bds@lzaz.ATT.COM (BRUCE SZABLAK) (09/17/87)
Lately my Atari harddisk has begun to make a whining noise. Is this an indication of an impending problem? Is there something I should do? Thanks in advance! - Bruce
schuster@dasys1.UUCP (09/19/87)
In article <19@lzaz.ATT.COM> bds@lzaz.ATT.COM (BRUCE SZABLAK) writes: >Lately my Atari harddisk has begun to make a whining noise. Is this an >indication of an impending problem? Is there something I should do? >Thanks in advance! - Bruce This may or may not be trouble. Whines can arise from a bearing which is going bad - that is real serious and means imminent failure. But often the cause is something really innocent. For instance, there is usually a spring-mounted grounding contact at the base of the main spindle. It's usually seen as a copper spring on the bottom circuit board of the drive mechanism itself. Sometimes dirt gets sucked in there, and the spinning contact creates noises. Just lift the spring ever so gently and clean off the dirt with a Q-tip. If that doesn't work, the drive may need servicing. -- l\ /l' _ Mike Schuster {sun!hoptoad,cmcl2!phri}!dasys1!schuster l \/ lll/(_ Big Electric Cat schuster@dasys1.UUCP l lll\(_ New York, NY USA DELPHI,GEnie:MSCHUSTER CIS:70346,1745
ins_bjjb@jhunix.UUCP (Jared J Brennan) (09/20/87)
In article <19@lzaz.ATT.COM> bds@lzaz.ATT.COM (BRUCE SZABLAK) writes: >Lately my Atari harddisk has begun to make a whining noise. Is this an >indication of an impending problem? Is there something I should do? >Thanks in advance! - Bruce When I first bought my hard disk (February?) it would whine after I'd left it on for more than about five hours (say two games of Star Fleet I 8-) ). First, there was a PING! and a whine which decreased in volume very slowly. The whine would then recur intermittently until I shipped the head and turned the drive off. I took the thing into my dealer and said, "Look, this drive is doing very bad things," etc. Neither he nor I was really willing to wait the five hours necessary for the problem to start up again, so I had to settle for a coupon good for free service six months over the warranty. Since then, I don't recall this happening again. This may be due to the fact that a) I've lived in a really frigid apartment all summer, and b) I don't use the computer for very long periods any more. (I'm certainly not going to leave it on all the time . . . I can't sleep with monitor whine and the fan in the hard disk is pretty noisy anyway.) In my case, if it dies because of this treatment, it'll probably still come under warranty. You may want to a) try to see if your dealer will do the same thing, b) sell your Atari and get a Supra, or c) live with it. I'd recommend b), simply because you'll probably end up with an all-around better drive. The reason why I haven't done that myself is that I'm lazy and unwilling to take any more loss than I've already incurred with this system. -- Jared J. Brennan BITNET: INS_BJJB@JHUVMS, INS_BJJB@JHUNIX ARPA: ins_bjjb%jhunix@hopkins.ARPA UUCP: {allegra!hopkins, ihnp4!whuxcc} !jhunix!ins_bjjb Love is a dog from Hell.
knutsen@aramis.rutgers.edu.UUCP (09/25/87)
In article <5290@jhunix.UUCP> ins_bjjb@jhunix.UUCP (Jared J Brennan) writes: > not going to leave it on all the time . . . I can't sleep with monitor > whine and the fan in the hard disk is pretty noisy anyway.) ------------------------------------------------ I second that sentiment. The JACG BBS runs on a 520ST and SH204, and the person in whose house it resides claims he finds it hard to sleep with that fan running, even though the BBS is in another ROOM entirely. If anyone has experience replacing the fan with something quieter, or running entirely without it (probably too dangerous), please post instructions to the net or send 'em directly to me. Thanks! --Mark K. -- _________________________________ Jersey\\\\\\\\ _____________________________ ARPA: knutsen@rutgers.edu | \\\Atari\\\\\\ | GEnie GE Mail: M.KNUTSEN UUCP: {...}!rutgers.edu!knutsen | \\\\\\Computer | The JACG BBS: (201)298-0161 --------------------------------- \\\\\\\\\Group -----------------------------