External 1TB drive is clicking

  • Thread starter Thread starter Yousuf Khan
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Yousuf Khan

I got an external 1 TB USB2 drive from Iomega (internally it's a Seagate
ST31000528AS). It's recently started clicking randomly. It clicks even
when it's not doing anything, not just when it's active.

I don't see anything wrong on it through SMART. But here's the report below.

Yousuf Khan
 
Yousuf Khan said:
I got an external 1 TB USB2 drive from Iomega (internally it's a Seagate ST31000528AS). It's recently started clicking
randomly. It clicks even when it's not doing anything, not just when it's active.
Click to expand...

Likely its just recalibrating, the temp it a little on the high side.
I don't see anything wrong on it through SMART.
Click to expand...

Its fine apart from the max temp seen.
 
Likely its just recalibrating, the temp it a little on the high side.
Click to expand...

Well this drive has been seeing high temps since it was bought, it never
used to click like this before. In fact, the only thing different about
it this time was that I had given it a couple of days off, turned off
and unused, and left at room temperature. The clicking started happening
after restarting it.

Yousuf Khan
 
Well this drive has been seeing high temps since it was bought, it never
used to click like this before. In fact, the only thing different about
it this time was that I had given it a couple of days off, turned off
and unused, and left at room temperature. The clicking started happening
after restarting it.

Yousuf Khan
Click to expand...


First verify the "clicking" condition isn't a peripheral dependency
(from cables, connections, and source power) by removing the drive and
powering it independently through internal computer connections.

Past native OS media diagnostics, check your firmware update options,
including software utilities available from Seagate, as well 3rd party
software for manipulating obtainable parameters within broader HD
industry standards compatible to a SMART firmware region. You may have
more factors to work with, such as to disable ShockProtection and
PowerSaving set natively by the factory.
 
Yousuf Khan said:
I got an external 1 TB USB2 drive from Iomega (internally it's a Seagate
ST31000528AS). It's recently started clicking randomly. It clicks even
when it's not doing anything, not just when it's active.
Click to expand...
I don't see anything wrong on it through SMART. But here's the report below.
Click to expand...
Yousuf Khan
Click to expand...

Seek Error Rate looks not so good. Maybe its PSU is going bad
and it needs to frequently recalibrate?

Arno
 
Yousuf Khan wrote
Rod Speed wrote
Click to expand...
Well this drive has been seeing high temps since it was bought, it never used to click like this before. In fact, the
only thing
different about it this time was that I had given it a couple of days off, turned off and unused, and left at room
temperature. The clicking started happening after restarting it.
Click to expand...

Thats more evidence of recalibrating as it warms up.

I should have said that the recalibrating on temp CHANGE is whats
likely, and not implied that will only do that on the higher temps.

It should be easy to test if thats why its clicking more than preivously.
 
Seek Error Rate looks not so good. Maybe its PSU is going bad
and it needs to frequently recalibrate?

Arno
Click to expand...

Arno, I've explained this to you several times now. I even took the
trouble to provide a worked example.

Once again, THERE IS ABSOLUTELY NOTHING WRONG WITH THE SEEK ERROR RATE
ATTRIBUTE.

In fact the drive has recorded 8084100 seeks without a single error.

normalised SER = -10 log (lifetime seek errors / lifetime seeks) = 69

http://www.google.com/search?q=-10+log+(1+/+8084100)

- Franc Zabkar
 
Franc Zabkar said:
On 28 Aug 2011 17:11:19 GMT, Arno <[email protected]> put finger to
keyboard and composed:
Click to expand...
Arno, I've explained this to you several times now. I even took the
trouble to provide a worked example.
Click to expand...
Once again, THERE IS ABSOLUTELY NOTHING WRONG WITH THE SEEK ERROR RATE
ATTRIBUTE.
Click to expand...

No need to scream. This Seagate stupidity gets me every time.
Maybe also because I threw all out Seagate trash after they
delivered me a ES drive shiopped with visible mechanical
damage to the PCB from their chinese factory.
In fact the drive has recorded 8084100 seeks without a single error.
Click to expand...
normalised SER = -10 log (lifetime seek errors / lifetime seeks) = 69
Click to expand...

Your numbers are off:

-10 log (0) -> +/- inf
10^(69/-10) * 8084100 = 1

Would that maybe be

normalised SER = -10 log ((lifetime seek errors + 1)/ lifetime seeks)

Arno
 
First verify the "clicking" condition isn't a peripheral dependency
(from cables, connections, and source power) by removing the drive and
powering it independently through internal computer connections.
Click to expand...

