| Sign in: |
| Members log in here with your user name and password to access the your admin page and other special features. |
|
|
|
|
|| SportsShooter.com: Member Message Board
Powrbook Hard Drive
Caleb Simpson, Photographer, Assistant
 |
Dallas | TX | USA | Posted: 8:46 AM on 02.25.05 |
| ->> So I boot up today and am working in Photo Mechanic and the har drive stars squeeking when it is processing images. Has this ever happned to anybody? Should I get it to Apple asap or can I wait? I need the book for this weekend. It seems to squeek when it is running a heavy task such as pulling images up in Photo Mech or opening multiple images in Photoshop. |
|
George Bridges, Photographer, Photo Editor
|
Washington | DC | USA | Posted: 8:58 AM on 02.25.05 |
->> How much RAM do you have?
It sounds like it is running the drive a lot to utilize virtual memory -- it runs out of RAM so it uses the regular hard drive to store bits and pieces of what you are working on when you have memory-intensive stuff (like photoshop) running.
No matter what the case, if the drive is making funny sounds, ESPECIALLY if it is clicking back up your drive immediately! Either make a disk image using Apple's Disk Utilites (if you are in OSX) or use Carbon Copy Cloner to copy your whole system. At a minimum, copy your home folder to an external drive or DVD to back up critical information.
"Squeaking" may not be too big of a problem, probably just the disk spinning up rapidly. Is is like the "squeak" you hear when you first start up the computer and the drive first kicks in? If you hear a "clicking" then you are likely experiencing a physical failure of the drive. This comes from experience, I had a drive go last summer. |
|
David M. Russell, Photographer
|
New York | NY | USA | Posted: 9:03 AM on 02.25.05 |
->> In my experience, it's never a good sign when your HD starts making a new noise. If I were you, I'd do a back up right now and order a new HD. A good and reliable source is NewEgg.com. My computer techie sources tell me that Western Digital manufactures the most reliable HDs at the moment. (Unless, of course, your computer is still under warantee, in which case Apple will replace the drive for nothing.)
I've just been through this with my desktop. I ended up buying three 160 Gb drives, putting two inside the computer and putting the last in a firewire enclosure to act as portable storage.
Good luck. |
|
Caleb Simpson, Photographer, Assistant
|
Dallas | TX | USA | Posted: 11:37 AM on 02.25.05 |
| ->> Thanks guys, iI will be sure to backup my data asap. I got another e-mail with some really helpful information. Thankfully it is still under warrenty. |
|
Steven Georges, Photographer
|
Garden Grove | CA | USA | Posted: 12:45 PM on 02.25.05 |
->> If I were you I'd put my only copy of all my best images and tax information on that hard drive then go out and shoot a BIG assignment on location on tight deadline and see what happens.
But that's just me.
How close are you to the nearest genius bar? |
|
Vern Verna, Photographer
|
Taylors (Greenville) | SC | United States | Posted: 2:41 AM on 02.26.05 |
| ->> my 17" pb "squeks when it is a heavy task, ie lots of photoshop commands or when i am playing a game. it is not my hard drive making the noise though it is the fan as it kicks in when the processor is working hard to keep it cool. a hard drive starts running at about the same time u turn the computer on. most laptop hd are 4200 or 5400 rpm drives meaning they spin at that rate all the time and dont get faster when the work gets heavy. Now a hd can spin down when not in use but if u r working on it it usually doesnt as it is being accessed lots to save stuff , virtual ram for photoshop etc. Check ur energy saver panel under system preferences and see what the hd spin down panel is checked. it still want spin down if u r doing normal work because it would take too long to spin up when u have to save something. i would bet it is ur fan that is squeaking, i thought it was my hd when mine first started then thought about it and figured out that it is the fan because of when it makes the noise and that the hd would have been spinning already. by the way mine has been squeaking for at least 6 months now, and i am not worried about it. The fan is still spinning cause it is making noise so i am not overheating the processor, if it wears out then i will think about getting it fixed. |
|
Howard Curtis Smith, Photographer
|
Easton | PA | USA | Posted: 3:02 PM on 02.26.05 |
->> A change in the sound of your hard drive is a cause for worry.
One thing you should do is open Disk Utility and check your S.M.A.R.T. status. S.M.A.R.T. is a technology invented by IBM, but used by all the manufacturers, that checks for pending HD failure. I do not know the nuts and bolts of how it works, but it supposed to be accurate.
Unfortunately you need to open the Disk Utility to do this check. There is a freeware program called SMART Reporter that does this for you. It maintains a colored icon on your toolbar, and will alert you if the S.M.A.R.T. status changes. It used very few CPU cycles so it will not bog you down.
http://homepage.mac.com/julianmayer/
If Apple checks the hard drive and says that it is OK, you might want to change it yourself just to be sure. You can also get a major speed boost in the process. I just recently swapped the hard drives in my wife's TiBook, and my AlBook, for new Hitachi TravelStar 7K60 7200 RPM 60GB drives. Wow what a difference in hard drive access speed compared to the 4200 RPM stock drives. PB Fix it has an excellent tutorial, much better than those at Apples web site.
http://www.pbfixit.com/Guide/
Good Luck |
|
Howard Curtis Smith, Photographer
|
Easton | PA | USA | Posted: 3:14 PM on 02.26.05 |
->> Vern has a point, it may be your fan making noise. There is an easy way to check. There is another freeware program called Temperature monitor that checks the temperature sensors on your computer. I find that the fans kick in at about 145 degrees.
http://www.bresink.de/osx/TemperatureMonitor.html
One other note about the hard drive replacement. At peak draw, the 7K60 uses 5.5 watts, or about 10% more than the stock drive. At normal usage it is the same. Considering that it is 77% faster than a 4200 RPM drive, it should not be pulling peak load for as long, and it should not have a negative affect on battery life or computer temperature. Accelerate Your Mac website has some good reading on the different options available.
http://forums.xlr8yourmac.com/drivedb/search.drivedb.lasso |
|
Trevor Frey, Photographer, Student/Intern
|
Bowling Green | KY | USA | Posted: 4:06 PM on 02.26.05 |
->> for parts>>>>>
www.powerbookmedic.com |
|
Steven Georges, Photographer
|
Garden Grove | CA | USA | Posted: 5:32 PM on 02.26.05 |
| ->> Thanks Howard! I'll be suggesting all the photographers at our paper install SMART Reporter on their PowerBooks. You got an "Informative" from me on that one! |
|
Howard Curtis Smith, Photographer
|
Easton | PA | USA | Posted: 10:31 PM on 02.26.05 |
->> Thanks Steven.
One other freeware program I have recently started using is MacJanitor. It runs built in OS X maintenance scripts that the OS schedules for the middle of the night. Since most people do not have their computers running at three in the morning, these routines never get run.
The only weird thing with MacJanitor is that you need to repair permissions with Disk Utility after running the monthly script.
http://personalpages.tds.net/~brian_hill/macjanitor.html |
|
Return to --> Message Board Main Index
|