Another buzzing sound from a Macbook ... But a strange one this time.

[sizetwo]

Hi there.

Got my 2Gb MB White, and Ive been quite happy with it, except for the common heat issues we all have.

Anyway, I have just recently discovered a high frequent buzz that keeps going in the background, and the strange part is that when I keep the left mousebutton down it goes away. When I release the button it starts again. This happens regardless if its charging or without the power cable connected.

I dont have super hearing, and its starting to become annoying. Anyone else with the same problem or potential solutions ? It starts to make the sound from the moment I first turn it on and is not warm, so I dont think its the fans kicking in.

 

[benthewraith]

I don't know what could cause it unless it's a buzz similar to the Macbook Pro buzz. I'd try QuietMBP just in case, unless it's crafted not to work on the standard Macbook...

 

[sizetwo]

Hmmm what I think is strange is that it goes away when keeping the left mousebutton pressed. I dont know why that would happen. It actually sounds like (pardon my lack of electronics knowledge) some current going through inside that makes it, not the moving blades of the fan or the harddrive spinning. It seems to be coming from somewhere underneath the S key on my keyboard

 

[sizetwo]

Okey so I tried the quiet MBP software (raising the cpu usage when idle) and you are right, that was the problem. I found that keeping the mouse button pressed does the same thing, raising the cpu to about 40%, hence the noise of the CPU gone. With the software I have set the CPU usage to about 7% and that completely eliminates the noise.

Is this something that Apple is going to care about, meaning that they will replace or fix it in the future ? Its really not a very nice feature.

 

[benthewraith]

Okey so I tried the quiet MBP software (raising the cpu usage when idle) and you are right, that was the problem. I found that keeping the mouse button pressed does the same thing, raising the cpu to about 40%, hence the noise of the CPU gone. With the software I have set the CPU usage to about 7% and that completely eliminates the noise.

Is this something that Apple is going to care about, meaning that they will replace or fix it in the future ? Its really not a very nice feature.

The main issue is that you aren't going to get as much battery life as you would with a normal one, but it will get you through those one/two/three hour flights. MagicNoisekiller worked for me for a while, then a firmware update made it not work...

 

[sizetwo]

Okey. Thanks a lot for your help. However, surely this is something that Apple would know about, and I really didnt notice this sound untill after having had the Macbook for about 2 weeks. Any reason for why it should all of a sudden start making this sound ? And is it something that Apple will fix, if it even is fixable ?

 

[benthewraith]

Okey. Thanks a lot for your help. However, surely this is something that Apple would know about, and I really didnt notice this sound untill after having had the Macbook for about 2 weeks. Any reason for why it should all of a sudden start making this sound ? And is it something that Apple will fix, if it even is fixable ?

It may either be fixable via firmware update or it isn't. I couldn't tell ya. But being a buyer early in the game is one of the prices to pay. As to why it'd spontaneously start, I've heard it mentioned that it's somehow linked to the isight camera built in, which is something I've noticed as well.