Seagate Hard Drive question..

[atec 77]

G'day all. I'm hoping that someone can shed some light regarding noise
with a Seagate drive. I have just purchased a ST3250820AS 250gb SATA
drive. (info here:-
http://www.seagate.com/cda/products/discsales/marketing/detail/0,1081,761,00.html
) This drive is supposed to be pretty much the bees knees with regards
latest technology, but when I put it in the system, and fired it up, I
noticed how noisy it was. I'm not talking about hard drive activity, as
I haven't even installed a OS on it yet, but rather just the noise
caused by the rotation of the platters. It produced a humming type
noise, and vibration was quite noticeable. It even caused the computer
case to vibrate slightly, which in turn made it's own noise. (modern
cases are made of such lightweight material that they vibrate and
generate noise more often than not). So I took the drive out, and just
holding it in my hand to confirm that it was the drive causing the
noise, and how much noise, I could feel the vibration. I have other
seagate drives (older models), and they are not as noisy, or vibrate as
much as this one. Also when I powered it off, and the spinning stopped,
after a few seconds there was a faint scraping or rattle like sound for
a second or two. So I'm wondering if this is normal for this drive, or
if it's faulty? (It would seem strange to me if it is normal,
considering how much Seagate boast about it's 'whisper-quiet' operation.
But maybe that refers to just the read/write function). I can't take it
back until next weekend, but I was hoping to get some info first. I
wrote to Seagate but they were no help- just referred me to a warranty
page.

Also, if it is faulty, and I'm able to swap it, would I perhaps be
better off with another make, such as Western Digital? Are they a
quieter drive?


TIA.

Generally the seagates are reasonably quite , not being able to hear it
I cant comment further , perhaps you need to hear a similar drive
operating to decide ?

 

[lynx]

G'day all. I'm hoping that someone can shed some light regarding noise
with a Seagate drive. I have just purchased a ST3250820AS 250gb SATA
drive. (info here:-
http://www.seagate.com/cda/products/discsales/marketing/detail/0,1081,761,00.html
) This drive is supposed to be pretty much the bees knees with regards
latest technology, but when I put it in the system, and fired it up, I
noticed how noisy it was. I'm not talking about hard drive activity, as
I haven't even installed a OS on it yet, but rather just the noise
caused by the rotation of the platters. It produced a humming type
noise, and vibration was quite noticeable. It even caused the computer
case to vibrate slightly, which in turn made it's own noise. (modern
cases are made of such lightweight material that they vibrate and
generate noise more often than not). So I took the drive out, and just
holding it in my hand to confirm that it was the drive causing the
noise, and how much noise, I could feel the vibration. I have other
seagate drives (older models), and they are not as noisy, or vibrate as
much as this one. Also when I powered it off, and the spinning stopped,
after a few seconds there was a faint scraping or rattle like sound for
a second or two. So I'm wondering if this is normal for this drive, or
if it's faulty? (It would seem strange to me if it is normal,
considering how much Seagate boast about it's 'whisper-quiet' operation.
But maybe that refers to just the read/write function). I can't take it
back until next weekend, but I was hoping to get some info first. I
wrote to Seagate but they were no help- just referred me to a warranty page.

Also, if it is faulty, and I'm able to swap it, would I perhaps be
better off with another make, such as Western Digital? Are they a
quieter drive?


TIA.

