seems to bring up comparitively little on "knocking", until
recently that is. Could folks be using "clicking" in place of "knocking"?
Sure, but not all of them. Clicking means clicking, knocking means just
that, knocking. I've had two other Travelstar drives, I'm quite familiar
with "clicking". And that clicking sounds nothing, nothing at all, like the
distinct knocking noise I've been discussing. In fact, the first time I
heard it (only a day or so after taking delivery of my new A30P) I literally
looked at the front door because I thought somebody was knocking. Then I
looked down, and thought I had a .wav file playing. Of course, neither were
true.
> >
>
> >Trust me, the noise would bother most people after a while. Even people
> >where I work, who sit the ten feet away, can here it when it's quiet. My
> >suggestion is IBM support get in sync with what their other online help
> >resources state, if only to be consistent, and secondly, have IBM try and
> >figure out why at least one person with an A30P on this newsgroups hears
no
> >such noise while others, like me, obviously do, i.e. what is different
about
> >our hardware? It could be an XP vs. 2000 issue, I don't know. If it is,
> >I'd like IBM tech support to have the competence to state that.
>
>
> It's kinda subjective, but someone's post said he insisted, and IBM
> replaced his HD anyway.
Oh, I'm sure IBM did, as it's in their best interest to do so, I think. In
fact, the support guy told me that if the problem really continued to bother
me so, he thought IBM would just replace it. However, I haven't taken them
up on that because, frankly, I'd like to see the results of the drive
fitness test (for my own curiousity) that I'm about to have run on it.
Plus, as the noise is, I can probably live with it, but not if it gets
worse - I can't imagine it getting that much worse than it already is. And
for the record, I hear very little "clicking", so in that regard, the drive
tends to be quiet, although it has a very distinct "clip clop clip clop clip
clop" like sound (somewhat like horses walking over a brick road) which,
compared to the knocking noise, is "charming".
>
> If IBM publicly acknowledge this to be a problem, they will have to do
> a recall$ and if you own IBM stock, you would call them stupid.
Well, it depends what the magnitude of the problem was. I mean, if the
noise is something that can fixed by an OS patch or a firmware upgrade, then
I hardly think shareholders would know, much less care about the issue. If
acknowledging the problem opened up such a can of worms that shareholders
would make front page news on the WSJ tomorrow by dumping their stock, I
suppose everybody, including Thinkpad users, can just make do.
>
>
>
>
>
> -bobb
>
bobb
wrote:
>I understand what you're saying and yes, obviously these drives have many
>mechanical parts that do have limited lifespans. However, again, I must
>point out that this "consensus" you're referring to, as I've come to
>understand it, revolves around the classic "clicking" noise, and other well
>documented noises that seem inherent with a great majority of Travelstar
>drives, old and new - one search on "clicking noise" in Google will confirm
>this.
I wouldn't put too much stock on these "noises." I owned 2
travelstars and both had a "kong" noise, when the head parked am
guessing. Both worked fine but they did get noisy (contant spindle
noise).
I mean the noise most people should have problem with is the spindle
noise, 'cause it's constant, whether the HD is being accessed or not.
You will always get some seeking noise when the HD is being accessed.
I am sensitive to laptops' noise, and I suggest to get as much ram as
possible so the HD access is kept to a minimum, and use your power
manager's quiet mode unless you absolutely need the performance.
-bobb
chris
I've got 256mb now. It'll be 512 very soon.
>
>
>
>
>
> -bobb
>
>
Tim Mavers
> Come on guys, go to IBM's webpage and you'll find many sources that say
that
> this noise is perfectly normal (check FAQ and try the Ask-an-Expert
> section).
>
> What actually initiates the parking is beyond me. Switching off power
> certainly causes the harddrive's head to park, but I suspect that a change
> in voltage also causes the drive to send its heads parking.
>
> freeze/sleep mode) which leads to a slight interruption in Windows or any
> other operating system.
How often should the heads park? Sometimes the knocking noise happens every
2 or 3 seconds for about a minute or so. Sometimes I can go an entire day
with only two or three knocks, sometimes it knocks so much I have to shut
down the machine.
