Apple looks to fix bothersome beeps in MacBook Pros

[AppleInsider]

MacBook Pro owners plagued with annoying hard drive beeps and clicks have not yet had Apple publicly address their issue, but as the number of complaints continues to swell, reports suggest the Mac-maker is quietly working on a fix.

In a thread hundreds of posts long over at the Apple Support forums, countless users have complained that their 7,200RPM hard drives will randomly click and beep, and some have experienced slower access times. The issue appears to have grown since it was first reported in January.

In recent days, numerous users have posted in the thread on the Apple Support forums, stating they were told on the phone by AppleCare representatives that the company is working on a fix. On Friday, user jgcamil wrote that he was told by Level 2 support that Apple is "highly" aware of the issue and it is one of the company's "highest priorities." But, he was also told he would have to "live with" the issue until an update is made available.

Last month, MacNN reported the issue may have arisen from the Seagate Momentus 7200.4 G-Force hard drives, specifically that the drive's protection system may be incompatible with Mac hardware. In addition, the G-Force technology is not needed on the MacBook Pro, which has pre-existing anti-shock protection.

One AppleInsider reader whose MacBook Pro beeps occasionally said he's frustrated that Apple has remained quiet on his costly investment. He said after researching the problem, he believes it's caused by the original firmware for the hard drive.

"The crazy thing is that you can read comments about AppleCare Engineers stance on this issue: 'Its normal behavior,' (and) 'Apple´s Working on a fix,'" he told AppleInsider. "Also, some of them are recommending doing a complete reinstall, when this issue is factory related."

Users have also uploaded numerous videos demonstrating the problem to YouTube. Below are a few examples:

[ View this article at AppleInsider.com ]

[nite41]

Exact same hard drive (Seagate 7200.4 G-Force 320GB). I upgraded it from the earlier Hitachi 120GB hard drive. And the same problem. Beeps and clicks (but doesn't freeze yet). Let's see.

[sgginc]

Why are so many owners with this issue so upset? Apple has stated this is normal behavior designed to protect your investment. You should be happy they have your investment covered. Would you rather have your laptop go belly up? If it is irritating and limits its usefulness, at least you know its going to survive and last a long time.

[ltcommander.data]

When annoying issues such as this and the SATA 3.0 issue crop up, I don't doubt that Apple does care since they eventually fix it. I just wish they'd do a better job of communicating about it rather than remaining silent or saying it's normal behavior before suddenly dropping a patch. A lot of the time it just seems like they are just doing damage control by fixing issues once they get too much media attention.

[Quadra 610]

Well this is a pretty ridiculous issue to have. I'd be justifiably upset.

Seems there's nothing that's actually faulty, but rather the decision to include this model of Seagate hard drive wasn't the best one in terms of compatibility.

Anyway, don't Hitachi and Samsung make better drives?

[bulk001]

Originally Posted by Quadra 610

Well this is a pretty ridiculous issue to have. I'd be justifiably upset.

Seems there's nothing that's actually faulty, but rather the decision to include this model of Seagate hard drive wasn't the best one in terms of compatibility.

Anyway, don't Hitachi and Samsung make better drives?

What is it with Apple and Harddrives - in the last 2 years we have had 5 laptop drives go out with 3 on laptops less than a year old. The others we 2 years old. The last one this past week was on a machine less than 7 months old. But my 13" MacBook that I think is 5 years old and abused by my kids playing pbskids is still working great.

[Xian Zhu Xuande]

Originally Posted by bulk001

What is it with Apple and Harddrives - in the last 2 years we have had 5 laptop drives go out with 3 on laptops less than a year old. The others we 2 years old. The last one this past week was on a machine less than 7 months old. But my 13" MacBook that I think is 5 years old and abused by my kids playing pbskids is still working great.

Bad luck, I'll wager. Either bad luck or the computer is being tilted or jostled with some regularity, though it seems like you've got an idea of that with the comment about your kids. Apple generally sticks to the better models of hard drives, but there isn't a whole lot of variance in hard drive choices between different laptop manufacturers—similar hard drives are found in other brands. Your computer doesn't really do anything that could stress the hard drive (though the subject issue might) outside user preferences such as whether it spins down and how often the computer is on.

