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Chrispy

macrumors 68020
Dec 27, 2004
2,270
524
Indiana
Just for fun, I installed Windows XP using BootCamp. As I guessed, when running in windows my MB is SILENT. There is not even the faintest hint of a whine and no mooing at all. This just proves that part of this problem does lie within OS X.
 

nermal0

macrumors regular
Original poster
May 31, 2006
140
36
Germany
Chrispy said:
Just for fun, I installed Windows XP using BootCamp. As I guessed, when running in windows my MBP is SILENT. There is not even the faintest hint of a whine and no mooing at all. This just proves that part of this problem does lie within OS X.

This does not apply to (my) Macbook. It moos and whines in OSX, Linux and XP (native, not Parallels).
 

Mord

macrumors G4
Aug 24, 2003
10,091
23
UK
XP is just a more taxing OS, macbooks whine when idleing and it idles less in XP, which is why apps which claim to fix the whine just tax the cpu 5%
 

mulletman13

macrumors 6502a
Jul 1, 2004
505
0
Los Angeles.
Chrispy said:
What are the specs on yours by the way?

Like somebody else's here on this thread, I spoke too soon :-X

After a couple days of silence, the MacBook began mooing this morning.... not as bad as I thought it would be, and it sounds like its fixable with an update or something.

Still no whine though :)

My specs are a stock 1.83 White MacBook, only I just upgraded to 768mb RAM.
 

Chrispy

macrumors 68020
Dec 27, 2004
2,270
524
Indiana
nermal0 said:
This does not apply to (my) Macbook. It moos and whines in OSX, Linux and XP (native, not Parallels).

Now that I'm back in OSX, the second it booted up the whine started and it began mooing like crazy. Even if windows is a more taxing OS, the moo does not show up in it. Whenever you run something in OSX to get the CPU load up to about 5% then the mooing starts from the heat. This seems like something that should be an easy fix for Apple to impliment... why oh why don't they.

That sucks that yours does it in all OSes nermal. I guess this problem has different causes and different solutions...
 

plinden

macrumors 601
Apr 8, 2004
4,029
142
Hearing an annoying computer whine right now ...

... but it's not either of my Macs, nor even my Dell laptop (which whines but not very loudly).

I share an office at work with two other guys - we all have the same model of Dell Latitude D810 laptop, but one installed Linux on a Dell desktop PC (that he keeps under his desk) last Thursday.

Since then I've been tortured by a loud high pitched whine coming from the desktop. This is coming from about 10 feet away, and I can hear it even when listening to my iPod, in the quiet bits.

The guy who uses the whining PC can't hear it unless he puts his head under the table (unless he's humoring me ... possible I suppose) and my other coworker can't hear it all.

Just thought I would share that, and let you know that there's nothing wrong with my ears, and if our MacBook started making this sound, it would be returned within hours.
 

Some_Big_Spoon

macrumors 6502a
Jun 17, 2003
855
0
New York, NY
2.0 WMB w/ 2GB RAM here. No whine or moo to report. There's a high pitched sound when I'm burning a disc, and the heat coming out of this thing is unbelievable. I feel like it's running on diesel.
 

whawhat

macrumors 6502
Jun 9, 2006
316
46
Some_Big_Spoon said:
2.0 WMB w/ 2GB RAM here. No whine or moo to report. There's a high pitched sound when I'm burning a disc, and the heat coming
out of this thing is unbelievable. I feel like it's running on diesel.

I read that a firmware update might correct the whining/mooing BUT do you think it will help correct the overheating????
 

nermal0

macrumors regular
Original poster
May 31, 2006
140
36
Germany
Some_Big_Spoon said:
2.0 WMB w/ 2GB RAM here. No whine or moo to report. There's a high pitched sound when I'm burning a disc, and the heat coming out of this thing is unbelievable. I feel like it's running on diesel.

Hmm, maybe moo and heat are related? Mine gets hot, but not so hot that I would burn myself. Maybe the moo kicks in early enough to keep the CPU cool.