I ran SMARTDefender and it said the drive was bad and should be returned
immediately.
What gives?
RaJaGra
>
> How often should the heads park? Sometimes the knocking noise happens every
> 2 or 3 seconds for about a minute or so. Sometimes I can go an entire day
> with only two or three knocks, sometimes it knocks so much I have to shut
> down the machine.
>
> I ran SMARTDefender and it said the drive was bad and should be returned
> immediately.
>
> What gives?
How many people with this problem are running Win ME or XP with
system restore running? Just a thought.
...Ray.
<UFO>
"RaJaGra" <ray....@dial.pipex.com> wrote in message
news:3C34EDA5...@dial.pipex.com...
I have it, and I'm running w2k.
>
>
Justin Miranda
I've been experiencing the same thing since I bought my Dell Latitude
C800 (win2k) last May. I have a Travelstar 32GB drive and I've been
searching Google constantly over the past few months to see if anyone
else has experienced this noise. There are a bunch of complaints
about Travelstar drives in general, but until tonight, I hadn't found
a single thread on the 32GB drive.
Anyway, I wrote to Dell several times asking for some advice/direction
... they had no idea there was a problem with the drives, but decided
to send me a new drive anyway. I would have rather found a solution
because I feel that the replacement is probably going to make the same
noise (after reading all these posts). Anyway, I did read that you
could disable the drive's power management system through the BIOS. I
disabled the drives power management through the BIOS, but the noise
persists. Any other suggestions? I think I might bite the bullet and
purchase an ICN Travelstar (as Bernhard suggested).
For the record, I've heard this noise described as a "clicking" sound,
a "knocking" sound, a "groink-plink" sound (maybe not the same thing),
and a "rattling" sound. Whichever way you want to describe it, its
annoying and its been getting worse over time (more frequent and
louder).
Is it worth it to run IBM's Drive Fitness Test utility? Will
converting to NTFS help?
I found this on the IBM site. It was posted in March 2001.
PROBLEM
I just purchased a new Travelstar drive and it makes a strange
rattling noise when I move it. Is this normal?
SOLUTION
The newer Travelstar drives have a passive locking mechanism holding
the actuator in place, causing the drive to rattle when shaken.
Following is a list of the drive models that contain this mechanism:
Travelstar 4GT (DTCA)
Travelstar 5GS (DPLA)
Travelstar 3GN (DYKA)
Travelstar 8GS (DYLA)
Travelstar 6GT (DADA)
Travelstar 4GN (DKLA)
Travelstar 32GH (DJSA)
Travelstar 30GT (DJSA)
Travelstar 20GN (DJSA)
Travelstar 12GN (DARA)
Travelstar 18GT (DARA)
Travelstar 14GS (DCYA)
Travelstar 10GT (DCXA)
Travelstar 6GN (DBCA)
Bernhard Mayer
"Justin Miranda" <tla...@yahoo.com> wrote in message
news:bc5971d2.0201...@posting.google.com...
> disabled the drives power management through the BIOS, but the noise
> persists. Any other suggestions? I think I might bite the bullet and
> purchase an ICN Travelstar (as Bernhard suggested).
I don't know... I have around 10-30 notebooks with Travelstar drives (DJSA
220) in my neighbourhood in the office (pretty much same age, as they were
all updated about 6 weeks ago)... some are really bad and some are just very
quit... the non-NTFS ones tend to be worse
The ICN are a lot better. The only noise you here is the head moving
> Is it worth it to run IBM's Drive Fitness Test utility? Will
> converting to NTFS help?
If you're running Win2k, NTFS is a must... to many benefits to skip it
I always run the SMARTDefender utility from IBM which is supposed to warn me
if the harddrive is about to die
http://www.storage.ibm.com/hdd/support/download.htm
> I found this on the IBM site. It was posted in March 2001.
that problem is something else... the heads are loose (and supposed to be
that way) when the drive is off... that causes a rattling noise when you
physically move the harddisk
sounds like a loose screw inside the harddrive... but when you get a chance,
you can open an old (broken) Travelstar and check it out... the mechanics
are actually designed quite well - including the part that causes the
rattling noise
Annunaki
Somebody sent me an email from the Netherlands, I believe, with a .wav file
containing the knocking type sound they had heard on their 48GH Travelstar.
