Excellent video showing a disassembeled Macbook moooing

[onthat]

My dad's 12" iBook is a big moo-cow. It's actually more like a moan in the vid. kinda like a zombie...or maybe that's my subwoofer overreacting?

 

[jknight8907]

I couldn't hear anything except a tiny bit of air movement. No cows.....

 

[yellow]

So THAT'S the moo? I had to turn up my sound all the way to hear it.

All this big stink over a fan noise?

Holy crap.

 

[QCassidy352]

So THAT'S the moo? I had to turn up my sound all the way to hear it.

All this big stink over a fan noise?

Holy crap.

Use a macbook that moos for a day and then come back here and roll your eyes some more. If you haven't actually used one, you don't know what you're talking about.

 

[yellow]

Use a macbook that moos for a day and then come back here and roll your eyes some more. If you haven't actually used one, you don't know what you're talking about.

I have a Quicksilver '01. THAT is loud.
I have a small office at work with poor AC and 7 computers, 3 monitors, and various other heat sources. THAT is loud.
Consequently I must have multiple fans for air cirulation with the hallway. THAT is loud.

Mooing?

I'll have an MBP next week. We'll see.

 

[chairguru22]

I heard it, although I didn't hear it in the first posted link. It doesn't sound as bad as people make it out to be. And, it sounded like the sound capture had the mic gain dial way the hell up, and even then, I didn't hear all that much.

It seems that my macbook doesn't have the 'moo' (so far). If it did, I don't think I'd mind all that much unless it was really loud.

i'd say your macbook def has the 'moo' everyone else has... you just don't notice it as an annoying problem like everyone else does. which is good for you.

 

[andiwm2003]

maybe my windoews box filters out all "moooooo" but i couldn't hear a thing excet the voice and an almost silent fan. but no clear "mooooooo".

if that is all the moo problem then i'll happily buy a macbook.

 

[livingfortoday]

THAT'S the moo? That's it? Sheesh. My Powerbook Ti sounded like a jet engine coming on when it got hot. I'd almost prefer it if the fan had gone on and off like that instead of the loud constant scream it usually was at.

 

[mmmcheese]

http://www.appledefects.com/media/moo.mp3

listen to that and realise that the sound comming out of there is even louder in person. Now imagine that sound comming on and off every 2 seconds sporatically while you're trying to do your work. Now imagine students at your university library telling you to "turn down the volume of whatever video you are watching because I can't study with it going on." Now imagine chilling back and listening to some classical music only to be interupted with it at every other beat. Imagine being the dormmate of a person who has to sleep while you're typing up a late night paper. Imagine people having to ask you if your macbook is broken all the time even tho it is less than a week old.

It really does suck dude. I've sold hundreds of computers (including apples!) at my old job and I have never heard fans sound like that. So unless you have one, stop trying to put down others for a problem that doesn't exist for you. And if you do have moobook and can deal with it then good for you, but belitting others doesn't help anyone else feel good about themselves or the problem.

I shouldn't have to respond to this, but I will. 1) Yes, I've heard it. 2) Yes, I have one. 3) Yes, I've heard it coming from mine.

Just like you, I'm entitled to my opinion. My opinion is that people on this board really try hard to find something wrong with their machines...things that they would have never been bothered with if they hadn't heard other people making a big deal out of them. Also, I think it's silly how people also turn personal dislike about a certain aspect of a machine into a "defect" or "problem." I just happen to be pointing that out. As you can see from the other posts here, I'm not the only one who thinks people are making a mountain out of a mole hill and being unreasonable in general.

 

[ncook06]

I shouldn't have to respond to this, but I will. 1) Yes, I've heard it. 2) Yes, I have one. 3) Yes, I've heard it coming from mine.

Just like you, I'm entitled to my opinion. My opinion is that people on this board really try hard to find something wrong with their machines...things that they would have never been bothered with if they hadn't heard other people making a big deal out of them. Also, I think it's silly how people also turn personal dislike about a certain aspect of a machine into a "defect" or "problem." I just happen to be pointing that out. As you can see from the other posts here, I'm not the only one who thinks people are making a mountain out of a mole hill and being unreasonable in general.

