Hi all,
I recently purchased a Caviar Black 1 TB drive (model WD1001FALS) from Best Buy. When I installed it (temporary external enclosure, Antec MX-1) the hard drive would buzz each time I turned on the power. HD Tune reported no health (SMART) problems and the error scan came back clean. Nonetheless, I exchanged the drive at the store.
The problem is, the second drive is making the same exact sound, and only at boot (when the head moves, I think). I have never heard this from a hard drive before. I contacted WD support, they had me run their Data LifeGuard Diagnostics, and both the quick and extended tests were good. Same goes for HD Tune.
I’m 100% sure it’s the drive that’s buzzing (it’s quite loud). I even powered it up separately with a new PSU I just got, and it still buzzed, so it’s not my enclosure. I recorded the sound (high quality) - it’s very distinct. I uploaded it to rapidshare for those interested: http://rapidshare.com/files/438451203/WD_Buzzing.zip. (I can reupload elsewhere, if necessary.)
Is anyone familiar with this buzzing? I can’t imagine it’s normal. Maybe the store just got a bad lot of drives in? I can’t trust this drive until I know more about the buzzing.
I’d be thankful for any suggestions.