Well, I listened to it, and it almost identical to the knocking I hear, even
ending with the same little I/O seek noise and lasting about the same
duration.
>
> Is it worth it to run IBM's Drive Fitness Test utility?
That seems to be IBM's defacto recommendation for troubleshooting just about
any weird drive problem, and specifically, this knocking problem we both
seem to share.
> Will
> converting to NTFS help?
Not sure.
>
> I found this on the IBM site. It was posted in March 2001.
>
> PROBLEM
> I just purchased a new Travelstar drive and it makes a strange
> rattling noise when I move it. Is this normal?
I believe this is probably a different issue from the knocking noise, as I
can move my Thinkpad around and hear no noise at all.
Annunaki
>
> "Justin Miranda" <tla...@yahoo.com> wrote in message
> news:bc5971d2.0201...@posting.google.com...
> > disabled the drives power management through the BIOS, but the noise
> > persists. Any other suggestions? I think I might bite the bullet and
> > purchase an ICN Travelstar (as Bernhard suggested).
>
> I don't know... I have around 10-30 notebooks with Travelstar drives (DJSA
> 220) in my neighbourhood in the office (pretty much same age, as they were
> all updated about 6 weeks ago)... some are really bad and some are just
very
> quit... the non-NTFS ones tend to be worse
>
> The ICN are a lot better. The only noise you here is the head moving
>
> > Is it worth it to run IBM's Drive Fitness Test utility? Will
> > converting to NTFS help?
>
> If you're running Win2k, NTFS is a must... to many benefits to skip it
>
> I always run the SMARTDefender utility from IBM which is supposed to warn
me
> if the harddrive is about to die
I ran this almost every time I heard my knocking noise during the first week
or so when I noticed the issue, and it always finished the tests
successfully, with a "healthy" status to report.
K Haito
I've just got a week old IBM A30p with the standard 48GB hard drive and it
also clicks. My OS is Windows XP and the computer was purchased directly
from IBM. It's got a 3 year onsite warranty, so I have plenty of time to
claim if it gets worse.
I read on the Dell Talk forum of these hard drives clicking away, so I'm not
to worried about it at present. If it gets louder I'll do something but at
present it is sounds like someone dropping a small screws onto metal.
Kevin
"Annunaki" <usenet_...@hotmail.com> wrote in message
news:a0WZ7.1845$t45...@nwrddc01.gnilink.net...
Harry Krause
> Hi
>
> I've just got a week old IBM A30p with the standard 48GB hard drive and it
> also clicks. My OS is Windows XP and the computer was purchased directly
> from IBM. It's got a 3 year onsite warranty, so I have plenty of time to
> claim if it gets worse.
>
> I read on the Dell Talk forum of these hard drives clicking away, so I'm not
> to worried about it at present. If it gets louder I'll do something but at
> present it is sounds like someone dropping a small screws onto metal.
>
> Kevin
Kevin:
How was that drive partitioned when it arrived...and are you planning to
keep it that way?
I've got a 30-gig IBM HD coming in in the T23 I ordered and I'm curious
how it might be set up. I ordered with Win2k.
Interesting aside. I wanted the T23 with the 1024x768 native res screen.
You can't order that model with the 48-gig hard drive, or so I was
told, but you can install one later if you want.
Whatever logic there is in that escapes me.
--
Harry Krause
- -
I think American labor unions get a large share of the credit for making
us a middle-class country. - George Will
AJ
>
>Is it worth it to run IBM's Drive Fitness Test utility? Will
>converting to NTFS help?
>
later and was shocked by the noise. I run a 2GB Travelstar in an
external USB enclosure with FAT32, and its silent. I have a 12GB
Travelstar in a Dell with FAT32 and that ones silent.
