Legacy Network Products

[haken]

Is there any way to reduce the noise of SSII fan noise? Constant blowing is quite annoying especially when the disk stays in the room I sleep. I had to turn it on and off very often.

[Nushi]

I would like to bump this question as I have the same problem with the same drive. I only realized today that it was the fan that made the noise. I thought my drive was failing, but today I was able to play a video from it for 2 minutes before the noise started. I'm guessing the drive has a temperature sensor.

The fan noise is terrible when it starts. I'm just glad to find out the racketing didn't come from the drive itself. The fan hasn't always been this noisy. The noise level was ok (although annoyingly high-pitched) for maybe 5 days after purchase, then it started going bad. I have to say I'm disappointed.

[sofla]

Just thought I'd jump in here as well. My SSII -500 GB is about 3 months old and up until about 2 weeks ago it was as quiet as a mouse, then all of a sudden it went nuts.  I also thought my hard drive was failing and downloaded SeaTools only to find out it does not work on wireless networked drives :-(   At that time I also realized it was the fan & not the hard drive. I ended up turning off the drive for a few days because I couldn't stand the noise - it can be heard throughout the house!

I finally got the nerve to turn the drive back on and it was okay at first, however the noise now comes & goes, sometimes it is extremely loud (like right now), then it can go away.  The only thing that I have found that seems to work at times is to take the drive & tip it sideways, then put it back to its upright position (not sure why).

I was so excited about this product when I first got it but now after this as well as the poor user instructions I am sorry I did not purchase soemthing else.

[thirty5tech]

hello guys

   I never had a issue with my external hard drive with their fans,

Here are a few reason why your guys fan may be going crazy trying to figure why fan is so loud .

1 , Probably a bad fan. ( 70% of the time it is )

2 , You probably have the hard drive sitting on a warm place. A cool place is best to used your hard drive on. A room temp of 65 - 80 F will be a good temp. if the hard drive is hotter, then the fan will automaticly turn on to release any hot air the external hard drive has been collecting or producing do to heat coming from hard drive. Usually is normal for a hard drive fan to go loud, If the drive gets really hot, the fan will spin as fast it can to release some of the hot air. and sometimes that will cause a bit loud noise coming from the hard drive. But if extremely lound, expecially louder then your PC fan, Then is best to send it back to Maxtor for a replacement and or troubleshooting .

3. If you drop your external hard drive,. Then it will cause the fan to be a bit loud, cause probably got damage when it fell.

Mike
thirty5tech.com

[kokosnisse]

Hi,

I had the same symptom as sofla with my mssii500GB. After three days the fan noise first appeared. Four days later I called the store where I bought it, and they had the unit exchanged without any trouble.

The new unit has been constantly on since then, a month by now, and it works perfectly. Very silent fan.

[sofla]

My quandry right now is whether to try & ship it back to Seagate for a replacement that will probably be a refurb or hope that the noise remains sporadic & fixable by tilting the drive. I already have 3 months worth of backup for 3 computers on the drive so I am reluctant to part with it. Also not sure whether this problem is endemic with these drives so I could be trading it for one that is worse.

Any suggestions are welcome. (it is defintely the fan since it is in a temprature controlled room on a stable surface & has not been dropped).

[KFayal]

This is MY second (replacement) drive as well.  And guess what?  The fan bearings are failing again.  I've only had this second drive for less than a month and just last night the fans started belting out their familiar failed bearing sound.  Because I use this drive for my business I can't afford to wait around for the replacement drive to come after sending out the old one, so I use the advanced replacement method but it costs a little over 20 bucks every time.  I have to send this one in as well because I'm not going to sit around waiting for the fans to fail completely and burn up the drive.   Seagate got a bum deal on this one.

[KFayal]

Here we are again!  I have to replace the drive again.  This time I'm replacing it because the fans seized and the temperature of the drive caused it to shut down.  This is ridiculous.

[sofla]

Haven't been back on the forum but thought it would be a good idea to update my post.  I am still using the same drive with the intermittant fan noise because I was so reluctant to ship it back & risk getting something worse or compromising the data that was on the drive.  So it still works even though the fan goes nuts every so often (at least it is no longer constant). 

Thought I'd let you know (I have now had the drive for 10 months - keeping my fingers & toes crossed:-) We'll see......

[Cabbage]

Ok,

I'm big fan of this drive, untill now very pleased

BUT..............

Now I do have the noise again! - for some time.

I should like to change the fan myself.

How to do.

Opening the case is not easy.

Someone who knows?

Alfredo

[Prembo]

Hi,

My MSSII 320GB has the same noise - I'm assuming it is a fan problem.  

