I just noticed the weirdest noise ever, i dare you to see if it will drive you mad...

[Lordillingworth]

Right then, i just noticed that my Original MBA 1.6 80 gig, was making a different high pitched squeak to the usual hard drive one, it was going on and off and i couldn't figure out what it was, it seems to come from under the left side of the keyboard.
I then realised that it only occurs if i put my finger on the trackpad! If i scroll or click and drag it stops, but if i just have my finger on the trackpad or move the cursor around normally there it is!!!
It is very quiet and high pitched so you might not notice it until you are in a very quiet place!

Just thought i would share this very strange find with you, anyone else notice this?

 

[Molopo]

Maybe you need something checked. And I'm not just talking about your laptop...

 

[EricNau]

My MacBook (Core Duo) does something very similar. It makes an audible screech/whine that changes based on the movement on the trackpad, which is also mirrored through the power adaptor.

Very strange, and sometimes annoying, but for the most part manageable.

 

[koobcamuk]

Right then, i just noticed that my Original MBA 1.6 80 gig, was making a different high pitched squeak...

That'll be the mouse.

Seriously, do you mean a high pitched tone? It might be the processor you can hear. I can hear mine.

 

[brop52]

On my replacement aluminum Macbook I had this sound earlier tonight, but it was LOUD. It randomly turned on when I was one tick away from full brightness when I was doing some web browsing. It is coming from the middle left of the keyboard. So I decided hey maybe I should turn the brightness down a bit. Each tick turned the noise down until it went away at about half brightness. Turning the brightness back up increased the loudness. Then I used it for about 20 minutes more at half brightness then put it to sleep. About half an hour later I opened up the computer to wake it up but the screen flashed for one second then went black. Then I could tell everything was working but the screen was just black. I had to shut down by holding down the button.

Since shutting down I haven't been able to recreate the sound. I'm puzzled by this and wondering why a brand new machine would be making this noise.

 

[tubbymac]

What you describe sounds like the high frequency whine that most Core 2 Duo processors create when they switch power saving states. If you google this issue you'll find a lot of people have complained about it and it affects pretty much all laptop manufacturers. The solution on the windows end was to use a utility called RmClock to disable one of the cpu sleep states which gets rid of the noise. I think some Macbook users had to boot camp into Windows, run the utility, and then reboot in order to get rid of the noise.

 

[brop52]

http://support.apple.com/kb/TS1823

So what's this about? Telling 15" MBP users with the high pitch noise over the keyboard to contact Applecare for service.

 

[buckawheat]

I get this same issue too

Nobody is nailing your issue on the head here. I get this same problem. A high pitched tone (only noticeable in a quiet room - could also be called a buzzing noise, electronic noise or static noise) when touching the trackpad on the air. I noticed this two days ago as well on mine.

I have no idea why this occurs - the sound is very high pitched and comes from the area of the spacebar when the trackpad is touched.

Changing screen or backlit keyboard brightness has no effect on this noise.

 

[brop52]

Nobody is nailing your issue on the head here. I get this same problem. A high pitched tone (only noticeable in a quiet room - could also be called a buzzing noise, electronic noise or static noise) when touching the trackpad on the air. I noticed this two days ago as well on mine.

I have no idea why this occurs - the sound is very high pitched and comes from the area of the spacebar when the trackpad is touched.

Changing screen or backlit keyboard brightness has no effect on this noise.

It's not the same noise and it's something easily heard without a quiet room. I hear buzzing on the left side of the trackpad if I put my ear to it but this is not the same thing.

It's a high pitch noise that can be controlled by brightness. I haven't heard it since I restarted. I also reset the PRAM and SMC for good measure.