AJ
Annunaki
"K Haito" <k.h...@nospam.ntlworld.com> wrote in message
news:8HZZ7.1532$6q2.4...@news2-win.server.ntlworld.com...
> Hi
>
> I've just got a week old IBM A30p with the standard 48GB hard drive and it
> also clicks. My OS is Windows XP and the computer was purchased directly
> from IBM. It's got a 3 year onsite warranty, so I have plenty of time to
> claim if it gets worse.
On site? How did you get that - I thought the A30p came with 3 years but
not on-site.
JHEM
>
> "K Haito" <k.h...@nospam.ntlworld.com> wrote in message
> news:8HZZ7.1532$6q2.4...@news2-win.server.ntlworld.com...
> > Hi
> >
> > I've just got a week old IBM A30p with the standard 48GB hard drive and
it
> > also clicks. My OS is Windows XP and the computer was purchased directly
> > from IBM. It's got a 3 year onsite warranty, so I have plenty of time to
> > claim if it gets worse.
>
> On site? How did you get that - I thought the A30p came with 3 years but
> not on-site.
You can "upgrade" the 3 year warranty to 9 to 5 next day onsite service for
$147.
http://commerce.www.ibm.com/cgi-bin/ncommerce/CategoryDisplay?cntrfnbr=1&cgm
enbr=1&cntry=840&lang=en_US&scrfnbr=73&cgrfnbr=2307796&x=10&y=12
Not available for "personal" users, only for units in business,
professional, or trade use, and only available in major metropolitan areas,
regardless of the fact that it's touted as being "nationwide".
Those caveats being given, my Philadelphia area based machines have had next
day service in Dallas, San Francisco, Seattle and Miami.
Regards,
James
Annunaki
"JHEM" <James@NO_SPAM.thinkpads.com> wrote in message
news:lu1_7.2262$IP....@nwrddc02.gnilink.net...
That figures.
>
> Regards,
>
> James
>
>
>
Justin Miranda
> news:bc5971d2.0201...@posting.google.com...
> > disabled the drives power management through the BIOS, but the noise
> > persists. Any other suggestions? I think I might bite the bullet and
> > purchase an ICN Travelstar (as Bernhard suggested).
>
> I don't know... I have around 10-30 notebooks with Travelstar drives (DJSA
> 220) in my neighbourhood in the office (pretty much same age, as they were
> all updated about 6 weeks ago)... some are really bad and some are just very
> quit... the non-NTFS ones tend to be worse
>
> The ICN are a lot better. The only noise you here is the head moving
>
> > Is it worth it to run IBM's Drive Fitness Test utility? Will
> > converting to NTFS help?
>
> If you're running Win2k, NTFS is a must... to many benefits to skip it
I installed Linux on another partition and I wanted to be able to read
from the windows partitions, so I used FAT32 -- apparently linux has
some problems with NTFS drives. I recently decided not to use Linux
anymore as I have a couple other machines that I can use. So here's
my dilemma: Dell is sending me a new drive. Should I just backup the
old drive and start from scratch or convert the old drive to NTFS and
send the new drive back. I want to do this as painlessly as possible.
I have PartitionMagic and would consider just converting the
partitions to NTFS, and if the noise stops (or becomes less frequent),
just send the replacement drive back to Dell.
By the way, thanks for your suggestions.
> I always run the SMARTDefender utility from IBM which is supposed to warn me
> if the harddrive is about to die
>
> http://www.storage.ibm.com/hdd/support/download.htm
>
justin
Bernhard Mayer
> my dilemma: Dell is sending me a new drive. Should I just backup the
> old drive and start from scratch or convert the old drive to NTFS and
> send the new drive back. I want to do this as painlessly as possible.
> I have PartitionMagic and would consider just converting the
> partitions to NTFS, and if the noise stops (or becomes less frequent),
> just send the replacement drive back to Dell.
Well, since they are sending you a brand new (?) drive anyway, I'd
actually use the new one... even if it implies a lot of setup.
