chip@ateng.uucp (Chip Salzenberg) (08/12/88)
[I am redirecting this to comp.misc, since it doesn't relate to any
one operating system.]
According to james@bigtex.uucp (James Van Artsdalen):
>I still recommend the CDC Wren-III. [They] are built like tanks.
I must agree. Ateng has a Wren-III (SCSI interface), and it's worked
without a hitch for almost a year.
HOWEVER...
Since a few months ago, the disk has been making an arritating whining
sound. It's the kind of noise that drives dogs (and programmers :-)) batty.
It wouldn't be so bad, but it's constantly warbling about, and it sometimes
stops and then starts again.
What can I do to make that noise go away??
--
Chip Salzenberg <chip@ateng.uu.net> or <uunet!ateng!chip>
A T Engineering My employer may or may not agree with me.
You make me wanna break the laws of time and space
You make me wanna eat porkvandys@hpisoa1.HP.COM (Andrew Valencia) (08/15/88)
/ hpisoa1:comp.unix.microport / chip@ateng.uucp (Chip Salzenberg) / 11:27 am Aug 11, 1988 / >... the disk has been making an arritating whining >sound. It's the kind of noise that drives dogs (and programmers :-)) batty. >It wouldn't be so bad, but it's constantly warbling about, and it sometimes >stops and then starts again. The copper grounding strap which rests against the spindle of the rotating portion of the disk is often the culprit. I'm not familiar with your exact model, but the common solution is just to bend it back so it doesn't rest against the spindle any more. "But doesn't that mean it won't be grounding it any more?!?" you ask. Yup. But no one I've talked to has ever had any trouble, and it sure quiets the guy down. Andy Disclaimer: my opinions, and nothing but.
rsj@wa4mei.UUCP (Randy Jarrett WA4MEI) (08/19/88)
In article <11190012@hpisoa1.HP.COM> vandys@hpisoa1.HP.COM (Andrew Valencia) writes: >/ hpisoa1:comp.unix.microport / chip@ateng.uucp (Chip Salzenberg) / 11:27 am Aug 11, 1988 / >>... the disk has been making an arritating whining > The copper grounding strap which rests against the spindle of the >rotating portion of the disk is often the culprit. I'm not familiar with >your exact model, but the common solution is just to bend it back so it doesn't >rest against the spindle any more. "But doesn't that mean it won't be >grounding it any more?!?" you ask. Yup. But no one I've talked to has ever >had any trouble, and it sure quiets the guy down. > > Andy A while back I discussed this problem with the technical rep from one of the disk drive manufactures. He said that a lot of people bent these straps back out of contact from the spindle and got away with it but sooner or later it will get you. Without this strap there is not any ground to the spindle and platters on the drive and under the right conditions a large static charge can build up on the platters (low humidity) and discharge to the head. Remember that the head rides very close to the platters but does not touch during operation. This discharge can cause damage ranging from lost data at the point of discharge to distroying the head. I have found that Hamilton/Avenet carries a special grease that was manufactured by Shugart Associates (remember them?) that comes in a small syringe. It is very inexpensive (~$4) and one syringe is enough to take care of about 50 drives. I have used this on many drives and it works very well and usually lasts several (4 to 6) months. -- Randy Jarrett WA4MEI UUCP ...!gatech!wa4mei!rsj | US SNAIL: P.O. Box 941217 PHONE +1 404 493 9017 | Atlanta, GA 30341-0217
rick@pcrat.UUCP (Rick Richardson) (08/19/88)
In article <11190012@hpisoa1.HP.COM> vandys@hpisoa1.HP.COM (Andrew Valencia) writes: > The copper grounding strap which rests against the spindle of the >rotating portion of the disk is often the culprit. I'm not familiar with >your exact model, but the common solution is just to bend it back so it doesn't >rest against the spindle any more. "But doesn't that mean it won't be >grounding it any more?!?" you ask. Yup. But no one I've talked to has ever >had any trouble, and it sure quiets the guy down. I'd always put silicone on the strap to change the mass. Then I ran into the Micropolis drives. Their spring design is so whacky the silicone didn't work for long. Then, a couple of days ago, I got a call from a nice fellow named Terry Kennedy. He said that somebody at Priam told him that on a 3.5 or 5.25 inch form factor drive you can't build up enough static to cause any problems. Micropolis used to send him boxes of replacement springs, but when asked, they also agreed that you could just rip off the spring. This is all hearsay, but the next time I open the case, *my* Micropolis will be silenced *forever*. -- Rick Richardson, PC Research, Inc. (201) 542-3734 (voice, nights) OR (201) 389-8963 (voice, days) uunet!pcrat!rick (UUCP) rick%pcrat.uucp@uunet.uu.net (INTERNET)
fyl@ssc.UUCP (Phil Hughes) (08/20/88)
[story of funny noise from hd and one solution deleted] The noise is generally caused by resonance in the spring that holds the grounding contact on the spindel. I found that putting a piece of tape on the spring would change the resonant frequency and the noise would go away. -- Phil uunet!pilchuck!ssc!fyl
rms@gubba.SPDCC.COM (Rich Sands) (08/20/88)
In article <557@pcrat.UUCP> rick@pcrat.UUCP (Rick Richardson) writes: >In article <11190012@hpisoa1.HP.COM> vandys@hpisoa1.HP.COM (Andrew Valencia) writes: >> The copper grounding strap which rests against the spindle of the >>rotating portion of the disk is often the culprit. I'm not familiar with >>your exact model, but the common solution is just to bend it back so it doesn't >>rest against the spindle any more. "But doesn't that mean it won't be >>grounding it any more?!?" you ask. Yup. But no one I've talked to has ever >>had any trouble, and it sure quiets the guy down. > >I'd always put silicone on the strap to change the mass. Then I ran into >the Micropolis drives. Their spring design is so whacky the silicone >didn't work for long. > >Then, a couple of days ago, I got a call from a nice fellow named >Terry Kennedy. He said that somebody at Priam told him that on a >3.5 or 5.25 inch form factor drive you can't build up enough static to >cause any problems. Micropolis used to send him boxes of replacement >springs, but when asked, they also agreed that you could just rip >off the spring. > >This is all hearsay, but the next time I open the case, *my* Micropolis >will be silenced *forever*. >-- > Rick Richardson, PC Research, Inc. > >(201) 542-3734 (voice, nights) OR (201) 389-8963 (voice, days) >uunet!pcrat!rick (UUCP) rick%pcrat.uucp@uunet.uu.net (INTERNET) I've got two Micropolis 1335 drives. They were making shrieking noises like kids on a rollercoaster, and suspecting the grounding strap, I called their tech support line. The fellow on the other end told me that the strap was unneccessary, and that they had eliminated it from recent vintage drives to eliminate the jet engine sound effects. I eagerly ripped open my chassis and gleefully (but gently) removed the spring. The damn things still wail like sirens! They are quite reliable, surviving an un-airconditioned apartment in Boston this summer with seldom an error. I've had them for two years, and they are great drives, EXCEPT for the noise! The bearings must be finely ground brass dust by now, but does it matter to these things? No!! Oddest pieces of computer hardware I've ever run across. I back them up religiously, expecting them to croak any minute. Its such a relief to know I'm not alone... -- -- rms UUCP: {ihnp4,harvard,husc6,linus,ima,bbn,m2c}!spdcc!gubba!rms Internet: rms@gubba.spdcc.com Compuserve: 71360,1067 BIX: richsands