MP 1,1-5,1 2009 Mac Pro 4,1>5,1, something failing?

[majus]

My faithful 2009 Mac Pro, 4,1>5,1 12-core suddenly began making a very odd noise a few days ago. About every 40 seconds it emits a noise for about one second which I can only describe as metallic of sorts, kind of like shutter blades on a cheap camera might make, only with no definite click. A one-second, metallic rubbing sound is my best description.

I turned all sound off and still hear it. The machine has no hard drives, only SSDs on PCI cards. I bought the machine new and it has never needed any repairs even though used daily for 10-12 hours.

Not a technician so am out of ideas. Any thoughts on this, anyone?

 

[resonate]

I _think_ i know what you are referring to. Is this sound persists with regularity when the system is off? The thing i would compare it to is the distance sensors in cars, when you approach them standing parked.

 

[resonate]

I had this short metalic high frequency sound coming from my mac pro 5,1 tower (when it was off, but connected to power) before i exchanged the power supply.

 

[Macschrauber]

I set my bet on a failing hard drive, check the drives with a demo of DriveDX.

 

[resonate]

The interesting thing is, i had found out about my failing power supply when running AHT test (Apple Hardware Test) and it showed that 12V sensors (for HDDs) were off. Also the Mac was starting to hang at some tasks (now i know those were the task requiring more juice from the power supply) I recommend that you do your diagnostics with apple hardware tests.

https://github.com/upekkha/AppleHardwareTest

 

[KeesMacPro]

I set my bet on a failing hard drive, check the drives with a demo of DriveDX.

The OP has no spinning disks installed.

@majus : Perhaps a failing/dying fan ....

If you installed e.g. MacsFanControl it's easy to check the fans , except for the fan(s) on the GPU, but that's visible.

 

[MBAir2010]

Could be something somehow found its way into the macbook and is near the fan
the only solution is to take the back cover off and examine the innards.
of course, use ifix as a guide and source to this easy project.
we used to find paper clips and food crumbs floating in these macbooks
ya never know!

 

[Macschrauber]

Could be something somehow found its way into the macbook and is near the fan
the only solution is to take the back cover off and examine the innards.
of course, use ifix as a guide and source to this easy project.
we used to find paper clips and food crumbs floating in these macbooks
ya never know!

Its kinda very big and heavy Macbook what weights about 25 kg…

 

[majus]

I've found the source of the problem noise. Not the 2009 Mac Pro cheesegrater at all, thankfully.

Turns out a failing battery in a sensor for my alarm system on a door close to the computer was making the noise. I wear two hearing aids and have trouble detecting direction of sounds. That caused me to think it was the computer.

Thanks to all who replied with suggestions. I will now go back to waiting impatiently for the M1X Mac Pro. I wish Apple wasn't taking so long.

 

[MBAir2010]

glad that worked out!
i even checked the headline before i bragged about fixing MacBooks pro
i guess my zen was nen on this tread!