I haven't sent mine back yet.  Have to do it soon, but I need to back-up my 'back-up' HDD, and can't justify purchasing another HDD just to do it!

Prembo.

[KFayal]

Well, I was getting ready to warranty replace my 4th drive but found that it has gone out of warranty.  Since the drive is out of warranty, I decided to open it up and take a look at this horrible fan.  The fans are made by JMC corp.  It is a 30mm x 30mm x 10mm 9-12vdc .12A 9500 RPM fan.  JMC makes two versions of this fan (Maybe more) one is the sleeve bearing fan (which is the one they use in this Shared Storage II drive) and the other is the ball bearing version.   Unfortunately for us, this sleeve bearing fan cannot take too much dust before it starts going out and making all that racket.  I went online and tried to order this fan (just one) but found out that it's a rare fan size and cannot be easily obtained.  So I went to the manufacturer and they said they don't do orders with less than $1000 in sales.  All of the distributers they list do not carry this odd-sized fan.  So now I'm stuck.  The drive is fine, I just need to replace the fan.

Thought I'd give out the information to anyone who wanted to know about it.

[everrest]

Try Newegg.com. Unless this fan has a special mount any fan of the proper size should work. Is there a Model # for a better match? 2 or 3 wire?  Warranty is already void.

[KFayal]

Thanks for the tip.  Newegg has only one option: 

EVERCOOL FAN-EC3010M12CA 30mm Yellow LED Case Fan - Retail 

Only 3.99 just a tad bit shy on the RPM's, though, but I don't think that will matter.  And its a 3 wire instead of a 2 wire which is what the original fan is - I'll just solder the original jack to the new fan's wires. Not sure about the amperage rating, but the price cannot be beat.  I'll buy two just in case I goof one up.

[KFayal]

Well, I put that fan in from NewEgg and it doesn't have the current rating that the original one had, it doesn't even spin.  Why did they pick such a hard to match fan to put in this drive? 

I discovered that without this fan, the case can quickly heat up.  I'm going to call Seagate and ask if I can get SOMETHING to let me continue using this drive.  

MY SUGGESTION TO ANYONE HAVING FAN NOISE PROBLEMS:  IMMEDIATELY GET THE DRIVE REPLACED IF IT IS UNDER WARRANTY.

[everrest]

Try switching the Red and Black wires. I replaced a fan in 2 cisco routers last night and the fans came wired backwards.  The current rating being lower would not keep the fan from running.  Try the fan in a regular computer and see if it works.

[KFayal]

Received bad fan.. I have to order another one.  I don't even get any resistance reading through the wires.  Dang, that's some bad luck.

[arkatct]

Hey guys - I think I found a replacement fan: It's a Sunon GM1203PFV2-8 MagLev 30mm x 10mm 12v Mini Fan from http://www.thefanvan.net.  $6.92 including shipping.

It's a two wire fan and looks like the original.  I'll post an update once received and installed.

Keith

[dasouza]

I'm trying to find out if the Suon  GM1203PFv2-8 Fan worked and fit into the maxtor case

Message Edited by dasouza on 08-12-2009 02:12 AM

[everrest]

I'm sure any fan with the proper dimensions and voltage will work. Most of the companies use OEM parts to reduce cost. About the only difference may be the mounting holes.  If you check the existing fan model # you should be able to find the size with an internet search. Since replacing the fan will void the warranty, a little epoxy or drill bit can be used to size the holes if needed. Always check the polarity of the new fan.

[Yolenman]

All - please note that the fan is NOT a 9-12 volts DC (at least in the 320 GB Shared Storage II case). As tested with my multimeter, it is indeed a 5 volt fan (output was measured at 4.87 V DC).

The same person that posted the voltage above stated that the fan RPM was 9000 RPM. Since the writing on my fan is so small -  I cannot cross-check this. I do know that a 12v fan does not spin fast enough was connected to the power supply board.

I'm finding the Sunon fan with the Valpro bearing system, 8000 RPM, 5.1 CFM and a 22.5 dB level to probably be the most suitable replacement.

There seems to be many different model numbers for this fan (it appears that Sunon has changed their model number structure over the years). Below are some of the common replacement part numbers. Google is your friend in finding them.

GM0503PFV2-8.GN (8000 RPM - Vapo bearing - the best bearing setup to get)

GM0503PFV1-8.GN (9000 RPM - Vapo bearing - the best bearing setup to get)

KDE0503PFB1-8 (ball bearing fan)

I'm finding replacements from $5.00 to $20.00 when including shipping.

Also - be prepared to cut the OEM fan leads and re-solder them to the new fan leads. The new fan just comes with bare leads. I also used some shrink tubing over the solder spot to make it extra clean.

[Edited: Removed personal information per the community rules and regulations.]