--

rgds,

Pete
~~~~~
'If at first you DO succeed, try not to look astonished!'

 

[Fred]

G'day all. I'm hoping that someone can shed some light regarding noise
with a Seagate drive. I have just purchased a ST3250820AS 250gb SATA
drive. (info here:-
http://www.seagate.com/cda/products/discsales/marketing/detail/0,1081,761,00.html
) This drive is supposed to be pretty much the bees knees with regards
latest technology, but when I put it in the system, and fired it up, I
noticed how noisy it was. I'm not talking about hard drive activity,
as I haven't even installed a OS on it yet, but rather just the noise
caused by the rotation of the platters. It produced a humming type
noise, and vibration was quite noticeable. It even caused the computer
case to vibrate slightly, which in turn made it's own noise. (modern
cases are made of such lightweight material that they vibrate and
generate noise more often than not). So I took the drive out, and just
holding it in my hand to confirm that it was the drive causing the
noise, and how much noise, I could feel the vibration. I have other
seagate drives (older models), and they are not as noisy, or vibrate
as much as this one. Also when I powered it off, and the spinning
stopped, after a few seconds there was a faint scraping or rattle
like sound for a second or two. So I'm wondering if this is normal for
this drive, or
if it's faulty? (It would seem strange to me if it is normal,
considering how much Seagate boast about it's 'whisper-quiet'
operation. But maybe that refers to just the read/write function). I
can't take it back until next weekend, but I was hoping to get some
info first. I wrote to Seagate but they were no help- just referred me to
a
warranty page.
Also, if it is faulty, and I'm able to swap it, would I perhaps be
better off with another make, such as Western Digital? Are they a
quieter drive?

I have a couple of new Western Digital drives in a case that uses rubber
bands to support them.
They are so quiet I can't hear them. A lot quieter than the WD's I bought
last year.

 

[John McGaw]

G'day all. I'm hoping that someone can shed some light regarding noise
with a Seagate drive. I have just purchased a ST3250820AS 250gb SATA
drive. (info here:-
http://www.seagate.com/cda/products/discsales/marketing/detail/0,1081,761,00.html
) This drive is supposed to be pretty much the bees knees with regards
latest technology, but when I put it in the system, and fired it up, I
noticed how noisy it was. I'm not talking about hard drive activity, as
I haven't even installed a OS on it yet, but rather just the noise
caused by the rotation of the platters. It produced a humming type
noise, and vibration was quite noticeable. It even caused the computer
case to vibrate slightly, which in turn made it's own noise. (modern
cases are made of such lightweight material that they vibrate and
generate noise more often than not). So I took the drive out, and just
holding it in my hand to confirm that it was the drive causing the
noise, and how much noise, I could feel the vibration. I have other
seagate drives (older models), and they are not as noisy, or vibrate as
much as this one. Also when I powered it off, and the spinning stopped,
after a few seconds there was a faint scraping or rattle like sound for
a second or two. So I'm wondering if this is normal for this drive, or
if it's faulty? (It would seem strange to me if it is normal,
considering how much Seagate boast about it's 'whisper-quiet' operation.
But maybe that refers to just the read/write function). I can't take it
back until next weekend, but I was hoping to get some info first. I
wrote to Seagate but they were no help- just referred me to a warranty
page.

Also, if it is faulty, and I'm able to swap it, would I perhaps be
better off with another make, such as Western Digital? Are they a
quieter drive?


TIA.

I suspect that you may have caught a bad one. I've got a system running
with 5 400gB Seagate drives (4 PATA and 1 SATA) and it is quite silent
even the drive access chatter is audible over the very quiet Seasonic
power supply only if the case side or front covers are removed. The
Seagate has a five year warranty -- I'd suggest that you swap it out
right now while the memory of the sound is fresh in memory.

 

[Damien McBain]

lynx committed to the eternal aether...:

G'day all. I'm hoping that someone can shed some light regarding noise
with a Seagate drive. I have just purchased a ST3250820AS 250gb SATA
drive. (info here:-
http://www.seagate.com/cda/products/discsales/marketing/detail/0,1081,761,00.html
) This drive is supposed to be pretty much the bees knees with regards
latest technology, but when I put it in the system, and fired it up, I
noticed how noisy it was. I'm not talking about hard drive activity, as
I haven't even installed a OS on it yet, but rather just the noise
caused by the rotation of the platters. It produced a humming type
noise, and vibration was quite noticeable. It even caused the computer
case to vibrate slightly, which in turn made it's own noise. (modern
cases are made of such lightweight material that they vibrate and
generate noise more often than not). So I took the drive out, and just
holding it in my hand to confirm that it was the drive causing the
noise, and how much noise, I could feel the vibration. I have other
seagate drives (older models), and they are not as noisy, or vibrate as
much as this one. Also when I powered it off, and the spinning stopped,
after a few seconds there was a faint scraping or rattle like sound for
a second or two. So I'm wondering if this is normal for this drive, or
if it's faulty? (It would seem strange to me if it is normal,
considering how much Seagate boast about it's 'whisper-quiet' operation.
But maybe that refers to just the read/write function). I can't take it
back until next weekend, but I was hoping to get some info first. I
wrote to Seagate but they were no help- just referred me to a warranty page.

Also, if it is faulty, and I'm able to swap it, would I perhaps be
better off with another make, such as Western Digital? Are they a
quieter drive?

Possibly a dumb question: Are you sure it's not an optical (CD/DVD) drive
making all the noise? They will do that if there's a disc inserted.

 

[Rod Speed]

G'day all. I'm hoping that someone can shed some light regarding noise
with a Seagate drive. I have just purchased a ST3250820AS 250gb SATA
drive. (info here:-
http://www.seagate.com/cda/products/discsales/marketing/detail/0,1081,761,00.html
) This drive is supposed to be pretty much the bees knees with regards
latest technology, but when I put it in the system, and fired it up, I
noticed how noisy it was. I'm not talking about hard drive activity,