I've never had a hard drive go out on one of my Apple laptops, ever. And I'll attribute a fair bit of that to good luck, given I've been using Apple hardware almost as long as Apple has been making it.

[samurai1999]

Can they come up with a fix for the bothersome, extra-loud clicking noise from the Touchpad?

[fseesink]

For anyone who has ever owned an external Seagate HD (e.g., I have 400GB and 500GB 3.5" units), and I suspect the same for the 2.5" units, Seagates have some kind of power management feature that makes the HD spin down after something like 5 min. of inactivity. Sounds all nice and green, only it royally sucks when you go to access the HD and you have to wait for the drive to spin back up and go to work. And yes, there's a beep and a click sound that typically accompanies the spinup. I've gotten used to listening both for that and the sound of the drives spinning down when they go to sleep.

From everything I've read, this sure sounds similar. I know my 3+ year old MacBook Pro (2.0GHz Core Duo) came with a 100GB Seagate Momentus (and over the years Apple has used Hitachi and other brands as well), but in the past few years, Seagate's reputation has gone in the toilet. Between all the firmware issues with their 500GB/1TB/1.5TB and who knows what other drives, where random power up sequences could kill the drive, and the fact they dropped their 5-year warranties down to 3-year warranties on some of their drives earlier this year (in their words, "which is more in line with the rest of the industry"...yeah, right) calls their quality control into question. If Seagate no longer stands behind their drives the way they used to, why should I?

Anyway, I feel for anyone suffering from this. I'm lucky in that my old MBP is chugging along nicely (granted, using a 320GB Western Digital drive I put in earlier this year, though my 100GB drive was still working fine at the time). But I know my external Seagates annoy me to no end in that I have absolutely NO control over their power management settings. The only way to prevent those drives from going to sleep is to artificially "tickle" them with some kind of access every 3-4 min. But that's just ridiculous. But the ~5 second delay in spinup gets on your nerves when your workflow involves pulling a file, doing some work for ~10 minutes, then pulling another file. The ability to change those firmware settings would be nice, but Seagate seems to think they know best.

Maybe the long-term solution is for Apple to consider switching to a different HD manufacturer until Seagate gets its act together. I can't say which, but what I can say is that, unlike 4-5 years ago when I would wholeheartedly recommend Seagate as the drive of choice, I can no longer do that.

[brucep]

Originally Posted by sgginc

Why are so many owners with this issue so upset? Apple has stated this is normal behavior designed to protect your investment. You should be happy they have your investment covered. Would you rather have your laptop go belly up? If it is irritating and limits its usefulness, at least you know its going to survive and last a long time.

please take your meds
Don't make stuff up.
The seagate drive 7200 rpm g-force in 320g and maybe even 500 g drives beeps stutters slows down and stuff.

The apple quick motion software made to prevent data loss when dropped knocks heads with the seagates drives same kind of sudden motion data loss prevention code/

A few loud people are making a big stink.I have a new 15"MBP 7200 rpm 500 g drive and it does not beep .
Yet seagate is famous for its fkubs.

I read every post in 9 forums about this and its the almost same 20 or 30 owners desperate for a fix.And i still have no clear answer

.So it's GLOSSY thing but with sound.

HOw can i tell if my seagate is the g one ??.

[brucep]

Originally Posted by Quadra 610

Well this is a pretty ridiculous issue to have. I'd be justifiably upset.

Seems there's nothing that's actually faulty, but rather the decision to include this model of Seagate hard drive wasn't the best one in terms of compatibility.

Anyway, don't Hitachi and Samsung make better drives?

SEAgate makes the only 7200 rpm drives .

SAMSUNG rocks

[brucep]

Originally Posted by fseesink

For anyone who has ever owned an external Seagate HD (e.g., I have 400GB and 500GB 3.5" units), and I suspect the same for the 2.5" units, Seagates have some kind of power management feature that makes the HD spin down after something like 5 min. of inactivity. Sounds all nice and green, only it royally sucks when you go to access the HD and you have to wait for the drive to spin back up and go to work. And yes, there's a beep and a click sound that typically accompanies the spinup. I've gotten used to listening both for that and the sound of the drives spinning down when they go to sleep.

