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A sudden loud screeching sound from my Air

L

lemon^

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Mar 2, 2008
7
0
I was browsing a webpage with Safari when suddenly this really loud screeching sound came from my Macbook Air. I am not talking about the small clicks the HD seems to be doing once in a while. This was a very loud screeching sound, like someone cutting glass with a diamond. I didn't have any other programs on and my speakers were off. The sound lasted for about 2 seconds and got me very scared. I immediately checked the temperatures and fanspeeds but they were all normal (CPU around 45 celcius and fan about 2500 rpm).

Now I'm afraid that it was my HD and it will fail on me sooner or later. Everything seems to be work normally now but I already sent all my important documents to another computer.

Any suggestions on what to do next? Should I wait and see if it happens again later?
 
MRU

MRU

macrumors Penryn
Aug 23, 2005
25,370
8,952
a better place
^ LOL!


but seriously are you sure that it wasn't some noise from a website or some such?

If not I would get this checked out at an Apple Store. Best of luck :eek:
 
miniConvert

miniConvert

macrumors 68040
Mar 4, 2006
3,264
3
Kent, UK - the 'Garden of England'.
Well, I'd probably be inclined to log the issue with Applecare and get a case number. Then, if it happens again, you ring up, give your case number, and say "Look, it happened before, now it happened again and I want you to do something about it" but in a much nicer way :)
 
L

lemon^

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Mar 2, 2008
7
0
miniConvert said:
Well, I'd probably be inclined to log the issue with Applecare and get a case number. Then, if it happens again, you ring up, give your case number, and say "Look, it happened before, now it happened again and I want you to do something about it" but in a much nicer way :)
Click to expand...

I didn't buy any extended warranty. Can I still "log the issue with Applecare" and how do I do that? Do I have to call somewhere or can I do it online?

And yes, I am very sure that it wasn't a website or any other program. It was like a loud PC-speaker sound but not as monotonous. Imagine someone cutting glass with a something sharp.. I really cannot describe it any better than that. I'm not sure if it really came from the speaker or from HD (or something else), but I'm sure that

- It was not a website or any program causing it
- Computer should not be making that kind of noise
- It scared the crap out of me
 
A

aussie.damo

macrumors regular
Nov 20, 2006
187
0
Melbourne
lemon^ said:
I didn't buy any extended warranty. Can I still "log the issue with Applecare" and how do I do that? Do I have to call somewhere or can I do it online?

And yes, I am very sure that it wasn't a website or any other program. It was like a loud PC-speaker sound but not as monotonous. Imagine someone cutting glass with a something sharp.. I really cannot describe it any better than that. I'm not sure if it really came from the speaker or from HD (or something else), but I'm sure that

- It was not a website or any program causing it
- Computer should not be making that kind of noise
- It scared the crap out of me
Click to expand...

Interesting. I'm pretty certain i've had the same thing happen a couple of times on my Air. It wasn't as loud as yours seems to have been, but was enough to make me wonder.

I haven't done anything about it yet, I think i'll monitor it over the next few weeks and work out what to do then.

Damo
 
K

kmc0929

macrumors newbie
Jul 22, 2007
11
0
noise

mine does it too, occasionally, its done it about 5 times since i got it. comes from the hard drive i think, i can actually feel it, feels like the disc is rubbing on something, shriek noise thou.

im pissed because i bought it from the student store, and they are being slow and sketch about authorization to return it. am i screwed? i really want to just get a f'in Macbook Pro instead.
 
L

lemon^

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Mar 2, 2008
7
0
NC MacGuy said:
Make sure your data is backed up.

Was your speakers volume turned up when the anomaly occurred?
Click to expand...

Yes, volume was at 0. I have found 3 other people now that have heard the same voice. People seem to think that the sound comes from the hard drive, and I cannot really disagree.

I'm going to wait and see if it happens again at some point and in the meanwhile I'll be careful and keep backing up my important documents.

I don't know if it has anything to do with it, but when it happened the macbook air was in 45 degrees angle (i was browsing web in my bed) and it had been in sleep overnight in vertical position in my bag.

I don't think that people have understood how loud this sound actually was. Nothing compared to the small clicking sounds the HD keeps doing. I've never heard a sound like that during my 21 years of using computers

Edit: well you could actually compare it to the handshaking sound modems do. Only louder.
 
thehuhman

thehuhman

macrumors member
Jan 28, 2008
78
0
NC
lemon^ said:
I was browsing a webpage with Safari when suddenly this really loud screeching sound came from my Macbook Air. I am not talking about the small clicks the HD seems to be doing once in a while. This was a very loud screeching sound, like someone cutting glass with a diamond. I didn't have any other programs on and my speakers were off. The sound lasted for about 2 seconds and got me very scared. I immediately checked the temperatures and fanspeeds but they were all normal (CPU around 45 celcius and fan about 2500 rpm).

Now I'm afraid that it was my HD and it will fail on me sooner or later. Everything seems to be work normally now but I already sent all my important documents to another computer.

Any suggestions on what to do next? Should I wait and see if it happens again later?
Click to expand...

Mine has done it once since I've had it. I've had it since Feb 7th, and I use it every day. I have been waiting for it to do it again, before taking any action. Oh, and mine was WAY louder than any other sounds I've been able to get out of this little mono speaker!
 
NC MacGuy

NC MacGuy

macrumors 603
Feb 9, 2005
6,233
0
The good side of the grass.
thehuhman said:
Mine has done it once since I've had it. I've had it since Feb 7th, and I use it every day. I have been waiting for it to do it again, before taking any action. Oh, and mine was WAY louder than any other sounds I've been able to get out of this little mono speaker!
Click to expand...

Actually that little mono speaker is quite a bit louder than my MB's.....

Hopefully you all are using time machine or another suitable backup!

We shall see how those iPod HD's hold up in constant R/W laptop use. It was always a question I had that only time will answer.:confused:
 
F

fuzzielitlpanda

macrumors 6502a
Mar 24, 2008
834
0
bump this thread omg i just heard this sound!! it sounds like what you hear when you're loading a disc, but much worse. i heard it around the HD area. my mba seems to be ok right now, but what the hell is it?
 
N

netddos

macrumors regular
Oct 22, 2005
128
0
another report from mb air user...

shrieking noise...once...hopefully it isn't anything serious..
 
W

wolfie

macrumors regular
Apr 11, 2008
166
43
im thinking it could be wireless radio interference.
possibly even with a mobile phone nearby and the signals get clouded and mixed?

and with sound on, the interference is heard.

having said that, ive never experienced anything of the sort.
 
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fuzzielitlpanda

macrumors 6502a
Mar 24, 2008
834
0
When I heard the sound, I was watching a youtube video. The audio was almost on max, so I don't know if that has anything to do with it. I don't think it has anything to do with interference since I haven't been able to duplicate the problem whenever I want to.
 
F

fuzzielitlpanda

macrumors 6502a
Mar 24, 2008
834
0
yes my mba has all updates currently installed. this problem has only happened once so far and i hope it doesn't happen again. if it does, then i will probably take it to a Genius to see what we can do about it.
 
T

TV Cameraman

macrumors member
Feb 3, 2008
43
2
Los Angeles, CA
Just got my first hard drive screech

My week 1 MBA has been fine until yesterday. No core shutdowns, no excessive fan noise.

But then, it suddenly made the same hard drive "screech" sound that has been described above. There was no rhyme or reason to it: the MBA was idling and nothing strenuous was going on.

This sound is VERY unnerving.

Please post if you have heard it, too.
 
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