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Seagate Momentus 7200 rpm HD in Studio 1557 vibrates laptop - proven
All,
I purchased a Dell Studio 15 (1557) about a month ago and as soon as I turned it on I noticed the entire bottom portion of the laptop (where the kybd and mousepad are) 'vibrated' - enough so that I called Tech Support for help. At first I thought it must be a bad fan, but after we ran through the Diagnostics and tried different fan settings, the vibration stayed. it wasnt until we put the HD to sleep temporarily that the vibration went away.
Tech Support said it was a bad drive so I had to send my laptop away for 2+ weeks (wow!). I eventually got my laptop back with a new HD installed - the exact same model - a Seagate Momentus 7200 rpm. Im not sure how the repair depot determined the laptop was fixed, because the vibration was still there.They also gave me my old HD back so I could grab any data - so I tried my old HD again to make sure there wasnt a mixup. Sure enough, both the Seagate drives Vibrated.
I did some googling and this seems to be a common issue with 7200 RPM HD's, specifically the Seagate. Besides running HOT, they also VIBRATE.
I called Tech Support again and they wouldn't believe me. They wanted me to send the laptop back to the repair depot so they could replace all the replaceable parts and find the issue - I said 'no way' - this laptop is brand new, only been used for 2 days, and Im not going to wait another 2-3 weeks to use it.They said, ok, we understand and we'll send you a brand new laptop (same model etc) so you wont be without a laptop. Unfortunately, they wouldnt let me pick a different HD (sigh) even though I was 110% sure it was the issue.
Sooooo, I went out and purchased a 5400 rpm WD Scorpio Blue. I installed it in the Laptop and BINGO!!! 'No Vibration'. None at all!
Im at a loss as to where to go from here. I've already forked over $1500 to Dell for a laptop that has a proven issue with the HD. Dell wont give me a different model of HD. I've spent another $100 for a 5400 RPM drive that fixes the issue.
I suppose I can sell the Seagate 7200 - but will it void my warranty?
Anyway, I thought I should post my experience so others could benefit from my frustration and troubleshooting.
TheRealFireblad
4.6K Posts
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November 22nd, 2009 04:00
Welcome to the forums :emotion-21:
I had a pair 200GB Seagate Momentus 7200's in RAID 0 in my XPS M1730, before I upgraded them to the drives I'm now using (see my signature), and I never had any problems with them whatsoever?
Nor do I have any problems with these 7200rpm WD Scorpio Black's.
For that matter, I've never had any problems - be it with overheating or vibrations, with any 7200rpm 2.5" drive... in any laptop I've upgraded (three before this).
That would suggest it's something else which is causing problems with 7200rpm drives?
Re selling the Seagate drive: Don't! At least not until your warranty runs out.
Should Dell ever require the laptop back again in the future for any reason, they'll probably expect it to be the same setup as it was when you first bought it :emotion-55:
It doesn't say much for their quality control though, if you experienced these problems after just two days of ownership :emotion-43:
bryanjj123
2 Posts
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November 26th, 2009 21:00
Scrif,
I have the identical problem with a Studio Z 14 with a 7200 rpm HDD. The entire keyboard and mousepad vibrate. I have other Dell computers and none of them do this and all of them have 5400 rpm drives. I will also call Dell support and reference this forum post..
-Bryan
Scrif
4 Posts
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November 27th, 2009 06:00
Hi Bryan - sorry you're having the issue, but it's good to know its not an isolated issue. After all the effort with Dell support, they are sending me a new, identical laptop. Unfortunately, I will likely have the same issue. Thankfully I got a good deal on the 5400 RPM drive and it solves the issue. I also read some performance reviews comapring the WD Blue 5400 to the WD Black 7200 and the difference in negligible.
Good luck with Dell Support!
iafzal3
15 Posts
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April 28th, 2010 00:00
I have the same issue. I got the laptop last week.
I have 500GB 7200rpm drive (ST9500420AS)
what are my choices?
bryanjj123
2 Posts
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April 28th, 2010 10:00
I think you have 2 choices:
1. Return the notebook and get a slower (5400rpm) drive.
2. Just live with it.
I chose #2 and really you don't notice it 99% of the time. And when you do notice it, it's not really a big deal.
-Bryan