papercut2008uk Posted September 11, 2016 Share Posted September 11, 2016 I have this strange issue, i have 3 external HDD's, the adaptors all seem to be exactly the same, but occasionally they will start to emit this high pitched sound, from the actual adaptor, is that normal? safe? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Danielx64 Posted September 11, 2016 Share Posted September 11, 2016 No I wouldn't call that normal and no I wouldn't say that it safe at all. How old are they? No I wouldn't call that normal and no I wouldn't say that it safe at all. How old are they? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
papercut2008uk Posted September 11, 2016 Author Share Posted September 11, 2016 the newest one is less than a year old. the other are about 2-3 years old, their all seagate drives. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DevTech Posted September 11, 2016 Share Posted September 11, 2016 If they use power adapters they are 3.5" external drives which actually need some juice. The external adapters are mini-power supplies and the noise is some vibration from a sub-harmonic of the transformer frequency which is usually around 100,000 hz. These things are usually filled with glue and other glop to stop these vibrations and since they all appear to do it,it sounds like the designer missed a spot to throw in some glue. They could also be under-powered or over heating etc. But more than one seems more like poor design. Things to try: 1) they could overheat and catch fire in the worst case so make sure the power supplies are on a non-flammable surface and are getting plenty of air flow. Typically they do NOT do this but instead the constant vibration breaks a component and they just die, sometimes with a puff of smoke. More likely, if you do nothing, they will keep working and making this noise for a long time to come. 2) try blowing household fan at them for a while and see if noise goes away. If it does then it means they are too hot. 3) Unlike 2.5" externals, most 3.5" were standard drives and can be moved into a new case or inside a computer. From experience even quality name brand external cases are cheaply made so don't go medium. Either buy super cheap ones with an extra spare or two or else get the best you can find. 4) check if warranty expired before anything 5) open the power supply and add glue. This will not be easy, and there are other failure modes besides vibration to account for the noise to the outcome would be uncertain. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
goretsky Supervisor Posted September 13, 2016 Supervisor Share Posted September 13, 2016 Hello, To add to +DevTech's suggestions, you might also want to contact Seagate support and see if they are willing to send you replacement power supplies, in case these are defective. Regards, Aryeh Goretsky Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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