iMAC and Humming Noise

[sgtbob]

Just recently my 24" iMAC (bought Sep 08) has started an annoying buzz/hum, and I can't tell where it is coming from. It generally begins when I start the machine or awaken it from sleep mode and will last for about 5-10 minutes then subsides. Sometimes it is longer than that, but this seems to be the norm. Anyone have any idea as its origin? I have not called Apple yet, but would like some insight from others who may have a similar annoying problem.

Bob

 

[spencecb]

Just recently my 24" iMAC (bought Sep 08) has started an annoying buzz/hum, and I can't tell where it is coming from. It generally begins when I start the machine or awaken it from sleep mode and will last for about 5-10 minutes then subsides. Sometimes it is longer than that, but this seems to be the norm. Anyone have any idea as its origin? I have not called Apple yet, but would like some insight from others who may have a similar annoying problem.

Bob

Do you have a disc in the optical drive? It often makes a buzzing sound when it first spins up the disc. Both my iMac G5 and my new iMac 24" do this on occasion.

 

[sgtbob]

No disc in the drive. Just the humming - sort of off key but so am I....

Bob

 

[pdwyer]

My 24" iMac has a slight hum to it also. It's nothing bad enough to cause me too much worry, but when the room is quiet, it can be annoying. It goes away somewhat when I tilt the screen and isn't related to the brightness up/down issue I have researched. From what I can tell, it may just be the hard drive because it has a Western Digital hard drive while my 24" iMac at work has a Hitachi and is whisper quiet. Anyone else have any ideas? It may be time to give AppleCare a shout.

 

[PoweredbyNorth]

I have a new (April 2009) iMac 24" which started to make funny noises after a week. It seemed like one of the fans was slighty out of balance resulting a very soft, but irritating ticking sound, especially in a quit room. Although my family thought I was complaining about a very minor detail I decided to call Apple. Yesterday I brought my iMac to a Apple service point and they replaced the GPU fan within the hour. Fortunately this fixed the problem and even my family now hears the difference!

So, my advice: your Mac should not make that sound. Bring it in for service while you still are under warranty.

 

[ziggyonice]

So, my advice: your Mac should not make that sound. Bring it in for service while you still are under warranty.

Agreed. If it's not the fans running due to software, it's likely a hardware issue that may need to be looked into.

Oh, and side note to the OP: Just so you know, typing "MAC" isn't the same as "Mac". When you type MAC in all capital letters, it actually means "Media Access Control", which is a term used in networking multiple computers together, including PCs. Sometimes it can just be a little confusing if you type the wrong one.

So, for future reference, just know that a Mac is a Mac... especially when asking tech questions online! (It looks better than typing all caps, too!)