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Samsung hard drives - don't buy them unless you like subliminal mental torture

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nudone:
For years I've stuck with Samsung hard drives, bought several (still using them), recommended them to people and believed you couldn't go wrong with a Samsung.

Not so. I bought a 1TB Samsung drive a couple of weeks ago and now feel like I cannot take listening to it's annoying "hum" any longer.

The drive produces a low humming sound that whirs in and out every few seconds. It's like it has been carefully designed to create the most annoying almost subliminal noise a human can hear. It's driving me insane.

I wouldn't have bothered mentioning this but I've found I'm not the only one with this complaint. There are several posts online about this very same annoying hum - all from Samsung drives.

Samsung's response? "It's normal behaviour." How strange that this is "normal" and yet all my previous Samsung drives are perfectly quiet - even the ones that are of identical size to the new annoying drive. Does Samsung consider the older quiet drives "abnormal" perhaps.

I've tried repositioning the drive, placing it on foam padding, placing it at different angles - nothing matters. The Samsung Hard Drive Tool doesn't help either - the "accoustic" settings make zero difference to the noise.

Honestly, I'm just amazed. Samsung have clearly changed their drive manufacturing process and it stinks.

So, that's it. I used to champion the Samsung Hard Drive. Now, I'll never buy another one and I'll be sure to tell everyone else to never buy one either.

Samsung, I absolutely hate you.

worstje:
I am usually the last person to jump to the defense of a company, even in the face of faulty hardware... but in this case, I feel I need to defend Samsung just a little. Like you, I have had tons of Samsung harddrives, even sent two (or was it three?) in for RMA after they got bad sectors after a few years (there isn't much anyone can do about that!) and have had all around good customer service. Even for that typical customer who had his drive go AWOL two months past the warranty. :)

The problem with something like an 'annoying noise' that is at the edge of ones hearing is that it is nigh impossile to diagnose. If you send it back, you just have to hope the technician(s) can hear it, or you'll get it returned with an 'it works as advertized'. Similarly, some harddrives are created for performance, and as such are put to less demanding silencing tests. Companies simply have to accept the fact not all products coming from the assembly line are perfect, no matter how much QA they throw at it. Thus, when you have such a problem, you should be able to return it to the shop within a week or so of your purchase date and get the frustration over with, or get another drive - possible from another manufacturer. (I assume that the USA has some sort of laws about returning goods within some period since purchase.)

The last thing I want to touch upon is that I consider it a bit short-sighted to blame a whole company for one defective product. You say tons of people have the problems you experience, which is allright. The problem is that if you'd look, I bet you could find similar complaints about every hard drive manufacturer. Google makes it pretty easy to find the dissatisfied <0.01% of customers that has your disapproval, after all. (Sadly, I speak from first-hand experience there; I was in a rather similar situation to you a year ago with another product.) Hard drives spin at 5400/7200/10000RPM: that is bound to generate noise. With everything getting smaller-faster-bigger-better, hardware simply becomes more sensitive. Maybe your drive was jostled a bit in its shipping; who knows!

I don't discount your experience. But especially given your good history with them, I'd either have given them another try or simply returned it. I absolutely hate you is a strong statement for something that the customer service concept was invented for.

(Btw, I know you are a usually totally relaxed person, so I'll blame the noise for driving you batty and upset. :))

nosh:
So, sam sunging is normal behavior?

nudone:
Very true, worstje. I just feel so let down by a brand and piece of hardware I thought I could rely upon.

Here's the thread I found with similar complaints: http://www.tomshardware.co.uk/forum/254759-14-samsung-spinpoint-consitent-vibration

And, I'm sure you are right. Many, if not most drives will function perfectly well - I hope. But that thread mentions Samsung's reply to a returned drive, i.e. it's "normal" behaviour for such annoying noise. Replacement drives produced the exact same horrible humming. So, it obviously is "normal" in Samsung's opinion otherwise their replacement drives would be better.

The real problem is that I used to dread buying hard drives (years ago). As they always produced very annoying noises of some type or another. Then Samsung started to get positive reviews everywhere, saying how quiet their hard drives were - and they were. But now they aren't. Not 100% it seems.

I guess the real, real problem is that Samsung don't consider the low humming noise an issue. That means they aren't doing anything about the problem. That means I can't risk buying another drive made by them ever again. They don't believe their is a difference between their older drives that produced no annoying hum and thier new drives that do - they are either clearly deaf or just lying.

So, I can't trust them. Can't trust what they produce. Can't trust their standards of quality. In other words, I think I really do hate them because they've decided to become liers.

worstje:
Fair enough. :)

That is why I still advocate trying the drive, and if it makes those noises, send it back immediately. It is your right. (At least, over here it is your right to return it if it is not to your satisfaction.)

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