Rattle on new drive normal?

[geeky]

Hi all,

I bought a new DVD writer and if I tilt it from horizontal I can hear something slide then clink. If I shake it abit it I can hear rattling. I was abit perturbed but installed it anyway and everything seems and sounds normal in the system. I did a Linux install with no issues.

I just wondered if it was normal or whether to expect this drive to fail in the near future.

 

[xunicronx]

I wonder if it could be the slide out tray moving?

 

[RealBeast]

Hi all,

I bought a new DVD writer and if I tilt it from horizontal I can hear something slide then clink. If I shake it abit it I can hear rattling. I was abit perturbed but installed it anyway and everything seems and sounds normal in the system. I did a Linux install with no issues.

I just wondered if it was normal or whether to expect this drive to fail in the near future.

I wouldn't worry about it, seems like all my newer drives make a lot of odd noises and rattles, now that they are a commodity they are not as solidly constructed. Just use it and if it fails, get a new one -- after all it isn't like a HDD that stores your data.

 

[geeky]

I wonder if it could be the slide out tray moving?

I thought that as I've had wobbly ones before. Like usually there's only one side attached but it didn't seem like that. More like a ball bearing moving from one side to another, but a DVD drive wouldn't have a ball bearing would it?

 

[smorizio]

there two moving parts on dvd drives.the part the cd sits on and spins and the laser head assembly.they should not be making any noise when new.I would rma back if ether part fails it can cuase the disk to shatter or scratch them to hell.

 

[geeky]

Now you got me worried.

 

[RealBeast]

Now you got me worried.

Don't. If it seems to be rattling around in the bottom it won't scratch or destroy anything.

And the cost/hassle to RMA a $16-20 device makes it a poor choice, if you are that worried just buy another with free shipping, although I wouldn't as long as it works.

 

[Dark Lord of Tech]

I use Plextor drives and they are very quiet.

 

[RealBeast]

I use Plextor drives and they are very quiet.

Those are about the only quality drives left, my old Plextor drives are still like new, unlike my newer LG, LiteOn and Sony drives.

 

[geeky]

In the end I did take it back to the store but made it worth my while and picked up an SSD at the same time.

The tech guy said to expect 'some' noise, which may have been BS but I do have really sensitive hearing. Anyway, he swapped it for a new one and the exact same noise was present.

 

[RealBeast]

Since you got an SSD the trip was definitely worthwhile.

 

[geeky]

Man, one of the most impressive upgrades I've ever had.

 

[RealBeast]

Take a look at this guide: http://thessdreview.com/ssd-guides/optimization-guides/the-ssd-optimization-guide-2/

 

[geeky]

Thanks, I'd seen that before. One thing I'm curious about since Windows 7 doesn't allow me to configure the power savings on individual drives but seems to apply any settings to all my drives, is why all the guides tell you to have the SSD never power down.

My HDD is now on all the time with the associated noise, which to my ears is very annoying. I've tried with the power savings to turn off drives after 1 minute and I can indeed hear the HD power down, and notice nothing odd with the SSD.

 

[RealBeast]

AFAIK turning off HDDs on Windows 7 does not turn off SSDs: http://www.sevenforums.com/tutorials/140592-hard-drive-turn-off-hard-disk-after-idle-never.html