From everything I've read, this sure sounds similar. I know my 3+ year old MacBook Pro (2.0GHz Core Duo) came with a 100GB Seagate Momentus (and over the years Apple has used Hitachi and other brands as well), but in the past few years, Seagate's reputation has gone in the toilet. Between all the firmware issues with their 500GB/1TB/1.5TB and who knows what other drives, where random power up sequences could kill the drive, and the fact they dropped their 5-year warranties down to 3-year warranties on some of their drives earlier this year (in their words, "which is more in line with the rest of the industry"...yeah, right) calls their quality control into question. If Seagate no longer stands behind their drives the way they used to, why should I?

Anyway, I feel for anyone suffering from this. I'm lucky in that my old MBP is chugging along nicely (granted, using a 320GB Western Digital drive I put in earlier this year, though my 100GB drive was still working fine at the time). But I know my external Seagates annoy me to no end in that I have absolutely NO control over their power management settings. The only way to prevent those drives from going to sleep is to artificially "tickle" them with some kind of access every 3-4 min. But that's just ridiculous. But the ~5 second delay in spinup gets on your nerves when your workflow involves pulling a file, doing some work for ~10 minutes, then pulling another file. The ability to change those firmware settings would be nice, but Seagate seems to think they know best.

Maybe the long-term solution is for Apple to consider switching to a different HD manufacturer until Seagate gets its act together. I can't say which, but what I can say is that, unlike 4-5 years ago when I would wholeheartedly recommend Seagate as the drive of choice, I can no longer do that.

GOOD GUESS but a bit off
But go to apple support and read up /

[davedelong]

I've got one of these beeping hard drives. I'd say the main reason I'm perturbed by the beep is not that it's beeping at all (I can get used to that), but rather that I have no idea why it's beeping. I'm somewhat paranoid about keeping my laptop in great condition since it was such a costly investment, and when it starts doing things that I'm not expecting (such as this beeping), I get worried. Is it ok? Is something wrong? Is there anything I should be doing that it's not?

I think that if Apple/Seagate/Whomever were to include why the drives are beeping, then there'd be a lot fewer people who're upset about it. I certainly would be one.

[Zandros]

Originally Posted by brucep

SEAgate makes the only 7200 rpm drives .

I'm sure Western Digital and Hitachi will disagree with you.

[drdb]

Originally Posted by brucep

SEAgate makes the only 7200 rpm drives .

SAMSUNG rocks

That's funny because my 7200 drive is Hitachi.

[cdy]

Originally Posted by brucep

You are full of shit,

A few loud people are making a big stink.I have a new 15"MBP 7200 rpm 500 g drive and it does not beep .
Yet seagate is famous for its fuckups .

I read every post in 9 forums about this and its the almost same 20 or 30 owners desperate for a fix.And i still have no clear answer

.So it's GLOSSY thing but with sound.

HOw can i tell if my seagate is the g one ??.

Your post is very difficult to parse.

I think you are saying you don't think it's a big deal. Well, I am one of the people who is experiencing this issue and it is a big deal. I have not posted to that Apple support discussion and have been quietly waiting for Apple to issue a fix. I am confident one will be forthcoming.

The issue for me is not the beep. It is the fact that my hard drive is constantly parking itself and spinning down. This is NOT good for the drive and shortens its life as it happening every few minutes for me -- especially when Time Machine is backing up my drive. Also the entire OS freezes when this happens.

Since you are not having this issue, perhaps you should just go back to your corner? Why did you feel the need to belittle the people who are having the issue when you have no idea what their experience is like?

[cdy]

Originally Posted by davedelong

I've got one of these beeping hard drives. I'd say the main reason I'm perturbed by the beep is not that it's beeping at all (I can get used to that), but rather that I have no idea why it's beeping. I'm somewhat paranoid about keeping my laptop in great condition since it was such a costly investment, and when it starts doing things that I'm not expecting (such as this beeping), I get worried. Is it ok? Is something wrong? Is there anything I should be doing that it's not?

