HDD noise on idle (no read / write) in unraid


iomgui

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One of my main concern is noise.

 

When i use my hdd in unraid (any of them, problem is not related to one, ironwolf pro) then every 3 to 5 seconds or so they will make a very short noise. Though in unraid tells me there as been no read nor write operation at all. I need to precise that they are included in an array, and i made the test with Nothing installed on them (no docker, no plugin, no Nothing, beside what unraid put at initialisation).

 

Of course if the same disks are not in an array, they do even more noise (every seconds).

The noise can be compared to a read operation noise in term of loudness. Though Unraid tells me there is no read (nor write) operation done ...

 

Anyone has an idea ? could it be the SATA controller making the disk trying to read but unraid unaware ? Any way to eradictae the problem but keeping my HDD ? Or is it normal noise business for ironwolf pro ?

Edited by iomgui
removed non usefull information
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my old configuration Under Windows is with 3 8Tb archive Seagate. With spin down set to never, when idle (2 min after system start), they make 0 noise every 10 min (stopped listening at 10 for the test). Of course the OS i on a ssd ...

So i m wondering if its unraid related or disk related ...

 

Edited by iomgui
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thanks again !

then i dont see what is the reason (noise is the same as a "read noise" every 3 to 5 seconds, would be ok for 1 disk but 4 all at same time is annoying). All the more than older archive HDD (not nas) are completly silent in idle (when close you still can hear the humming of the spinning but there is no read noise when there is no read…)

 

I disabled Seagate EPC feature already so its not power management unless firmware is bugged… Was first part of Seagate support now question is relayed to backoffice ...

I havent tried to disable completly the smart function.

 

Funny thing, i removed the parity disk for a test (i m testing unraid before deciding) when i put it back it decided to rebuild it entirely, why not, but what is funny is the noise of 3 disk in read + 1 disk writiing is the same as when they were idle … perhaps every 2 to 4s instead of 3 to 5s ...

 

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  • 5 months later...
  • 1 month later...

I noticed the same. I am new to unraid and set up my server last week. 
I use 2x12TB WD red. I have the exect same behavior. No read or write but noticeable HDD noise every few seconds. 
 

So since I have it with WD and others with Seagate I assume its not related to a specific drive or manufacturer. 

Edited by UnKwicks
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  • 2 months later...

I can confirm this. Also have an unraid setup with Seagate Ironwolf Pro 12TB drives. Even in the morning (long period without access) the drives makes sounds (clicking).
The server also declines to auto-shutdown (S3 Sleep App). I need to exclude the array activity entierly for the machine to sleep or shut-down.

 

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  • 2 months later...

Hi there,

the problem with the clicking noises which can be heard every few seconds, even if the hard drive is not being accessed, also annoyed me very much. Unfortunately, in my research, I found that it is a feature of most newer hard drives. So, unfortunately, it is normal. At least at Western Digital, this feature is called PWL "Preventive Wear Leveling". But other manufacturers probably do the same.

 

It's a periodic head sweep to distribute lubricant and prevent wear in a particular place if lubricant were to build up in one spot. On many older models, this would happen maybe once a minute. But on some builds it's maybe every 5 seconds. If that happens in a raid system in the server room, it's not that bad, but it drives me crazy on my desktop. Unfortunately, this feature and the associated problem is very poorly communicated by the manufacturers, which I consider to be quite a failure. If they are even aware of it.

 

I also tried to get in touch with the technical support of WD to find out whether there is a possibility to deactivate this feature, but unfortunately it is almost impossible to find someone there who has the competence or even just knows that this feature exists. I then spoke to an employee who knew the feature, but he said that's just the way it is and I also don't know whether something can be done against it. A very frustrating experience and I find it very embarrassing for WD. I don't know if Seagate is better there. in the end it made little sense to swap all possible hard drives. that wouldn't have changed anything.

 

My solution is not to screw the hard drive to the housing. it is now lying loosely on a foam mat in the case so that I can no longer hear the clickind noise. Not perfect but it works.

 

i hope i could help someone with this.

Edited by McMaster
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