as I haven't even installed a OS on it yet, but rather just the noise
caused by the rotation of the platters. It produced a humming type
noise, and vibration was quite noticeable. It even caused the computer
case to vibrate slightly, which in turn made it's own noise. (modern
cases are made of such lightweight material that they vibrate and
generate noise more often than not). So I took the drive out, and just
holding it in my hand to confirm that it was the drive causing the
noise, and how much noise, I could feel the vibration. I have other
seagate drives (older models), and they are not as noisy, or vibrate
as much as this one. Also when I powered it off, and the spinning
stopped, after a few seconds there was a faint scraping or rattle
like sound for a second or two. So I'm wondering if this is normal for this drive, or
if it's faulty? (It would seem strange to me if it is normal,
considering how much Seagate boast about it's 'whisper-quiet'
operation. But maybe that refers to just the read/write function). I
can't take it back until next weekend, but I was hoping to get some
info first. I wrote to Seagate but they were no help- just referred me to a warranty page.

Yeah, it does sound like a faulty one.

Also, if it is faulty, and I'm able to swap it, would I perhaps be
better off with another make, such as Western Digital? Are they a
quieter drive?

I prefer Samsungs myself, very quiet.

 

[kony]

G'day all. I'm hoping that someone can shed some light regarding noise
with a Seagate drive. I have just purchased a ST3250820AS 250gb SATA
drive. (info here:-
http://www.seagate.com/cda/products/discsales/marketing/detail/0,1081,761,00.html
) This drive is supposed to be pretty much the bees knees with regards
latest technology, but when I put it in the system, and fired it up, I
noticed how noisy it was. I'm not talking about hard drive activity, as
I haven't even installed a OS on it yet, but rather just the noise
caused by the rotation of the platters. It produced a humming type
noise, and vibration was quite noticeable. It even caused the computer
case to vibrate slightly, which in turn made it's own noise. (modern
cases are made of such lightweight material that they vibrate and
generate noise more often than not).

Maybe but cheap modern cases that are such lightweight
material and sometimes poor construction are another
problem. Not all modern cases are like this. You may
simply have a bad case (out of tolerance or drive bay not
riveted to front wall good or thin and few folds everywhere)
or the drive isn't mounted in it good, or the drive is bad,
or a combination of these factors together result in so much
noise. From what you wrote below, it seems the drive is
questionable and the case might just make the noise that
much worse.

So I took the drive out, and just
holding it in my hand to confirm that it was the drive causing the
noise, and how much noise, I could feel the vibration.

Now we're talking relativity... any drive vibrates a slight
bit, even more when seeking. How much it vibrates relative
to another similar drive is the real issue. IE- another 7K2
RPM, preferribly another Seagate of same model (including
same # of platters, so same age and capacity, not just same
model-family).

I have other
seagate drives (older models), and they are not as noisy, or vibrate as
much as this one. Also when I powered it off, and the spinning stopped,
after a few seconds there was a faint scraping or rattle like sound for
a second or two. So I'm wondering if this is normal for this drive, or
if it's faulty? (It would seem strange to me if it is normal,
considering how much Seagate boast about it's 'whisper-quiet' operation.
But maybe that refers to just the read/write function).

It is likely to be bad, you should return it- better safe
than sorry.

I can't take it
back until next weekend, but I was hoping to get some info first. I
wrote to Seagate but they were no help- just referred me to a warranty page.

Also, if it is faulty, and I'm able to swap it, would I perhaps be
better off with another make, such as Western Digital? Are they a
quieter drive?

You could randomly get a bad drive from any manufacturer,
though sometimes defects are more likely in a given
manufacturing lot, so for example if the store where you
bought it has 30 of same drive in stock, all of them from
the same lot, the odds of getting another dud might be
higher than buying same drive from somewhere else... but the
replacement might be fine.

So I'd be more hesitant to buy exact same drive from same
place but not Seagate nor that model in general, but then WD
drives are reasonable too. Sometimes it's just the
handling, maybe somebody dropped that one in the back room
and didn't want to set it aside as potentially damaged
goods.

 

[Swampfox]

message

G'day all. I'm hoping that someone can
shed some light regarding noise with a
Seagate drive. I have just purchased a
ST3250820AS 250gb SATA drive. (info
here:-
http://www.seagate.com/cda/products/discsales/marketing/detail/0,1081,761,00.html )
This drive is supposed to be pretty
much the bees knees with regards
latest technology, but when I put it
in the system, and fired it up, I
noticed how noisy it was. I'm not
talking about hard drive activity, as
I haven't even installed a OS on it
yet, but rather just the noise caused
by the rotation of the platters. It
produced a humming type noise, and
vibration was quite noticeable. It
even caused the computer case to
vibrate slightly, which in turn made
it's own noise. (modern cases are made
of such lightweight material that they
vibrate and generate noise more often
than not). So I took the drive out,
and just holding it in my hand to
confirm that it was the drive causing
the noise, and how much noise, I could
feel the vibration. I have other
seagate drives (older models), and
they are not as noisy, or vibrate as
much as this one. Also when I powered
it off, and the spinning stopped,
after a few seconds there was a faint
scraping or rattle like sound for a
second or two. So I'm wondering if
this is normal for this drive, or if
it's faulty? (It would seem strange to
me if it is normal, considering how
much Seagate boast about it's
'whisper-quiet' operation. But maybe
that refers to just the read/write
function). I can't take it back until
next weekend, but I was hoping to get
some info first. I wrote to Seagate
but they were no help- just referred
me to a warranty page.

Also, if it is faulty, and I'm able to
swap it, would I perhaps be better off
with another make, such as Western
Digital? Are they a quieter drive?


TIA.

--

rgds,

Pete
~~~~~
'If at first you DO succeed, try not
to look astonished!'

