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Products => Solved Storage Threads => : GL November 12, 2009, 11:37:04 PM

: Drive makes a loud noise
: GL November 12, 2009, 11:37:04 PM
   

My Link Station network storage drive makes a constant loud noise about ten minutes after I turn it on.  The noise is so annoyingly loud that I keep it turned off most of the time.  It happens even when I'm not accessing the drive. 

 

My guess is that it's a sign that the drive is about to fail but I don't want to make any assumptions.  The drive otherwise works fine for storage and access.

 

When I pulled it out to read the model number I noticed there is a lot of dust around the fan and connections.  Could this be the problem?  If so, how do I open it to clean it out?

 

Model number is HD-H250LAN

 

Any suggestions?

 

Thanks!

Gavin

: Re: Drive makes a loud noise
: Kameran November 14, 2009, 05:00:16 PM

Heat is always what shortens the life on electronic devices.  That could be the fault as the hard drive was baked inside of the device if it was caked in dust.  If it's in the 1 year warranty call in for a replacement.  But yeah if it's making any extra noise from the hd then it's going to be on it's way out. 

: Re: Drive makes a loud noise
: GL November 17, 2009, 07:15:43 PM
   

Thanks! any idea how to open it to see if I can get at it for a quick clean?  That will give me a chance to back up everything before retiring it for good.

 

 

: Re: Drive makes a loud noise
: cellarir February 21, 2010, 02:52:01 PM
   

I have been frustrated for quite a while about the loud noise coming from my Linkstation HD-H250LANI once tried to open it but without successToday I was finally able to get it open and, after dealing with the fan noise, it is quiet as a sleeping baby without a stuffy noseHere's what I did (it won't invalidate the now well out of date warranty):

 

To open the case (before you go through all this, see my last step at the end of this description -- it may be all you need to do).

  1. Remove the bottom by sliding it to the unlock position and remove it.
  2. Slide the top and bottom portions of the gray sleeve back (the front is likely to stay attached) so they can be lifted offThen work the front portion off -- it make take some prying (it might not necessary to pull this off the front -- try the next two steps without doing so).
  3. Peel back the model name tag on the back to expose a Philips-head screw and remove the screw.
  4. On each of  the exposed top and bottom will see two plastic catches that need to be pressed down and unhitched so that the sides come openOne side has nothing attached to it, although there is a gray plastic button that may come out; this is the button for the on-off switchThe back plate has the power connector and fan connected, so be careful not to break the wiring connectors.

Now you can clean the dust out with a compressed air can.

 

I carefully removed the fan from the back panel by prying up the two clips holding it inWhen it was free of the panel I carefully plugged in a power cable and turned the unit on by pressing the red button the exposed frontThe fan started and was incredibly quietI turned off the unit and unplugged itThen I reinstalled the fan, making sure it was firmly seated inside the clipsI then put the unit sides and back back together -- it took a bit of manipulation-- making sure the gray button was properly placed over the red on-off button, replaced the screw, the gray surround sleeve and the bottom stand.

 

It still made a tiny bit of noise when all was reassembedI was able to quiet it more by sliding the point of round toothpick in between the case back panel and front of the fan caseThis seemed to set the fan body more firmly.

 

IT MAY BE THAT THIS LAST STEP WOULD WORK WITHOUT NEEDING TO OPEN THE CASE: TRY TO SEAT THE FAN MORE FIRMLY BY SLIPPING SOMETHING LIKE THE TIP OF A FLAT TOOTHPICK BETWEEN THE BACK PANEL AND THE BLACK FRONT OF THE FAN CASE IN A COUPLE OF PLACES.

 

Good luck.

 

: Re: Drive makes a loud noise
: cellarir February 22, 2010, 01:09:56 PM
   

Well, it worked for about a day.  When I turned the Link Station on this morning, it made the same old noise and I couldn't get it to quiet down using the toothpick solution I proposed.  I still think the problem is the fan seating.  There's got to be a more permanent solution.  Maybe glue?

:smileymad: