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    Noisy T500

    Discussion in 'Lenovo' started by theshadow6, Oct 9, 2008.

  1. theshadow6

    theshadow6 Notebook Enthusiast

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    My T500 always seems really loud, regardless of the power plan I have selected. Right now I have it on a power plan that is supposed to be 2/7 for fan sound level (the lowest it will go). At first I thought that the fan was just spinning faster than it needed to, but after listening closely I think that the fan isn't making much noise but rather the sound is coming from under the right side of the keyboard/palmrest. I think that the harddrive is housed under there, but I'm not sure. The harddrive indicator light isn't constantly on so I don't know if that's the problem. The noise sounds like a fan/whirring. Anyone have any ideas of what it could be?
     
    theshadow6, Oct 9, 2008
    #1
  2. Charr

    Charr Notebook Deity

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    Yeah, the hard drive is under the right palm rest. You might want to do a hard drive health scan (SMART scan). Most hard drive utilities like HD tune have this feature.
     
    Charr, Oct 9, 2008
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  3. theshadow6

    theshadow6 Notebook Enthusiast

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    I ran a health scan and nothing seemed to be wrong. I checked my power settings again and the harddrive is set to stop turning after 3 minutes of inactivity. I changed it to 1 and there doesn't seem to be any difference. The harddrive indicator light is rarely lit for extended periods, but it tends to flash every few seconds (which is why the harddrive never stops spinning I guess). Is there a way to figure out what program is using it? It doesn't seem that it should be used a lot when I'm just browsing the internet.
     
    theshadow6, Oct 9, 2008
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  4. theshadow6

    theshadow6 Notebook Enthusiast

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    I've been looking around all day and it seems like a lot of people are having this problem. Has anyone who's had this problem come up with any fixes or workarounds? Is there a way I can just force vista to power down the harddrive.

    I was really excited that the T500 was supposed to be so quiet and the fans definitely are, it's just pointless if the harddrive is constantly making noise. Is the 160 GB 7200 RPM harddrive for the T500 particularly loud? I've been thinking I might get a larger one at some point, does anyone know of a large, quite 7200 rpm drive?
     
    theshadow6, Oct 9, 2008
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  5. brutalturtle

    brutalturtle Notebook Consultant

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    there is no problem, it is just the hard drive spinning normally at 7200rpm. I have it too, coming from the right side. Maybe there is a way to shut it up, I don't know. But it is not because of hard drive activity, that's just how it sounds.
     
    brutalturtle, Oct 10, 2008
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  6. Agotthelf

    Agotthelf Notebook Consultant

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    A dirty trick is, to lay some rubber under the right palm rest.
    But don´t cover the hdd air hole.

    Regards
    Andreas
     
    Agotthelf, Oct 10, 2008
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  7. ZaZ

    ZaZ Super Model Super Moderator

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    That seems a rather broad conclusion to draw. If you think it's too noisy, ask for a replacement.
     
    ZaZ, Oct 10, 2008
    #7