I can attest to the problem. I have a MB that is pretty reliable for the fans going on for some reason, has mooed about twice in the month I've had it. One of the MBP's I went through before making the Macbook "switch" mooed like the cow in Jurassic Park being fed to the velociraptors. Every day.
And unlike that video shows, it is very loud. Very.

"Making a mountain out of a molehill" would be me complaining about my MB mooing - about 10 secs every 2 weeks. So don't judge the others here.

 

[QCassidy352]

Also, I think it's silly how people also turn personal dislike about a certain aspect of a machine into a "defect" or "problem."

If you think people complain too much, that's your opinion. But as to the point quoted above, you're just wrong. It is a defect. That's a horrible way to cool a machine; the fans should come on strong enough to actually cool it down, then shut off for a nice while.

Imagine having an air conditioner that goes on and off every 3 seconds, constantly, all day, instead of coming on for a few minutes (at least), getting the room down to a normal temp, and then shutting off for a few minutes (at least). Would that make any sense? Would it be annoying as all hell? Would it be a "personal dislike," or a design defect?

Maybe people are bothered by this more than they should be, but this is NOT how any laptop cooling system should behave - it is a design defect.

 

[unixfool]

i'd say your macbook def has the 'moo' everyone else has... you just don't notice it as an annoying problem like everyone else does. which is good for you.

Actually, I found that I do have it and had it when I made my other post...it doesn't sound like a moo to me, though. Hell, I don't know WHAT it sounds like. My first thought is some kind of space ship. I only hear it when I wake up the macbook, when the fans spin up. I usually hear the sound twice (the two fans spooling up??). My wife heard it too...she said, "what the hell was that? I mumbled, "dunno", shrugged my shoulders and continued to play with my new toy.

Yeah, I don't think its annoying. It is MUCH quieter than my other two laptops (a Dell Inspiron 8500 2.0GHz and a Toshiba Satellite 1805-S274 1.0GHz). About the macbook's heat that people have been talking about, it's about on-par with my Dell, which gets seriously hot...in fact, so far, the Dell gets hotter by a good bit.

 

[kevin.rivers]

My dad's 12" iBook is a big moo-cow. It's actually more like a moan in the vid. kinda like a zombie...or maybe that's my subwoofer overreacting?

I think the most important issue is this guy and his zombie knowledge...

 

[mmmcheese]

If you think people complain too much, that's your opinion. But as to the point quoted above, you're just wrong. It is a defect. That's a horrible way to cool a machine; the fans should come on strong enough to actually cool it down, then shut off for a nice while.

Imagine having an air conditioner that goes on and off every 3 seconds, constantly, all day, instead of coming on for a few minutes (at least), getting the room down to a normal temp, and then shutting off for a few minutes (at least). Would that make any sense? Would it be annoying as all hell? Would it be a "personal dislike," or a design defect?

Maybe people are bothered by this more than they should be, but this is NOT how any laptop cooling system should behave - it is a design defect.

Or maybe Apple designed it this way on purpose, and you just disagree with their cooling solution. If this is the case, then it's not a defect, it's a preference. No one knows if it is acting as designed or not.

Anyway, I look forward to seeing the laptop you're designing...I expect it to be perfect.

 

[mmmcheese]

Actually, I found that I do have it and had it when I made my other post...it doesn't sound like a moo to me, though. Hell, I don't know WHAT it sounds like. My first thought is some kind of space ship. I only hear it when I wake up the macbook, when the fans spin up. I usually hear the sound twice (the two fans spooling up??). My wife heard it too...she said, "what the hell was that? I mumbled, "dunno", shrugged my shoulders and continued to play with my new toy.

Yeah, I don't think its annoying. It is MUCH quieter than my other two laptops (a Dell Inspiron 8500 2.0GHz and a Toshiba Satellite 1805-S274 1.0GHz). About the macbook's heat that people have been talking about, it's about on-par with my Dell, which gets seriously hot...in fact, so far, the Dell gets hotter by a good bit.

When I first heard it, I thought it was wind howling outside...I only notice it when there's absolutely no other sounds in the room...

 

[QCassidy352]

Or maybe Apple designed it this way on purpose, and you just disagree with their cooling solution. If this is the case, then it's not a defect, it's a preference. No one knows if it is acting as designed or not.

Anyway, I look forward to seeing the laptop you're designing...I expect it to be perfect.