If your MB should start mooing, can you please report it here? You wouldn't be the first one here who posts a happy "no moo/whine" just to take it back one day later ;)
 

CraigB

macrumors member
Jan 15, 2005
40
0
I'm a few hours into this new Macbook, and so far so good. The heat on the Magsafe side is ridiculous (the base of the laptop), as I could probably heat up a sandwhich on it given enough time. But so far, there's been no whine. While I was installing the software updates, there was a *slight* "moo" towards the end. But I could barely hear it in an absolutely quiet room. The sound was like how a CD discman motor would whirl up when playing a CD. And that "moo-ing" period only lasted approximately 15 seconds. I tried launching 6-7 programs at a time to stress out the CPU a bit, but thankfully no "moo" came of it.

Hopefully, this Macbook is one of those "perfect" ones out there.
 

Chrispy

macrumors 68020
Dec 27, 2004
2,270
524
Indiana
I'm curious about two things here. First, how many of you had a macbook that whined and then got one that didn't. The reason I ask is just to be sure that people who are reporting no whine could actually hear it if it was there. Sometimes people simply do not register certain pitches in sound.

Second, are people who are ordering MBPs now getting one that don't whine or moo? I'm thinking about moving up to that eventually but I want to wait until they don't make crazy noises anymore. Also, is your luck of getting a silent macbook or macbook pro better if ordered online because the stock is freshest that way? Just curious.
 

CraigB

macrumors member
Jan 15, 2005
40
0
Chrispy said:
I'm curious about two things here. First, how many of you had a macbook that whined and then got one that didn't. The reason I ask is just to be sure that people who are reporting no whine could actually hear it if it was there. Sometimes people simply do not register certain pitches in sound.

My hearing is actually pretty sensitive, so if there was a "whine", I most likely pick it up. If someone could post an audio clip, I could probably be more certain. My Macbook is sitting here right now, barely making a twitch.
 

british724

macrumors member
Mar 12, 2006
42
0
Indy
I heard mine moo for the first time this morning..

Then again, I had 5 or so different applications open, and I was transferring files back and forth between my external and my mac.

But ever since then, I swear it's been overheating so much more quickly.

And is it just me, or is the battery life on this thing pathetic?


*sigh*

But, it hasn't mooed or whined ever since this morning.

But this overheating and battery life are killing me.

I hope I never have to take this on a long car trip..
 

Chrispy

macrumors 68020
Dec 27, 2004
2,270
524
Indiana
I don't know if I'm the first to do this but here is a video with the whine. Be sure to turn up your volume when you watch it. Also, I'm not sure how much bandwidth I get with a free .mac trial so someone with quicktime pro may want to snag this and post it up. The video is free for the taking as I want it to get around as much as possible. If you want the file just PM me. Enjoy!

http://web.mac.com/chrispy0206/iWeb/Site/Movie.html
 

Rspaight

macrumors newbie
May 23, 2006
27
0
I haven't noticed any whining. It will "moo" if there's a moderate load that raises the temperature above idle.

My wife's HP notebook (3 GHz P4) does exactly the same thing, except it's louder.
 

CraigB

macrumors member
Jan 15, 2005
40
0
Chrispy said:
I don't know if I'm the first to do this but here is a video with the whine. Be sure to turn up your volume when you watch it. Also, I'm not sure how much bandwidth I get with a free .mac trial so someone with quicktime pro may want to snag this and post it up. The video is free for the taking as I want it to get around as much as possible. If you want the file just PM me. Enjoy!

http://web.mac.com/chrispy0206/iWeb/Site/Movie.html


Thanks for the file. If the sound is that weird mechanical pitch (like a buzz of sorts), my Macbook certainly doesn't have that sound. With a CD spinning inside, I get maybe 1/2 of that noise :S I hope it doesn't start up on me in a couple of days though, as that's what I hear some people have been getting.
 

Hotbook

macrumors newbie
Jun 12, 2006
1
0
Hot as hell and I'm not gonna take it anymore!

Same thing here. Took it to an Apple reseller here in Oregon and the tech said the heating and whining have been issues. They sent it back to Apple and am now waiting to see if it's been fixed. I will keep you posted.

Side note, when I spoke to a "genius" at the Apple store about this issue, he said it was the first time he's heard of them mooing, whining or whatever, and that they've had no reports of them running hot either.