1. setting up a fresh windows is not the worst thing to do from time
to time
2. chances are, the new drive is a lot quieter
K Haito
>On site? How did you get that - I thought the A30p >came with 3 years but
>not on-site.
I'm in the UK and they have the option to upgrade to 3 years on-site for an
extra £153. It product code 87H8416 for me. Might be worth a try. You can
purchase it anytime during the first year, the price is the same but it
still expires when your ordinary warranty ends.
All the best
Kevin
"Annunaki" <usenet_...@hotmail.com> wrote in message
news:vM%Z7.2066$t45...@nwrddc01.gnilink.net...
K Haito
It came with one visible partition and one invisible partition which houses
the operating system back up files. The problem here is you don't get the OS
CD. What would happen if my hard disk gave up the ghost? I'd end up with no
operating system! They are easily removed, just one screw but you will end
up with the same problem as above unless IBM supply hard disks with the OS
of choice on! Worth checking into that before you purchase yours. The A30p
comes with the 1600x1200 UXGA screen which is beautiful. No dead pixels or
bands on mine.
You'll be happy with it though, as superb piece of equipment and well made.
My only grumble is I ordered the Alpha Executive case with mine and the top
doesn't open far enough to stop the zipper from rubbing on the case but more
importantly on the black plastic strip that house the external display icons
at the bottom top of the notebook. I've just got myself a dark blue pillow
case and I'm going to put the notebook into that first and then slide it
into the case. If the zipper ruins the pillow case in a few years it doesn't
matter so much.
All the best
Kevin
"Harry Krause" <hkr...@mindspring.com> wrote in message
news:3C386B31...@mindspring.com...
Unhappy Macnam
weeks. You can hear it at http://www.geocities.com/h4c22/clanking.wav .
IBM was thoughtful enough to place the microphone very close to the disk
drive to facilitate recording it. I called IBM and described the sound
to them and they agreed it was time for a new drive, but they said they
didn't have any 32GB drives in stock and they wouldn't be coming in
until December 17. (They didn't say which year.) However they agreed to
send me a 20GB drive to tide me over in the meantime. So they promptly
shipped me the 20GB drive, but not wanting to do a full Windows
reinstall and chuck a lot of my files, I have been just living with the
clanking drive and doing very frequent backups. So far, nothing has gone
wrong, and the clanking seems to have subsided - but not stopped
completely.
RaJaGra
> I've had what I call a "clanking" sound on my A21P for the last several
> weeks. You can hear it at http://www.geocities.com/h4c22/clanking.wav .
> IBM was thoughtful enough to place the microphone very close to the disk
> drive to facilitate recording it. I called IBM and described the sound
> to them and they agreed it was time for a new drive, but they said they
> didn't have any 32GB drives in stock and they wouldn't be coming in
> until December 17. (They didn't say which year.) However they agreed to
> send me a 20GB drive to tide me over in the meantime.
Industry standard practice is to give you the next size up as a replacement.
But I guess that's expecting a lot in this case!
Still, I would've tried for it.
...Ray.
Unhappy Macnam
RaJaGra wrote:
> Industry standard practice is to give you the next size up as a replacement.
>
> But I guess that's expecting a lot in this case!
> Still, I would've tried for it.
My dad is a shoemaker
JHEM
If the drive craps out, they're _supposed_ to send you another drive with
the OS and the recovery partition already installed.
However, with a firm application of bitching and moaning, Big Blue has been
known to cough up an actual recovery CD!
Regards,
James
"K Haito" <k.h...@nospam.ntlworld.com> wrote in message
news:Qlo_7.11149$qL3.1...@news6-win.server.ntlworld.com...
Boyan
Hello,
On Tue, 8 Jan 2002, RaJaGra wrote:
> Unhappy Macnam wrote:
>
> > I've had what I call a "clanking" sound on my A21P for the last several
> > weeks. You can hear it at http://www.geocities.com/h4c22/clanking.wav .