I think that if Apple/Seagate/Whomever were to include why the drives are beeping, then there'd be a lot fewer people who're upset about it. I certainly would be one.

I, too, have a "beeping clicking" drive. The beep does not bother me. What bothers me is that my drive is parking itself over and over thus shortening its life span. This happens all on its own even if my laptop is sitting on a hard flat desk all by itself with no motion whatsoever, also, so it's clearly a bug in the firmware.

[JPDLVMH]

No problems experienced after I fitted a :

Hitachi Hard Disk Travelstar 7k320 320gb 2.5in Sata 7200 Rpm 16mb

It's a nice drive, faster as well and virtually totally silent.

[15inchbrich]

I don't have one of these 17 inch machines with the beeping/freezing, but my friend who has one disabled apple's sudden motion sensor, and after he did that the problem with the two sensors conflicting goes away. It uses the HD's sensor and will still park the heads when need...might be a temp fix until apple decides to do something.

Just my 2 cents.

Support article on disabling sensor:
http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1934

[brucep]

Originally Posted by cdy

Your post is very difficult to parse.

I think you are saying you don't think it's a big deal. Well, I am one of the people who is experiencing this issue and it is a big deal. I have not posted to that Apple support discussion and have been quietly waiting for Apple to issue a fix. I am confident one will be forthcoming.

The issue for me is not the beep. It is the fact that my hard drive is constantly parking itself and spinning down. This is NOT good for the drive and shortens its life as it happening every few minutes for me -- especially when Time Machine is backing up my drive. Also the entire OS freezes when this happens.

Since you are not having this issue, perhaps you should just go back to your corner? Why did you feel the need to belittle the people who are having the issue when you have no idea what their experience is like?

HEY DUDE no way . YOU mis-understood my post i am sorry for that .
, I am very upset that seagate again has screwed up
My MBP 15"7200 RPM 500 G DRIVE HAS the same possible problem as you .
YOU have not stated what kind of drive you have or why you haven't posted over at apple .

THERE are 3 known issues with apple drives , Only one issue has the seagate 500g 7200 rpm beeping thing. So its important to be clear what exactly your drive is and what exactly happens .

First off. have you cleaned up your permissions ??
Second make an appointment and bring your MB to your local apple store.

This known sea gate issue is very small right now but people have been very vocal is all i said or meant to say>> Just like the glossy boys
i never belittle apple brothers.

peace
9

ps let us know what happens .

[brucep]

Originally Posted by Zandros

I'm sure Western Digital and Hitachi will disagree with you.

i may be wrong i guess>>Some one said that apple still uses seagate after all thr beep beep stuff because seagate was the only vendor doing 7200 rpm . Some apple employee sataed this over at apple support boards

i feel like switching mine out now .

thanks for the heads up

[kresh]

Originally Posted by bulk001

What is it with Apple and Harddrives - in the last 2 years we have had 5 laptop drives go out with 3 on laptops less than a year old. The others we 2 years old. The last one this past week was on a machine less than 7 months old. But my 13" MacBook that I think is 5 years old and abused by my kids playing pbskids is still working great.

It is not just the notebooks, We have three iMacs and a Mac Mini in our house and Apple has replaced the hard drives in all three of the Aluminum iMacs.

[eksodos]

Some idiot fan boys are misunderstanding the issue and really shouldn't be commenting if they have no clue. I would say the writer of the article glossed over the main gripe too.

The clips and beeps are not a problem for most of people. The real issue is the system locking up for a period of 30-40 seconds when you perform hard drive intensive tasks. By locking up I mean you get the dreaded beach ball and can do nothing with your system. You certainly cannot edit audio or video on these machines with the defect.

Personally I don't care how often the thing clicks or beeps. I care when Mac OS becomes more unstable and unusable than a computer running Microsoft Windows ME.

I dread to think the opinion first time Apple customers are forming of the OS if these machines are their first taste of what Mac OS offers them. I daresay they won't be buying another Apple machine again.

