Path: utzoo!attcan!uunet!lll-winken!ncis.llnl.gov!helios.ee.lbl.gov!pasteur!ucbvax!husc6!hellerst@husc4.UUCP
From: hellerst@husc4.UUCP (Joe Hellerstein,VMS research area,,4986600)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.mac
Subject: Re: LaCie disks -- "Well, how are they?"
Message-ID: <1439@husc6.harvard.edu>
Date: 19 Mar 89 02:26:47 GMT
References: <1360@wasatch.UUCP>
Sender: news@husc6.harvard.edu
Reply-To: hellerst@husc4.UUCP
Lines: 49

From article <1360@wasatch.UUCP>, by t-jacobs@wasatch.UUCP (Tony Jacobs):
> In article <16825@cisunx.UUCP> vangelde@unix.cis.pittsburgh.edu (Timothy J Van) writes:
>>I have a LaCie 20mb disk, just over a year old. Very reliable, SilverServer
>>
>>BUT
>>
>>The damn thing is so noisy, at those high frequencies that really get under
>>your skin, that I find it virtually impossible to work with the thing on - 
> 
> stuf
> 
>>high-pitched noises drift on and off (sometimes coming on and off like
>>morse code) so one can only suspect that shitty construction is at fault. 
>>
>>Tim van Gelder
> 
> The problem you describe is the spring which makes contact with the shaft on
> the hard disk. Some models have the problem, most don't. It can be fixed. When
> I called LaCie they instructed me how to do it myself. If you're a little bit
> mechanically inclined you can avoid sending it back to them. What it takes is
> bending the spring up so it doesn't contact the shaft as hard. The spring is
> wearing and vibrating - causing a very nasty sound indeed.

I had the same problem with my 30 meg La Cie drive, and their repair people
told me the same thing.  I bent the little spring, and it only temporarily
quieted the drive down.  After 20 minutes or so, it was squealing again.
So I left the case unscrewed, and every 20 minutes or so I re-bent the little
spring.  Probably did it about 10 times.  And never in a careless or 
forceful manner.
	The drive died on the 11th try or so.  And I mean really died.  It
couldn't be reinitialized, and re-booting the Mac with the drive installed
caused a Sad Mac.
	I sent the drive back to LaCie, and they replaced it for free, under
their warranty agreement -- I say replace, because they didn't fix it at all;
they sent me back the same box and fan, but a totally new drive AND
controller card.

	This may have been coincidence, but I recommend EXTREME care in 
attempting this "repair."  If you are under warranty, call LaCie and get
their advice and the name of technician, before you try this, so that if
something goes wrong, they are bound to fix it themselves.

	Generally, I would recommend LaCie to anyone, and my experience with
their repair people couldn't have been better.  They repaired the drive no
questions asked, and I believe that the death of the drive was a strange
fluke, not the result of shoddy construction.  But if you own one of these
drives and have this squealing problem, do take care.

Joe Hellerstein