Western Digital 160GB + Noisey Hard Drive

[Stefan]

I have a few questions.

First how long does a hard disk last. I got an ex office computer which I
knew was left switched on all the time at an office. Anyway when I got it
and turned it on it was very noisey. I assumed it was the fan and/or the
hard drive. Anyway it came with a 10 gig hard drive and i definitely wanted
more. So I got a western digital 160gb and when I turned it on without the
10gigI could hardly here it - brilliant. That was 9 months ago and now the
new drive is starting to get a little noisey. Its kind of high pitched
constant drone. I assume it is the bearings or something. I use the computer
quite heavily and for tasks that take a long time I frequently leave it to
run overnight. Generally if it is not doing anything though it gets switched
off.
My question is how long does a hard drive usually last, am I overusing it.

-

Secondly I was thinking of reinstalling the second 10 gig drive. Heres the
thing though. The 10 gig plugs straight into the IDE on the mainboard but my
160 plugs into a promise technologies Ultra 100 TX2 controller card. Both
have an operating system on them. When installed individually they each load
their operating system. However when they are both plugged in together. One
on IDE, One on the PCI card. It will only load the operating system on the
IDE channel. I cant seem to figure out how to change it so that I least get
a choice. Ideally I would like to have the operating system load off the 160
gig and have the 10 gig empty to use for backups. If it is of any help I am
using a Compaq Deskpro P3 650Mhz. (An antique I know)
Any suggestions would be greatlty appreciated.

 

[Rod Speed]

First how long does a hard disk last.

There is no nice tidy number. Most will last until they
are too small to bother with anymore, others wont.

I got an ex office computer which I knew
was left switched on all the time at an office.

Thats not necessarily bad for the hard drive.

Starting isnt that good for the drive.

Anyway when I got it and turned it on it was very noisey.
I assumed it was the fan and/or the hard drive.

Yeah, its usually one or the other, or the cpu fan.

Its pretty easy to check te power supply fan, just stick
something NON CONDUCTING thru the blades with the
system turned off and see how noisy it is when you turn it on.
Dont leave the obstruction in the fan for longer than you have to.

Dont do that with the cpu fan.

You can unplug the power from the hard drive with
the system off to see how much noise it makes.

Anyway it came with a 10 gig hard drive and i definitely
wanted more. So I got a western digital 160gb and when
I turned it on without the 10gigI could hardly here it - brilliant.

Yeah, my system with the Samsung is like that, I wasnt too sure
if we had had a power failure when I got up one morning, I leave
the system on 24/7. And thats with no covers used on the case.

That was 9 months ago and now the new drive is
starting to get a little noisey. Its kind of high pitched
constant drone. I assume it is the bearings or something.

Yep, thats the main reason all the hard drive manufacturers have
changed to fluid bearings, that noise that develops over time.

I have seen a 40GB WD thats irritatingly
noisy too. Fortunately its not my system.

I use the computer quite heavily and for tasks that take a
long time I frequently leave it to run overnight. Generally if
it is not doing anything though it gets switched off.

I've always left systems turned on all the time except
when I am going to be away for a week of two, and I
only turn it off then because of the tiny potential fire risk.

My question is how long does a hard drive usually last, am I overusing it.

See at the tope.

Secondly I was thinking of reinstalling the second 10 gig drive.
Heres the thing though. The 10 gig plugs straight into the IDE
on the mainboard but my 160 plugs into a promise technologies
Ultra 100 TX2 controller card. Both have an operating system on
them. When installed individually they each load their operating
system. However when they are both plugged in together. One
on IDE, One on the PCI card. It will only load the operating
system on the IDE channel. I cant seem to figure out how
to change it so that I least get a choice.

The bios allows you to specify which drive to boot off.

Most will call the drive on the promise card SCSI.

Ideally I would like to have the operating system load off
the 160 gig and have the 10 gig empty to use for backups.

Just change the bios boot entry.

If it is of any help I am using a Compaq Deskpro P3 650Mhz.
(An antique I know)

Any suggestions would be greatlty appreciated.

Try asking WD about the drive, they may swap it due to the noise its developed.