Actually I did do that, it's happening even when not connected to the
computer system. In fact, it first starts clicking on first startup.
Something it never used to do before.

I've played with its acoustic management controls, and I've set it
slowest performance, quietest operation. That resulted in only a
slightly reduced amount of clicking.

Yousuf Khan
 
The best way to test it would be to remove the drive
from the external case and connect it directly to one of
your PC's motherboard SATA ports. If you happen to
have a spare drive that you no longer use, you could try
that in the external case.

I once had this clicking occur with an external USB HD, and
the fault was with the controller in the external housing.
Click to expand...

Yeah, I just tried that last night, I couldn't get the enclosure opened
without breaking it. The drive came originally as an external hard disk,
it wasn't an enclosure and hard drive that I built myself.

Yousuf Khan
 
Yousuf Khan wrote
(e-mail address removed) wrote
Click to expand...
Actually I did do that, it's happening even when not connected to the
computer system. In fact, it first starts clicking on first startup.
Something it never used to do before.
Click to expand...
I've played with its acoustic management controls, and I've set it
slowest performance, quietest operation. That resulted in only a
slightly reduced amount of clicking.
Click to expand...

It would be interesting to rigorously test it the acoustic management
has any effect at all on the frequency of the clicking, because if it
did, it isnt likely to be recalibrating.
 
Yousuf said:
I got an external 1 TB USB2 drive from Iomega
Click to expand...
I couldn't get the enclosure opened without breaking it.
Click to expand...

There are several YouTube videos about opening external hard drive
enclosures. I have only an old Iomega HD, and it has some screws
hidden behind its rubber feet.

Other enclosures with halves that meet in the middle of the perimeter
probably need one of the halves pressed in and the other pressed out,
to release tabs. Fingers often work for this, but a thin, dull,
smooth knife (like a butter knife) or two can be a real help here and
will not only slip into the crack easier but also gouge the plastic
less. Those tabs often break but can be reglued with solvent weld
(lacquer thinner, automotive carburetor choke or throttle body spray),
but full strength doesn't develop for 48 hours. Do not use super glue.
 
There are several YouTube videos about opening external hard drive
enclosures. I have only an old Iomega HD, and it has some screws
hidden behind its rubber feet.
Click to expand...

That might be relevant here, I have an Iomega enclosure too. I'll check
out the videos.

Yousuf Khan
 
There are several YouTube videos about opening external hard drive
enclosures. I have only an old Iomega HD, and it has some screws
hidden behind its rubber feet.

Other enclosures with halves that meet in the middle of the perimeter
probably need one of the halves pressed in and the other pressed out,
to release tabs. Fingers often work for this, but a thin, dull,
smooth knife (like a butter knife) or two can be a real help here and
will not only slip into the crack easier but also gouge the plastic
less. Those tabs often break but can be reglued with solvent weld
(lacquer thinner, automotive carburetor choke or throttle body spray),
but full strength doesn't develop for 48 hours. Do not use super glue.
Click to expand...
There is a simple plastic tool you can get for cheap that is meant for popping
open laptops that can work for all other cases like you describe.
 
GMAN wrote
There is a simple plastic tool you can get for cheap that is meant for
popping open laptops that can work for all other cases like you describe.
Click to expand...

Gotta url/ebay link ?
 
GMAN wrote


Gotta url/ebay link ?
Click to expand...

I have been looking for the one i have from when i used to work for Tandy
Corporation. I worked for Incredible universe that was bought out by Computer
City, then bought out by CompUSA. It was made by toshiba for snapping the
laptop halves apart. It worked similar to the way a shoehorn or similar
works. Will post a url when i find the exact one. It was made of plastic.
 
I have been looking for the one i have from when i used to work for Tandy
Corporation. I worked for Incredible universe that was bought out by Computer
City, then bought out by CompUSA. It was made by toshiba for snapping the
laptop halves apart. It worked similar to the way a shoehorn or similar
works. Will post a url when i find the exact one. It was made of plastic.
Click to expand...

That tool sounds like it might be handy for many purposes. However, it
looks like the clicking of the hard drive has gone away, perhaps due to
the onset of cooler weather, I don't know.

Yousuf Khan
 
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