Quieten down HD by slowing it down / Updated hdparm?

[JohnB]

Hi. Ive been reading the http://minnie.tuhs.org/twiki/bin/view/Hardware/MakingHDDsQuiet document and I'm still looking for ways to quieten down my 200GB Seagate ATA100 7200RPM 8MB Cache HD (I think it can only run at ATA 33 max anyway due to the 40-pin cable?) I chucked in my new Series 1 HDR31202. Newer Seagates are supposed to be quiter than their older drivers (and Maxtors) from what I've read. But I still think it's still too loud for me.

I don't think speed of the disk is much of a requirement with the Tivo, so I'm looking to slow it down.

Anyone got a newer hdparm binary that could be copied across to most Tivos with the OzTivo image?:
[TiVo [p0] /var/hack/hdparm.3.6]# uname -a
Linux (none) 2.1.24-TiVo-2.5 #5 Mon Dec 15 05:15:21 EST 2003 ppc unknown

Coz then we can use the "hdparm -M128 /dev/hda" command I've been reading about to slow down the speed of the drive, and hopefully quieten it as a result.

I might have to resort to the Feature Tool mentioned in the document but that doesn't have as many settings as the newer hdparm releases. Thanks for any info anyone can supply!

[Darren King]

Gawd! Do you sleep with the TiVo beside you? :)

Seagates are the quietest drives out of the bunch and with the case on I can't even hear them. I even have an "older" 80GB Seagate equipped TiVo in the bedroom and can't hear it, and yes I have good hearing!


(I think it can only run at ATA 33 max anyway due to the 40-pin cable?)

Correct, but this is also true due to a Series 1 being a relatively slow clocked machine anyway compared to modern devices. The chipset (the custom ASIC chip with the TiVo logo on it to be specific) can't support anything faster than ATA-33 anyway.

[JohnB]

Yeh, I do sleep in the same room but it's around 4-5 metres away. I think the main noise comes after making a recording, it seems to thrash away. Not sure if it's because it is moving files around for the new recording or something but it's annoying!

[zollymonsta]

I've found a solution to your 'noisy' hard drive in your TiVo.

http://www.firstaid.com.au/catalogue/category5944/category6100

;)

Seriously though, I have two tivos on top of each other in the lounge, and even with no sound in the dead of night I can't hear a single peep from the hard drives (both have 120gb Seagates). All I can hear is a very slight whirr of the case fans.

Perhaps you actually have a faulty/noisy drive? Is it a new one/old one?

ZollyMonsta

[JohnB]

Hey, I'm already wearing ear plugs for my nephew who is with us temporarily and that blocks it out. But I won't be wearing those forever!

Looking again, the drive is actually probably around 2-3m from where I sleep so that might explain my annoyance! And I can clearly hear it's the HD and not the fan making the noise. The HD is a brand new 200gb!

Can any Linux gurus finds any newer binaries for Tivo of new versions of hdparm? Do they have to be compiled on a Tivo? If not, it would open it up for a lot of new things to do with it. I don't even know which architecture it would run on when looking for src code even.

[Darren King]

Sorry to have to inform you, but if it is the "thrashing around" of the heads seeking the data that is bothering you then it may not be made any more quiet with slowing down the platters as per that document it don't work on all model drives. You must have super sensitive hearing (or I'm getting old!) as I can barely hear a Seagate 200GB drive even with the TiVo cover removed!

[JohnB]

Hi. Yeh, I've read recently that these AAM tools don't work on these Barracuda 7s and that they suck for tivos.. :( I bought this coz I read a lot of ppl saying they were pretty quiet (and I know you are too, Darren) but I think I should've stuck with an older, slower HD.

http://www.dealdatabase.com/forum/showpost.php?p=191334&postcount=3

I have to admit I'm a light sleeper but this would keep a lot of ppl from sleeping I reckon!