I haven't encountered such a noise before, is that accurate?
I haven't encountered such a noise before, is that accurate?
Hi there, new member! Long time not here, just starting out. I recently installed a 16TB Enterprise drive for my home server, but it's quite noisy—like you can hear it from across the room. It often sounds louder than a TV. There’s also a strange grinding sound that gets really loud when it’s reading or writing. I’ve never used an enterprise, HAMR, or multi-platter drive before, so maybe this is just normal behavior and I need to get used to it.
EDIT: The model is a WD Ultrastar HC550 (P/N 0F38462). I reached out to WD support, but their chat support can’t listen to the drive. I bought it through Scan.co.uk, who asked me to run CrystalDiskInfo, Seatools, and send the results. Everything looks fine—no overheating or drops. The drive didn’t finish its self-test; it stopped at 10% after 15 minutes and stayed that way for over an hour while I watched *Multiverse of Madness*. Scan opened an RMA but hasn’t confirmed if it’s faulty, so they might just test it again and send it back.
I’ve attached some audio and a video of the drive. It seems more than just normal operation, but I wanted a second opinion before paying extra £25 for WD’s advanced RMA. Thanks for your help!
Best,
Burns Ultrastar
I think the main concern was the loud scratching noises, but they’re definitely too intense. Since this machine is right next to my bed as a Plex server, I’ll need to look for ways to reduce or block those sounds. It was quiet before, now it keeps me up. Any suggestions?
I mentioned it's an enterprise drive, these should be located in a data center, which, based on my experience, is significantly noisier than expected. My main advice would be using soundproof foam, though in reality it probably won't help much.