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Ubuntu (and OS X?) killing hard drives (or maybe not)
Whiskey in the Jar-o:
There's a story going around that Ubuntu does not tell the HDD to take it easy with power saving. This results in the HDD constantly moving the heads to the parking zone. There is a limit on how often this can happen. Supposedly this only applies to the latest version, but I have 6.06 and I too have this problem.
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2007/11/01/ubuntu_laptop_disk_issues/
(Although the last post suggests that it's not as bad as it seems). The fix is here:
http://blog.lynxworks.eu/?p=34
Anyway, I think OS X has the same problem. I've had my Mini for 2.5 years, and had that annoying click-clunk noise from the HDD every 30 seconds when it's idle. The fix is not as trivial as Ubuntu, more in the last post here:
http://discussions.apple.com/message.jspa?messageID=5747020#5747020
It's probably much ado about nothing, but at least I no longer have those goddam clikcing noises from my Mini.
iMav:
It, primarily, has to do with the hdd's firmware settings. As mentioned in comments off some of the links you posted, Ubuntu (linux) simply offers the ability to see and modify the hdd's settings (and Ubuntu, by default, does not change the hdd's default behavior).
If you read customer feedback on sites such as Newegg, it's easy to pick out which hdd's are "overly aggressive" in their power management...just look for all the comments complaining about clicking! I simply avoid these laptop drives. ;)
Whiskey in the Jar-o:
--- Quote from: iMav ---It, primarily has to do with the hdd's firmware settings. As mentioned in comments off some of the links you posted, Ubuntu (linux) simply offers the ability to see and modify the hdd's settings (and Ubuntu, by default, does not change the hdd's default behavior).
If you read customer feedback on sites such as Newegg, it's easy to pick out which hdd's are "overly aggressive" in their power management...just look for all the comments complaining about clicking! I simply avoid these laptop drives. ;)
--- End quote ---
But laptops (and computers in general) are like boxes of chocolates... You get the brand of HDD, memory, even LCD panel that they had in stock at the time.
iMav:
--- Quote from: Whiskey in the Jar-o ---But laptops (and computers in general) are like boxes of chocolates... You get the brand of HDD, memory, even LCD panel that they had in stock at the time.
--- End quote ---
I always order my laptops with the minimum ram and hdd and upgrade them immediately with third party parts.
Whiskey in the Jar-o:
--- Quote from: iMav ---
--- Quote from: Whiskey in the Jar-o ---But laptops (and computers in general) are like boxes of chocolates... You get the brand of HDD, memory, even LCD panel that they had in stock at the time.
--- End quote ---
I always order my laptops with the minimum ram and hdd and upgrade them immediately with third party parts.
--- End quote ---
Good idea! What do you do with the original parts? Does it not work out a fair bit more expensive that way?
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