We fitted a Seagate 160Gb SATA drive to
a new PC on the weekend and it made a
high pitched whine for a few hours then
stopped and it's been quiet since.
Sounded like a bearing but as it was
working OK I planned to leave it until I
had time to get it back to the shop but
now it looks to be OK.
I've had plenty of Seagate drives and
they're normally very good.

 

[lynx]

Damien McBain wrote:

lynx committed to the eternal aether...:



Possibly a dumb question: Are you sure it's not an optical (CD/DVD) drive
making all the noise? They will do that if there's a disc inserted.

No, it's not. My level of technical expertise is sufficient to have
allowed for that possibility. But I would say that the level of
vibration from the drive is approx. the same as my Asus 52x CD-ROM with
a disc loaded. If anything, the Asus vibration maybe less!

I spoke to the dealer yesterday, and his comment was that all SATA
drives are noisy- or noisier than PATA drives at least- and that the
level of noise that I was experiencing was quite normal, and is due
mainly to two factors: poor quality of today's drives that are now made
in China, and the much faster data transfer rate of 3Gb/s. He said he
was nevertheless happy to replace the drive to allay my fears.


--

rgds,

Pete
~~~~~
'What you do speaks so loud that I cannot hear what you say' -Ralph Waldo Emerson

 

[lynx]

kony wrote:

Maybe but cheap modern cases that are such lightweight
material and sometimes poor construction are another
problem. Not all modern cases are like this. You may
simply have a bad case (out of tolerance or drive bay not
riveted to front wall good or thin and few folds everywhere)
or the drive isn't mounted in it good, or the drive is bad,
or a combination of these factors together result in so much
noise. From what you wrote below, it seems the drive is
questionable and the case might just make the noise that
much worse.

Yes it does.

Now we're talking relativity... any drive vibrates a slight
bit, even more when seeking. How much it vibrates relative
to another similar drive is the real issue. IE- another 7K2
RPM, preferribly another Seagate of same model (including
same # of platters, so same age and capacity, not just same
model-family).

Yes, correct.

It is likely to be bad, you should return it- better safe
than sorry.

I spoke to the dealer yesterday, and his comment was that all SATA
drives are noisy- or noisier than PATA drives at least- and that the
level of noise that I was experiencing was quite normal, and is due
mainly to two factors: poor quality of today's drives that are now made
in China, and the much faster data transfer rate of 3Gb/s. He said he
was nevertheless happy to replace the drive to allay my fears.

You could randomly get a bad drive from any manufacturer,
though sometimes defects are more likely in a given
manufacturing lot, so for example if the store where you
bought it has 30 of same drive in stock, all of them from
the same lot, the odds of getting another dud might be
higher than buying same drive from somewhere else... but the
replacement might be fine.

Yes, I agree with that. But how would I know the lot number? The label
lists a date code, and site code.

So I'd be more hesitant to buy exact same drive from same
place but not Seagate nor that model in general, but then WD
drives are reasonable too.

I asked the dealer about Western Digital drives noise wise compared to
Seagate, and he said they were about the same. He is a small dealer, so
it's most likely that another drive would be from the same lot.
Unfortunately I have to travel a fair distance to reach him, so if I get
another, regardless of make, and it's just as noisy, that will be annoying.

Sometimes it's just the
handling, maybe somebody dropped that one in the back room
and didn't want to set it aside as potentially damaged
goods.

That was my thought also. Seagate clearly warn about shock in excess of
350Gs.


--

rgds,

Pete
~~~~~
'If it aint broke, don't fix it!'

 

[lynx]

Swampfox wrote:

message



We fitted a Seagate 160Gb SATA drive to
a new PC on the weekend and it made a
high pitched whine for a few hours then
stopped and it's been quiet since.

Maybe I'll run this one for a while then, and see if it 'settles down' a
bit. Might be just because it's new, and the bearings are tight. But my
thought is that vibration is most likely caused by the platters or motor
not being perfectly balanced, if indeed they're balanced at all. Reminds
me of getting an engine crankshaft balanced to prevent vibration.

Sounded like a bearing but as it was
working OK I planned to leave it until I
had time to get it back to the shop but
now it looks to be OK.
I've had plenty of Seagate drives and
they're normally very good.

I always had Seagate's too, but noticed that it's only the later more
modern and faster drives that seem to have this vibration/noise problem.


--

rgds,

Pete
~~~~~
'I don't have a solution but I admire the problem'

 

[lynx]

John McGaw wrote:

I suspect that you may have caught a bad one. I've got a system
running with 5 400gB Seagate drives (4 PATA and 1 SATA) and it is
quite silent even the drive access chatter is audible over the very
quiet Seasonic power supply only if the case side or front covers are
removed. The Seagate has a five year warranty -- I'd suggest that you
swap it out right now while the memory of the sound is fresh in memory.

I spoke to the dealer yesterday, and his comment was that all SATA
drives are noisy- or noisier than PATA drives at least- and that the
level of noise that I was experiencing was quite normal, and is due
mainly to two factors: poor quality of today's drives that are now made
in China, and the much faster data transfer rate of 3Gb/s. He said he
was nevertheless happy to replace the drive to allay my fears.



--

rgds,

Pete
~~~~~
'Dogs have masters. Cats have servants'

 

[Rod Speed]

John McGaw wrote

I spoke to the dealer yesterday, and his comment was that all SATA drives are noisy- or noisier
than PATA drives at least-

He's feeding you a line in utterly mindless bullshit.

The storagereview measurements show nothing like that.

and that the level of noise that I was experiencing was quite normal, and is due mainly to two
factors: poor quality of today's drives that are now made in China,

Only Seagate does that.

and the much faster data transfer rate of 3Gb/s.

Mindlessly silly, that is completely irrelevant if the
drive is just spinning as it was when you tested it.

He said he was nevertheless happy to replace the drive to allay my fears.

He might get a surprise when he trys the drive you currently have.

 

[lynx]

Rod Speed wrote:

He's feeding you a line in utterly mindless bullshit.

I was very sus about what he said.

The storagereview measurements show nothing like that.




Only Seagate does that.

So I might be better off with Western Digital then?

Mindlessly silly, that is completely irrelevant if the
drive is just spinning as it was when you tested it.

That's what I thought.

He might get a surprise when he trys the drive you currently have.