Mooing is so loud that people at coffee shop kept looking over at me because the thing sounds like it's going into labor; which happens about every 45 seconds. Annoying. :mad:
 

nermal0

macrumors regular
Original poster
May 31, 2006
140
36
Germany
CraigB said:
My hearing is actually pretty sensitive, so if there was a "whine", I most likely pick it up. If someone could post an audio clip, I could probably be more certain. My Macbook is sitting here right now, barely making a twitch.
Craig, did you do the photobooth test? Open photobooth and leave your MB sitting on a table for 5 minutes. Does it moo?
 

Chrispy

macrumors 68020
Dec 27, 2004
2,270
524
Indiana
Hotbook said:
Side note, when I spoke to a "genius" at the Apple store about this issue, he said it was the first time he's heard of them mooing, whining or whatever, and that they've had no reports of them running hot either.

HAHA! That is EXACLTY what they told me. They had simply never heard of a whining or mooing issue with the macbooks. As far as they know I'm the first person to report it :cool: Apple needs to start owning up to its faults or they are going to loose customers. There was a switcher there when I was waiting at the bar who got a mini and it was DOA. He drove an hour to get back to the store and then was told he had to wait for over an hour to even talk to a genius. His problem was black and white and they still made him jump thru hoops. When you do stuff like that to switchers, it really hurts making a dedicated mac user out of them...
 

Chrispy

macrumors 68020
Dec 27, 2004
2,270
524
Indiana
I posted this in another thread but feel it is appropriate to post here as well. Just as some others have suspected, I have been having people watch my video that shows off the whine. Some hear it clear as day while others hear nothing at all. With the volume up on the computer you watch it on, the sound is crystal clear to some of us including me. So, it turns out that some of the people saying their macbooks don't have the whine indeed may simply be unable to hear it after all.
 

plinden

macrumors 601
Apr 8, 2004
4,029
142
Chrispy said:
Yep, I hear that on your website (you'll have to take my word for it) but not on my wife's MacBook (you'll have to take my word for it).

It sounds exactly the same as the whine from my Dell latop and not as loud (considering you had to move the mike closer) as the whine from my coworker's Linux machine (you'll have to take my word for it.)

It's also close to, but maybe louder than, the whine from my last IBM Thinkpad.
 

Chrispy

macrumors 68020
Dec 27, 2004
2,270
524
Indiana
plinden said:
Yep, I hear that on your website (you'll have to take my word for it) but not on my wife's MacBook (you'll have to take my word for it).

It sounds exactly the same as the whine from my Dell latop and not as loud (considering you had to move the mike closer) as the whine from my coworker's Linux machine (you'll have to take my word for it.)

It's also close to, but maybe louder than, the whine from my last IBM Thinkpad.

I would kill that guy at work with the Linux box haha. I can't imagine working all day having to listen to that :eek: Thanks for your input on this. Hopefully there are more like you who can hear it in my video but not on their machines. It is louder than it seems on my macbook but my mic on my phone only pics up sounds when it is right on top of them.. that is why I had to put it so close. I had Thinkpad T43 that made a strange sound when the network cable was plugged in so it is funny you mention that on yours as well.
 

WabeWalker

macrumors member
May 20, 2006
85
0
Well, I hope I'm not speaking too soon, but this Macbook of mine, my sixth computer, is completely silent. I mean, you can't hear anything. Only when the DVD drive begins to spin do I ever hear a sound, and that only lasts for a few seconds.

Oh yeah, and the fan has come on a couple of times. That usually lasts about ten seconds.

I had no idea that the Macbook would be this quiet. (My chief application, by the way, is word processing).
 

Hobodale

macrumors member
Jun 4, 2006
39
0
WabeWalker said:
Well, I hope I'm not speaking too soon, but this Macbook of mine, my sixth computer, is completely silent. I mean, you can't hear anything. Only when the DVD drive begins to spin do I ever hear a sound, and that only lasts for a few seconds.

Oh yeah, and the fan has come on a couple of times. That usually lasts about ten seconds.

I have had the same experience. I have only had my macbook for 2 days but since this is me first Mac I have been using it constantly. The fan with kick on from time to time but nothing bad or annoying. No Moo or whine yet(crossing my fingers).

So far a absolutely LOVE my macbook the best purchase I have ever made!!
 
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