Does the Hitashi T7K250 still make that head reset noise?!!

Dance123 · Post by **Dance123** » Tue Dec 13, 2005 11:27 am

Hi,

Anybody here who has experience with the Hitashi T7K250 (notice the "T") and can tell if it still makes that "head reset noise" every 10 minutes when the drive is idle which apparently still was the case with the previous 7K250 model according to following review:

"One of the general complaints about the Deskstar line in the past is the intermittent "head reset" noise that it makes every ten minutes or so when idling, and the 7K250 also exhibits this noise. It's been characterized as a "chirping" or "meowing" sound that lasts two or three seconds. Personally, I think the closest comparison is the sound a camcorder makes when loading a tape. The volume of the noise is slightly higher than the seek noise; I'd guesstimate it at ~30 dBA/1m."

You can find the full review here: http://www.silentpcreview.com/article244-page3.html

Is that noise still there with the T7K250 250GB drive?! What kind of noise is it?! Isn't it annoying to hear that noise every 10 minutes when your drive is idle (WD and Maxtor don't have this I believe)?!

note: please also mention if you have the 250 or 160MB model of he T7K250?! Is it true that the T7K250 has only 2 platters of 125MB?!

Thanks to anybody who can help with this question cause I really would like to know this before I buy this drive!

bomba · Post by **bomba** » Tue Dec 13, 2005 5:35 pm

I've got two 250G Hitachi drives, one SATA and one PATA, both 7k250's (one PATA and one SATA) Good news is that neither one has the head reset noise, nor did I have to flash the drive's firmware to fix it.

Bad news is the drives are not that quiet and vibrate enough that suspension will likely be required. My baselines are the Maxtor DM9+ 120G and the WD 320G, WD3200JD. The 3200JD's are particluarly quiet and low vibration. Heck, they're quiet enough in my HTPC that I didn't bother check the AAM settings.

ChiBOY83 · Post by **ChiBOY83** » Tue Dec 13, 2005 6:04 pm

i have a T7K250 sata, and it does not make the head reset noise. it is VERY quiet AFTER i suspended it. However, i also did not change any of the settings to reduce the noise, cuz the performance on thsi bad boy rocks

Dance123 · Post by **Dance123** » Fri Dec 16, 2005 12:55 am

Hi,

Is it true that the SATA power connector is incredibly loose on the T7K250 250GB SATA model?! (I read this in some customer reviews at newegg.com)

Anybody else can confirm that the T7K250 doesn't have the head reset noise anymore from time to time. Also note if you have the 160GB or 250GB model cause they are both called T7K250 for some reason.

I have to say that I read on other forums that the T7K250 still had that head reset noise, but I wanted to ask on this forum cause perhaps more people over here pay attention to things like this. But I have to say that at this point I am still not convinced. I really want to know this for sure before buying this drive cause hearing some noise all of a sudden when the disk is idle is not something I want to hear!

By the way, when will there be a review here of the T7K250 and perhaps also the WD2500KS drive?!

Thanks!!

winguy · Post by **winguy** » Fri Dec 16, 2005 1:17 am

It probably still has, but definitely not every ten minutes or so. That's really an exaggerated figure.

jaganath · Post by **jaganath** » Fri Dec 16, 2005 1:23 am

I really want to know this for sure before buying this drive cause hearing some noise all of a sudden when the disk is idle is not something I want to hear!

If you're that worried about it I suggest that you don't buy the T7K250. Surely there is a Samsung which fits your capacity and SATA requirements? Or you could always use a drive enclosure like a SmartDrive and SilentDrive. I suspect no-one on this board can 100% guarantee that the T7K250 won't have the head reset noise, and if you do go ahead and buy it anyway you have to realise you are taking a calculated gamble.

rei · Post by **rei** » Fri Dec 16, 2005 9:46 am

my hitachi i bought over the summer still did the patrol seek.
however i felt my sata 200gb samsung's heavy seeks were noisier.

rei · Post by **rei** » Fri Dec 16, 2005 10:08 am

is the 250gb noticeably quieter than the 200gb?

Tamas · Post by **Tamas** » Sun Dec 18, 2005 11:07 am

Dance123 wrote:Hi,

Is it true that the SATA power connector is incredibly loose on the T7K250 250GB SATA model?! (I read this in some customer reviews at newegg.com)

Anybody else can confirm that the T7K250 doesn't have the head reset noise anymore from time to time. Also note if you have the 160GB or 250GB model cause they are both called T7K250 for some reason.

I have to say that I read on other forums that the T7K250 still had that head reset noise, but I wanted to ask on this forum cause perhaps more people over here pay attention to things like this. But I have to say that at this point I am still not convinced. I really want to know this for sure before buying this drive cause hearing some noise all of a sudden when the disk is idle is not something I want to hear!

By the way, when will there be a review here of the T7K250 and perhaps also the WD2500KS drive?!

Thanks!!

I have two 250GB Hitachi T7K250, 1 PATA and a SATA2 version.

Both of the drives do this load/unload recalibrating sound. It's a fast louder recalibrating sound than the older Hitachi 7K250.

(My drives manufacturing date 2005 april/august with stock firmware.
The sound characteristic can change easily because Hitachi sometimes makes firmware upgrades. The older 7K250 model often did a cat meowing sound, after some months Hitachi released a firmware upgrade and the recalibrating was silenced.)

-On the Hitachi SATA drives you can also use the old 4pin power connector. http://www.kepfeltoltes.hu/051218/DSCN2 ... es.hu_.jpg
But I've never read any complaint about the SATA power connector.