Hard Disk noises - Is it the sound of doom?

T

Tim Larcombe

Registered
Dear All,

My hard disk seems to be getting noiser and noiser. Sometime it sounds like hard rain on a plastic roof.

Space is getting limited. Have 7GB left of 37. I need a good sort out of files etc. but the noises are getting me nervous.

Should I be worried? How can I check the health of my hard disk?

Thanks and Kind Regards,

Tim

(G4 Powerbook - 2003)
 
There are two kind of people in this world: Those who have lost data, and those who will.

Buy a FireWire hard drive and make a back-up copy NOW.
 
While Adam is a bit loud about it, he is right on.

IT is much cheaper to by a drive now - backup what you have(restore it when the time comes) - than to lament about all that loss of data.
 
Heh... not to mention being ridiculed when your next post is entitled "Lost data on my hard drive -- how do I get it back?!"

j/k ;)

Seriously, though, it may just be because your hard drive is full and thrashing (scanning back and forth because of the fullness of the drive) a lot. If it only makes these noises while you're actually accessing the hard drive (launching a previously unlaunched program, saving a big file, reading a big document, etc.), then they may be perfectly normal.

If the drive "clicks" or "pops" in a rhythmic fashion, screeches, spins up and then back down a lot, or has excessive activity when it's not in use, then it's most likely on its way out.

In either case, having no backup should not be an option if anything on the drive is of value.
 
I agree with ElDiablo. Disks get fragmented, especially when they get fuller and fuller. Over time, this can translate into a lot of noise as the drive needs to hop all over the place just to read or write a single file.

A lot of people will tell you that fragmentation doesn't happen with OS X. This is a gross oversimplification (at best). You may want to try ShowVolumeFragmentation to see how much fragmentation you have.

The problem is, there aren't any really reliable ways to defragment a disk on OS X. :( When I want to defragment, I back up all my files, reinitialize my disk, and methodically restore them. Slow, but safe.
 
Also, if your HD is fomatted and Journaled is turned on, your fragmentation is quite low.

However, if it sounds like rain (as you mentione before) you are closed to being doomed! backup!! You can use Carbon Copy cloner to get you there.. then replace your hd with a new one.. lots of options. Just don't wait
 
Heh. Sorry for being loud... it's just that... I've lost data. And it is a sad experience. Sad sad sad.

Please, backup. Pretty please with sugar on top? :D
 
Good people of the Mac,

Thanks for your help. I get the message. Time to back up. No time to wait.

Can anyone recommend which FireWire drive I should go for as the hardware basis?

Kind Regards, Tim
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top