[KaazBri]

You forget the best video of all, the promo for the new MacBeep Pause!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HZy-qe5xphQ
Joking aside, that's exactly what the experience is like using one of these machines. The noise is just like that, and the system locks up for a second, often five or six times a minute. Then there are the occasional 30-45 second complete system hangs.

I've been suffering from this problem on my new MBP 17" since the day I got it in June. Unfortunately, I opted for the 7200RPM 500GB drive which is the source of the problem.

Apple has constantly changed their story with me, both in person at the Genius Bar and on AppleCare phone support. First, they saw and recognized the problem. Then it wasn't a problem. Then they would replace the drive. Then they wouldn't. Now their line for the last few weeks with me was that they won't replace the drive because a replacement would have the same issue, so I should just wait for a fix. They still won't release any official word on it.

My husband got so fed up hearing the beep while sitting next to me that he bought and installed a replacement drive while we wait. This is what it's sunk to.

Here is what I find the most infuriating, though. When you consider that:

a) Apple is claiming that they can't replace our drives because the problem is pervasive
PLUS
b) Apple is still selling this drive as an upgrade option through the Apple Store web site
EQUALS
Apple is knowingly selling top-end laptops to their customers with a crippling performance problem!

Seriously, my long time respect for this company and its quality has evaporated over this.

[bulk001]

Originally Posted by Xian Zhu Xuande

Bad luck, I'll wager. Either bad luck or the computer is being tilted or jostled with some regularity, though it seems like you've got an idea of that with the comment about your kids. Apple generally sticks to the better models of hard drives, but there isn't a whole lot of variance in hard drive choices between different laptop manufacturers—similar hard drives are found in other brands. Your computer doesn't really do anything that could stress the hard drive (though the subject issue might) outside user preferences such as whether it spins down and how often the computer is on.

I've never had a hard drive go out on one of my Apple laptops, ever. And I'll attribute a fair bit of that to good luck, given I've been using Apple hardware almost as long as Apple has been making it.

It probably is bad luck - we don't baby our machines but don't abuse them either. The point I was makin was that the old 13" which has been abused by my kids (including being pulled off the kitchen table a couple of times by them tripping over the power cord - made before the new magnetized cord) just keeps working.

[JimXugle]

I've got one of these drives and I'd just like to say...

ABOUT DAMN TIME

It's not the beeping thats the issue for me... it's the random performance loss. I called and asked if there was anything Apple could do for me and they said it was the drive shutting down "to save energy". Saving energy is great, but not when I'm burning a DVD (thanks for the coasters, apple!), raiding in World of Warcraft, or trying to copy files from one drive to another.

I hope that they post a firmware update for the drive soon; I need this system for school in the fall ... and 4 years thereafter at least.

[cdy]

Originally Posted by brucep

HEY DUDE no way . YOU mis-understood my post i am sorry for that .

[...]

peace
9

ps let us know what happens .

Ah-ha, Ok, cool. I did say I had trouble parsing your message. :-)

[cheesy mogul]

Looks like a Seagate problem. I've upgraded my Macbook to a Samsung Spinpoint M2 7200 a few months ago and never experienced any "clicks".
Not to mention that the thing was dirt cheap compared to Apple's official upgrade offers.

[JeffDM]

Originally Posted by fseesink

For anyone who has ever owned an external Seagate HD (e.g., I have 400GB and 500GB 3.5" units), and I suspect the same for the 2.5" units, Seagates have some kind of power management feature that makes the HD spin down after something like 5 min. of inactivity. Sounds all nice and green, only it royally sucks when you go to access the HD and you have to wait for the drive to spin back up and go to work. And yes, there's a beep and a click sound that typically accompanies the spinup. I've gotten used to listening both for that and the sound of the drives spinning down when they go to sleep.

I'm personally wary of commercial 2.5" external drives in general. I've had problems with WDs not working anymore, but that was an enclosure problem. Put the drive in a new enclosure and it works fine.

Originally Posted by brucep

HEY DUDE no way . YOU mis-understood my post i am sorry for that .
, I am very upset that seagate again has screwed up
My MBP 15"7200 RPM 500 G DRIVE HAS the same possible problem as you .
YOU have not stated what kind of drive you have or why you haven't posted over at apple .

