lacie 800 1tb making some noise at start up

[Rafael Amador]

Hi Mahesh,
That sounds to me like a problem with the power supply.
I think that is the reason why most of external HDs die
In the past I used to have few LaCie and some times I used the wrong power source (too similar all of them) causing me the same problems you are talking about.
make sure that you are using the correct one, and if the problem persists, back-p your media and try to reformat the disk.
rafael

http://www.nagavideo.com

[David Johnson]

Indeed … back up your data right away!

I’ve had problems with several LaCie external drives over the years, which I believe are due to the type of power supplies they use. Personally, I won’t use LaCie drives anymore and much prefer the ones that Maxx Entertainment Digital sells with e-SATA, FW800, FW400 & USB connections and standard power cables. FYI, Maxx Entertainment Digital has a COW forum.

[Jonathan Ziegler]

Hey there, I rarely have problems with the drive making noise. I have a lacie 500gb drive where the fan is pretty loud. I opened it up and it’s a samsung drive which I’ve not had issues with in the past. I disconnect and put in a different drive and the loudness remains. Which means its probably the fan. The fan should be an easy fix and you can likely buy one online stock for almost nothing, but make sure you have the right specs.

The next question is are you having trouble with data transfer, missing files, etc? Can you connect the drive to a different machine or ext case? If you are on mac, test with disk util and see what it says. Backup the drive anyway just to be safe. Failure to keep data backups in this business is tantamount to malpractice.

I use a small “drive toaster” that I can quickly swap SATA drives in and out of using FW, USB, FW800, or eSATA. I like the daisy chain ability with FW800 so that’s what I use and I pick up .5-1TB SATA drives for almost nothing (1TB SATA for about $60-70 – sometimes less!).

Jonathan Ziegler
https://www.electrictiger.com/
520-360-8293

[Mahesh Dood]

hi jonathan
my drive works perfectly fine, so far i have had no problems with it. i also feel its the fan problem, so as you suggested i should order for a fan and have it replaced. from where can i get the fan specs for my lacie 800 1tb, aluminium?
thanks
mahesh

[Mahesh Dood]

hi jonathan
my drive works perfectly fine, so far i have had no problems with it.

the noise happens only when the drive starts up or when it is ejected…

i have another one too so i tried to use the other ones power supply in case power is the problem. no luck still making noise…

i am looking for link which could show me how to change open the drive and change the fan? and also from where can i buy a spare fan?

thanks
mahesh

[Jonathan Ziegler]

Okay, this is getting into serious DIY territory. First off, opening the case will void your warranty if one exists – so you know before you open it. The fans in the Lacie drives are small ones, but you’ll need the specs to drop in a replacement. There are a couple ways to do this:

1) hunt all over the internet and hope someone has posted the specs.
2) open the case and hope the specs are written on the fan itself (they generally are). This way, you can find the manufacturer, sometimes a model #, the exact specs, etc. and then just search google or something to find it.
3) call LaCie (or email). They made the case (or, at least specced it out) and should know the specs for the fan. On the back of your HD, you should see a serial # and a long string of text which describes the device (ie: “500GB LaCie d2 HD QUADRA 7200RPM 16MB U” – that’s mine, though the last part is the drive which I’ve replaced with a bigger one). If you give them this info, they might be able to help.

To replace the fan, you will need the size in mm or inches, the voltage, and the amperage. The new fan should just drop in exactly where the old one was. Often, if you have a manufacturer and model #, you can find the exact specs on their site or simply order a new one based on that info.

Other things to check:

the drive – if you have the case open and have a different case to put the drive in (or can drop it in your machine as a regular SATA drive), try the drive elsewhere. If the noise follows, the drive is likely getting ready to die.

the case – make sure the drive is seated and securely attached. Drives vibrate and cause screws to loosen which causes rattling while the drive spins up.

I’m not recommending this as it can be a shock hazard, but most drive cases will still run when disassembled and the aluminum case is off. If you turn it on while it’s open, you can tell really fast what’s making noise. Since there are usually only 2 moving parts (a drive and a fan), you will know quickly. I’ve been zapped many times – you can fry the whole system doing this, too, so it’s at your own risk and if you’re not comfy with this, don’t do it.

Also, while you are in there, clean out some of the dust and debris – fans have tiny little motors which get bunged up with dust pretty quick (I have cats so I get some interesting dust balls if I don’t clean). Compressed air works, but so does a small, handheld vacuum (I have an attachment I use on a plain old vacuum which gives me more power and cleans up quick). I shouldn’t have to tell you this, but please unplug everything before you go messing about in there and ground yourself to the case after you unplug so you don’t zap the board.

Jonathan Ziegler
https://www.electrictiger.com/
520-360-8293