--

rgds,

Pete
~~~~~
'That light at the end of the tunnel could be an oncoming train!'

 

[CBFalconer]

.... snip ...

I spoke to the dealer yesterday, and his comment was that all SATA
drives are noisy- or noisier than PATA drives at least- and that the
level of noise that I was experiencing was quite normal, and is due
mainly to two factors: poor quality of today's drives that are now made
in China, and the much faster data transfer rate of 3Gb/s. He said he
was nevertheless happy to replace the drive to allay my fears.

Since the drives are identical, and the difference is in the
electronics of the interface, it seems obvious that the nasty
little electrons are being pushed nearly to light speed and are
squeaking loudly in complaint.

I have a well known bridge for sale in New York City. I can let
you have a bargain on it. It has been well maintained for over a
hundred years.

 

[Rod Speed]

Rod Speed wrote

I was very sus about what he said.

So I might be better off with Western Digital then?

I prefer Samsung myself. Main downside is that currently its 400G max.

 

[paulmd]

G'day all. I'm hoping that someone can shed some light regarding noise
with a Seagate drive. I have just purchased a ST3250820AS 250gb SATA
drive. (info here:-
http://www.seagate.com/cda/products/discsales/marketing/detail/0,1081,761,00.html
) This drive is supposed to be pretty much the bees knees with regards
latest technology, but when I put it in the system, and fired it up, I
noticed how noisy it was. I'm not talking about hard drive activity, as
I haven't even installed a OS on it yet, but rather just the noise
caused by the rotation of the platters. It produced a humming type
noise, and vibration was quite noticeable. It even caused the computer
case to vibrate slightly, which in turn made it's own noise. (modern
cases are made of such lightweight material that they vibrate and
generate noise more often than not). So I took the drive out, and just
holding it in my hand to confirm that it was the drive causing the
noise, and how much noise, I could feel the vibration. I have other
seagate drives (older models), and they are not as noisy, or vibrate as
much as this one. Also when I powered it off, and the spinning stopped,
after a few seconds there was a faint scraping or rattle like sound for
a second or two. So I'm wondering if this is normal for this drive, or
if it's faulty? (It would seem strange to me if it is normal,
considering how much Seagate boast about it's 'whisper-quiet' operation.
But maybe that refers to just the read/write function). I can't take it
back until next weekend, but I was hoping to get some info first. I
wrote to Seagate but they were no help- just referred me to a warranty page.

Also, if it is faulty, and I'm able to swap it, would I perhaps be
better off with another make, such as Western Digital? Are they a
quieter drive?

Seagate is generally a good drive, yours is faulty, but you shouldn't
fear a same model replacement.

 

[paulmd]

I spoke to the dealer yesterday, and his comment was that all SATA
drives are noisy- or noisier than PATA drives at least- and that the
level of noise that I was experiencing was quite normal, and is due
mainly to two factors: poor quality of today's drives that are now made
in China, and the much faster data transfer rate of 3Gb/s. He said he
was nevertheless happy to replace the drive to allay my fears.

Yours is beyond "loud" into the realm of "defective", he probably has
no idea just HOW bad your case is, until he hears it himself. It sounds
as if the platter is badly warped. And the SCRAPING noise, would
confirm this. You shoud *never* hear scraping, it's the read head
hitting a warped platter. I wouldn't trust that drive for anything but
a paperweight.

 

[kony]

I spoke to the dealer yesterday, and his comment was that all SATA
drives are noisy- or noisier than PATA drives at least- and that the
level of noise that I was experiencing was quite normal, and is due
mainly to two factors: poor quality of today's drives that are now made
in China, and the much faster data transfer rate of 3Gb/s. He said he
was nevertheless happy to replace the drive to allay my fears.

I advise you to find another dealer, one that does not pull
things out of his arse.

While some drives are marginally quieter than others, the
difference is slight- NOT the difference between what you
are describing and any other brand of drive. You could buy
a WD instead, or Samsung, or another Seagate and expect a
reasonable noise level.

 

[kony]

Yes, I agree with that. But how would I know the lot number? The label
lists a date code, and site code.

I don't recall on Seagates, compare the labels on the
packaging for closely incremented number sequence.

More to the point, I'd simply avoid buying or exchanging for
another of the exact same make/model from the same seller,
if it's avoidable.

I asked the dealer about Western Digital drives noise wise compared to
Seagate, and he said they were about the same. He is a small dealer, so
it's most likely that another drive would be from the same lot.
Unfortunately I have to travel a fair distance to reach him, so if I get
another, regardless of make, and it's just as noisy, that will be annoying.

I can't make that call for you, but there's always mail
delivery?

That was my thought also. Seagate clearly warn about shock in excess of
350Gs.

I wouldn't want a drive subjected to half that, wouldn't
want one I knew was dropped at all for example.