THERE are 3 known issues with apple drives , Only one issue has the seagate 500g 7200 rpm beeping thing. So its important to be clear what exactly your drive is and what exactly happens .

I've installed two 500GB 7200RPM Seagates (ST9500420AS - note no "G"), so far, I don't have the problem. As far as I've heard, the problem is when you get a drive with the "G" at the end of the model number, because the drive and the computer conflict because both have the sudden motion sensor. You only want one on.

I'd say that Seagate was well-intentioned with their drop-sensor system, it simply conflicted with Apple's sudden motion sensor.

[SGSStateStudent]

Originally Posted by JeffDM

I've installed two 500GB 7200RPM Seagates (ST9500420AS - note no "G"), so far, I don't have the problem. As far as I've heard, the problem is when you get a drive with the "G" at the end of the model number, because the drive and the computer conflict because both have the sudden motion sensor. You only want one on.

I'd say that Seagate was well-intentioned with their drop-sensor system, it simply conflicted with Apple's sudden motion sensor.

Same here!

[JeffDM]

Originally Posted by brucep

SEAgate makes the only 7200 rpm drives .

SAMSUNG rocks

Originally Posted by Zandros

I'm sure Western Digital and Hitachi will disagree with you.

Originally Posted by drdb

That's funny because my 7200 drive is Hitachi.

Partial credits all around.

Seagate seems to be the only one with a 500GB 7200RPM drive. Smaller than that, and the playing field gets much bigger.

The current Seagate 500/7200 (ST9500420AS) at Newegg has not been implicated with this problem. As I already said, ST9500420ASG would be the problem model.

If you're still nervous but still want the speed, there are at least four brands offering 320/7200 drives. If money isn't an issue, SuperTalent has a 512GB SSD for about the price of the entry 15" MacBook Pro.

[SGSStateStudent]

Originally Posted by KaazBri

You forget the best video of all, the promo for the new MacBeep Pause!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HZy-qe5xphQ
Joking aside, that's exactly what the experience is like using one of these machines. The noise is just like that, and the system locks up for a second, often five or six times a minute. Then there are the occasional 30-45 second complete system hangs.

I've been suffering from this problem on my new MBP 17" since the day I got it in June. Unfortunately, I opted for the 7200RPM 500GB drive which is the source of the problem.

Apple has constantly changed their story with me, both in person at the Genius Bar and on AppleCare phone support. First, they saw and recognized the problem. Then it wasn't a problem. Then they would replace the drive. Then they wouldn't. Now their line for the last few weeks with me was that they won't replace the drive because a replacement would have the same issue, so I should just wait for a fix. They still won't release any official word on it.

My husband got so fed up hearing the beep while sitting next to me that he bought and installed a replacement drive while we wait. This is what it's sunk to.

Here is what I find the most infuriating, though. When you consider that:

a) Apple is claiming that they can't replace our drives because the problem is pervasive
PLUS
b) Apple is still selling this drive as an upgrade option through the Apple Store web site
EQUALS
Apple is knowingly selling top-end laptops to their customers with a crippling performance problem!

Seriously, my long time respect for this company and its quality has evaporated over this.

LOL! Nice video!

[brucep]

Originally Posted by JeffDM

I'm personally wary of commercial 2.5" external drives in general. I've had problems with WDs not working anymore, but that was an enclosure problem. Put the drive in a new enclosure and it works fine.



I've installed two 500GB 7200RPM Seagates (ST9500420AS - note no "G"), so far, I don't have the problem. As far as I've heard, the problem is when you get a drive with the "G" at the end of the model number, because the drive and the computer conflict because both have the sudden motion sensor. You only want one on.

I'd say that Seagate was well-intentioned with their drop-sensor system, it simply conflicted with Apple's sudden motion sensor.

AGAIN as i said before and got flamed for it
its a tiny problem, I mean really ittsy bitsy tiny.

B

[brucep]

Originally Posted by JeffDM

I'm personally wary of commercial 2.5" external drives in general. I've had problems with WDs not working anymore, but that was an enclosure problem. Put the drive in a new enclosure and it works fine.



