help! external harddrive noise!!

[djshiva]

i just went and got myself a 160 gb external hd, and now it's causing buzz on my monitors.

any ideas?

[MARKEG]

hmmm could be faulty power supply. the buzz surely is from elecky....

i'd take it back and try another

[loopdon]

look if they are connected to the same grounds/mains? if the hdd has a power supply of it's own. + move the hdd away from the monitors and see if that betters the situation. make sure the cables going to your monitors are far away from electrical lines (possible the usb cable as well). i had a stupid buzz on my right speaker and even unscrewed a speaker just to find out my telephone (!) was causing the buzz - one of the wireless ones.

if all that fails -do what Mark said :cheese:

[Barely Human]

Not the best method, but check if you have a ground loop by taking a 4 way adapter and unwiring the earth pin in it. Plug your harddrive into this and then into your wall socket and then see if you have the buzz. If it has gone, then you will have a ground loop. Best way to sort this is with a ground lift switch, (Which ive been meaning to get now for 3 years), which can be found from most decent electrical component stores...

[tocsin]

What IQ said. But, since you're in the US, just got to a radioshack and buy an adaptor that allows you to plug a prong power supply into a two prong outlet. It basically isolates the ground and will kill your hum if it's a ground loop issue. Or, if you have multiple wall outlets in your place, plug the HD into one of the wall sockets that isn't connected to your computer.