> > IBM was thoughtful enough to place the microphone very close to the disk
The whole long list of negative postings surprises me and provoked my
reply. I have my 48Gb travelstar for five months now and am perfectly
happy with its speed and 'noise'. On my tp 600x I use fat, fat32 and
reiserfs and have noticed nothing of the knocking problems you describe.
There is a slight click from time to time but that is all. Nothing unusual
or disturbing and certainly not louder than the original 12Gb travelstar I
bought the laptop with.
Regards,
Boyan.
pj
"Boyan" <b...@stw-bonn.de> wrote in message
news:Pine.WNT.4.40.020...@pc2035.cicero.uni-bonn.de...
No problems here with my 20 GB IBM Travelstar . . . it's actually very
quiet . I have a 30 GB Travelstar on order at this time (30GN) and can only
hope it's just as quiet .
pj
Art Engel
>With three 20 GB and one 30GB still running, I wonder what this
>knocking is all about.
My original 8.1GB hdd was making an annoying continuous high-pitched
whining noise so I had it replaced under warranty.
The replacement that IBM sent was a 10GB Travelstar (DJSA-210) set as
8.1GB (probably in firmware as I couldn't ever figure out how to use
the remaining 1.9GB). The new 8.1GB Travelstar made two sounds - a
slight clicking when accessing the drive sometimes (very often) and a
clunking only occasionally. The clunking would only occur on a very
few days but when it occurred it would happen 10-20 times during the
course of the day. The sound was virtually identical to what Unhappy
Macnam posted on the Web.
I got IBM to replace the new 8.1GB under warranty but in the meantime
bought, installed and am using a 30GB Travelstar (IC25N030ATDA04). The
30GB makes a frequent clicking noise when accessing the drive but
never a "clunking" noise like I got on my first 8.1GB drive.
[When I talked to the IBM people the response I got was approximately
"Maybe the head is crashing into the disk, I don't know. It might be
something innocuous or it might be really bad. We can replace the disk
if you want, it is up to you." Needless to say, I decided to replace
the disk for safety's sake and now have an extra 8.1GB hard drive.
Interstingly, I note that the first replacement 8.1GB was manufactured
in Eastern Europe (Hungary, if I recall correctly) while the second
replacement 8.1GB was manufactured in the Far East.]
Sounds like maybe there is a real problem with some of the Travelstar
drives. Mabye it is related to place of manufacture or type of drive
(I note that the Travelstar line has many different models which
presumably have significant design differences).
Art
Art Engel
e-mail: artengel123 (at) earthlink.net
Web: http://www.racingrules.org
deathzone
"Francis Lee" <f...@pic.com> wrote in message
news:9dh65usi7efrms3f5...@4ax.com...
> knocking is all about.
>
Very simple.....I had a brand spanking new A30p with a Travelstar 48Gb drive
in it....and it KNOCKED like freaking hell, constantly. It was a headache.
EZServe tested the drive, discovered the problem and subsequently swapped it
out for a new drive - all is fine now. Don't knock the people reporting the
knocking noises....they're not hearing things.
> ;+)
Tim Mavers
news:VKn68.7695$pb....@nwrddc01.gnilink.net...
> Very simple.....I had a brand spanking new A30p with a Travelstar 48Gb
drive
> in it....and it KNOCKED like freaking hell, constantly. It was a
headache.
> EZServe tested the drive, discovered the problem and subsequently swapped
it
> out for a new drive - all is fine now. Don't knock the people reporting
the
> knocking noises....they're not hearing things.
I agree... The knocking problem is very strange... A few weeks ago my 32GB
Travelstar was knocking badly (2nd one after replacement). The drive then
died. I left it alone for a day, and then it started working fine again;
an occasional knock, but nothing major.
I have found that the Drive Fitness Test software seems to report the
condition of the drive pretty accurately. My original 18GB Travelstar
(that came with my A20p) finally died (was actually in the process of)...
Fortunately DFT diagnosed it and IBM promptly replaced it.
IBM service is great, I have nothing but A+ marks to give them (I have
replaced a few things with my A20p and have always been amazed by their
service, i.e. overnight shipping all on their dime). The hardware itself
is a bit of a different story. I honestly don't trust their drives, simply
because in the past 2 years, I have had 3 replacements (on 18GB and 32GB
models). If my current 32GB starts acting up again (which is already a
replacement), that will make 4.
A friend of mine with an A21p has had to replace his 32GB and 48GB drives
too.
Andrew A. Napolitan
Andrew
"Tim Mavers" <web...@hotmail.com> wrote in message
news:3c5c330d$0$33017$45be...@newscene.com...
Andrew Jackson Wells
600x running windows 2000... now I have a 40gn 20GB in a 600x running
Windows 98 and it works perfectly... is there really any sort of W2000 link
to all this?
"Francis Lee" <f...@pic.com> wrote in message
news:3j6p5uc83u7s570oa...@4ax.com...
> On Sat, 2 Feb 2002 14:25:36 -0500, "Andrew A. Napolitan"
> <napo...@charter.net> wrote:
>
> >By any chance is everyone running window 2000, we had same problem here.
>
>
> Strange you ask, the Thinkpad A20Ps I dealt with are all running on
> Win2000. I am in Sydney, but this units are from people in the US,
> all drives are made in Thailand, and I have yet to encounter this
> "knocking", it had been puzzling for me to read it here more than
> once. Quite a few of thes laptop also have another 20/30 gig in the
> ultrabay, but no such problems. A20P were made in Mexico.
Art Engel
8.1GB Travelstar harddrive.
Art
Donkey Agony
> Not exclusively a W2k problem as I had the problem using Win98SE on a
> 8.1GB Travelstar harddrive.
I've also heard that it's caused by the FAT filesystem.
Anyone had the knocking problem with NTFS?
/da
Tim Mavers
news:u5oinjo...@corp.supernews.com...
> By any chance is everyone running window 2000, we had same problem here.
Two of the three drives were replaced when I was running Win2000 (preloaded
from IBM with A20p), the last drive was replaced when running XP (it saw
only XP too).
Tim Mavers
> On Sat, 2 Feb 2002 14:25:36 -0500, "Andrew A. Napolitan"
> <napo...@charter.net> wrote:
>
> >By any chance is everyone running window 2000, we had same problem here.
>
>
> Win2000. I am in Sydney, but this units are from people in the US,
> all drives are made in Thailand, and I have yet to encounter this
> "knocking", it had been puzzling for me to read it here more than
> once. Quite a few of thes laptop also have another 20/30 gig in the
> ultrabay, but no such problems. A20P were made in Mexico.
Yeah, but drives down there spin the opposite way, right? :)
Seriously, I only know one person with a Thinkpad and a Travelstar (32GB)
that hasn't had any problems. What does this prove? Not much, but I know
A LOT of people that have had problems. What does this prove? Not much,
but I find it strange that so many people have had so many problems...
drg...@ziplink.net
Yeah... Constant knocking is indicative of a problem.... however...
almost all the IBM drives I own.... will emit a "patink" from time
to time... at worse its like once every few minutes, during intense
disk activity (eg, me shoveling 10G of files onto or off of the
disk) During normal use I only hear it once in a great while.. this
seems to occur on the DJSA-210s and 220s quiite a bit. Interestingly
enough I own a couple of DJSA-232s, and I have yet to hear
any noise from them other than the seeking noise they make. Oddly
enough for being a faster drive the DJSA-232s are quieter than the
210 and the 220.
-Mike
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no...@nospam.com
On 22-Feb-2002, drg...@ziplink.net wrote:
> Yeah... Constant knocking is indicative of a problem.... however...
> almost all the IBM drives I own.... will emit a "patink" from time
> to time... at worse its like once every few minutes, during intense
> disk activity (eg, me shoveling 10G of files onto or off of the
> disk) During normal use I only hear it once in a great while
I have a Compaq 2701 with a 60 G, 5400 RPM IBM Travelstar disk, and it is so
quiet that I have to put my ear practically against the case to even tell that
its working.