I've installed two 500GB 7200RPM Seagates (ST9500420AS - note no "G"), so far, I don't have the problem. As far as I've heard, the problem is when you get a drive with the "G" at the end of the model number, because the drive and the computer conflict because both have the sudden motion sensor. You only want one on.

I'd say that Seagate was well-intentioned with their drop-sensor system, it simply conflicted with Apple's sudden motion sensor.

AGAIN as i said before and got flamed for it
it's a tiny problem, I mean really ittsy bitsy tiny.

But any one like me insane enough to buy a 15 " 3.02 GHz 7200 500g drive to play games has the WILL to make the anti glossy cry babies seem like quiet luddites eating toast . Because we will read every post in ten forums including apple disc, ones. We will make report after report by email to apple. We will call and visit apple stores and help centers and complain in a steady rain kind of way
No crying no over the top glossy whining .
IF ANY ONE READING THIS please complain if you have this issue.
Because we know apple will fix it . WE are A TINY issue but apple will make a firmware fix and seagate will make an off switch for the g series.THis issue first happened in 08 and now again 09,.

Let me say that COD4 screams on my MBP 15 7200 500G
And I DL the INTERNATIONAL movie FROM ITUNES RENTAL and the play back and sound was the finest quality i have ever seen on a mac . IT beats most tv's
THANKS TO GLASS GLOSSY screens

[brucep]

Originally Posted by Zandros

I'm sure Western Digital and Hitachi will disagree with you.

Originally Posted by drdb

That's funny because my 7200 drive is Hitachi.

Originally Posted by JeffDM

Partial credits all around.

Seagate seems to be the only one with a 500GB 7200RPM drive. Smaller than that, and the playing field gets much bigger.

The current Seagate 500/7200 (ST9500420AS) at Newegg has not been implicated with this problem. As I already said, ST9500420ASG would be the problem model.

.

i was right
the 500g model 7200 is seagate only
>>>>>>>
Jeff how can i tell if my seagate is the bad one ??

[JeffDM]

Originally Posted by brucep

i was right
the 500g model 7200 is seagate only
>>>>>>>
Jeff how can i tell if my seagate is the bad one ??

Click Apple logo in upper left of screen, click "About This Mac", click "More Info...", click "Serial-ATA". If the first drive has a "G" at the end of the model number, then that's probably your problem. The Seagate model number will have "ST" at the front, and "AS" or "ASG" at the end, with several numbers in between.

[brucep]

Originally Posted by JeffDM

Click Apple logo in upper left of screen, click "About This Mac", click "More Info...", click "Serial-ATA". If the first drive has a "G" at the end of the model number, then that's probably your problem. The Seagate model number will have "ST" at the front, and "AS" or "ASG" at the end, with several numbers in between.

I looked but will re-look .
Thanks

[dougit]

I come from a parallel universe where many have learned to apply the script known as

HDAPM to fix our clicking HDD's

http://dougitdesign.com/blogs/blog_1...ise-hdapm.html

[Quadra 610]

Originally Posted by dougit

I come from a parallel universe where many have learned to apply the script known as

HDAPM to fix our clicking HDD's

http://dougitdesign.com/blogs/blog_1...ise-hdapm.html

It isn't by any chance Dementia 5, is it?

[nikon133]

Originally Posted by sgginc

Why are so many owners with this issue so upset? Apple has stated this is normal behavior designed to protect your investment. You should be happy they have your investment covered. Would you rather have your laptop go belly up? If it is irritating and limits its usefulness, at least you know its going to survive and last a long time.

Because such protection should be transparent. Clicking/beeping/freezing isn't.

Cheapo HP 6730b has so-called 3D Guard that does the same - parking HDD's heads when sudden movement is detected - but the only way to see that is to actually jerk notebook really quickly; if there was HDD activity at the time, you'll notice short "freeze" without any annoying audio alerts... but when using notebook on the desk/lap system doesn't interfere at all.

Lenovo and other brands have comparable solutions, and I am not aware any of them has such severe showing like MacBook.

If HP (and others) could do it on sub $1000 units, one would expect Apple can at least repeat same performance on premium product..?