LOL, right, that's a great way to design a cooling system - constant 2 second cycles. Inform the refrigerator and air conditioner makers -- they've been doing it wrong for decades!!!

I'm not saying it has to be perfect; I'm saying it should not have obvious defects when the right way to do it has been known for decades.

Oh, and one other thing... if this is how it should function, why exactly did Apple release a firmware fix to stop the moo on the MBP?

Obviously you don't think this is a major screw up, but it *is* a mistake... it's amazing to me that you could actually contend a cooling system is supposed to work this way.

 

[i0Nic]

I just want to input something on this whole moo issue.
I had a black macbook (week 20) and it had a slightly loud moo. I exchanged it for another black macbook and it had an even louder moo.
I resigned myself to thinking that all macbooks have the moo, albeit some have it a bit quieter than others.

However, my friend bought a white macbook recently (week 23), and hers runs a fair bit cooler than mine and it has no moo. Well, when it reached 67 degrees you can hear the fan startup but its only a slight woosh of air and certainly nothing worth complaining about.

So it seems that there *are* macbooks out there that don't moo. Maybe the later models have the moo less than earlier macbooks?

Anyways, I'm now going to try and exchange my macbook for another one that doesn't moo.

 

[WillMak]

Anyways, I'm now going to try and exchange my macbook for another one that doesn't moo.

update us with what happens. best of luck.

 

[CoMpX]

LOL, right, that's a great way to design a cooling system - constant 2 second cycles. Inform the refrigerator and air conditioner makers -- they've been doing it wrong for decades!!!

I'm not saying it has to be perfect; I'm saying it should not have obvious defects when the right way to do it has been known for decades.

Oh, and one other thing... if this is how it should function, why exactly did Apple release a firmware fix to stop the moo on the MBP?

Obviously you don't think this is a major screw up, but it *is* a mistake... it's amazing to me that you could actually contend a cooling system is supposed to work this way.

I agree 100%. I don't have a MacBook, but it's definitely not OK for the fan to be cycling on and off like that. It's a design defect and that's all there is to it. There is no way the fan could effectively cool anything running in 2-3 second bursts.

 

[mmmcheese]

LOL, right, that's a great way to design a cooling system - constant 2 second cycles. Inform the refrigerator and air conditioner makers -- they've been doing it wrong for decades!!!

I'm not saying it has to be perfect; I'm saying it should not have obvious defects when the right way to do it has been known for decades.

Oh, and one other thing... if this is how it should function, why exactly did Apple release a firmware fix to stop the moo on the MBP?

Obviously you don't think this is a major screw up, but it *is* a mistake... it's amazing to me that you could actually contend a cooling system is supposed to work this way.

And what firmware update would that be? They had an update that improved the ACPI tables, but that didn't fix any "moos."

 

[Music_Producer]

I didn't hear any "mooing". I didn't hear much other than the narrator's voice. Am I the only one?

My ears apparently are very sensitive, and I listened hard to this sound.. but its not a 'moo'. Its just a fan turning on and off.. yeah it could get irritating if it did that every few seconds! But its certainly not a 'moo' (like the cows do, I assume thats what they do right? MOOOOO!)

God, seriously people tend to describe computer noises as real world sounds.. the next thing you know is that a hard drive clicking will sound like "Ribbit"

Help! My Macbook is a toad!

 

[macgeek2005]

Sorry to rain on the parade, but I don't hear a mooo.

 

[Scarlet Fever]

mine "moos" occasionally, but its usually dead silent. My speakers make more noise than it.

 

[dualsyste]

I've been contemplating the Macbook (read: waiting for revb) for a while, and all these issues have been making me hold back.

But after seeing this clip, and having to sandwich my ears between speakers to hear a faint hum.... wow. People complain about this?

 

[CoMpX]

I've been contemplating the Macbook (read: waiting for revb) for a while, and all these issues have been making me hold back.

But after seeing this clip, and having to sandwich my ears between speakers to hear a faint hum.... wow. People complain about this?

You guys are really not getting it are you? OK, say that the fan makes ABSOLUTELY NO NOISE. Fine. But, do you really want your fan going on and off every two seconds? Annoyances aside, it can lead to performance and stability issues.

Furthermore, fans are NOT supposed to work this way! There is a problem!

It's beyond me how anyone could think there is nothing wrong with it operating this way.