iMac "popping" noise

[ero87]

My iMac just made a pop-crackling sound, and all the sound died! It was during a video chat. No sound effects, music, or anything would play!

After I closed the video chat, I heard another "pop" and the sound returned! Should I be worried?

Also, I have intermittently heard crackles (probably once a week or so) from the computer, not affecting the sound. Cause for concern? It's about a year old.

 

[Smallville]

Had the same problem. A loud pop or crack. Later on, the machine would get crazy hot and crash.

Extremely hot and the room smelled like burnt wiring. The geniuses in AppleCare went through three logic boards before figuring out that the power source was bad and that it kept frying logic boards.

Mine was a 17" Rev. A G5, and they were notorious for that.

 

[ero87]

uhoh... what should I do? My computer has never crashed (and I wouldn't call the popping "loud"), but now I'm really worried. Should I buy an external harddrive and back everything up?

 

[BlizzardBomb]

uhoh... what should I do? My computer has never crashed (and I wouldn't call the popping "loud"), but now I'm really worried. Should I buy an external harddrive and back everything up?

The question is, do you have a Rev. A iMac (1.6GHz/1.8GHz) or a Rev.B iMac (1.8GHz/2GHz). The "popping" sound is totally normal, and it is just the case.

 

[ero87]

hmm I don't know if it's Rev A or B, but it's a 1.8 GHZ.

So you're saying the popping is normal, I shouldn't worry?

 

[BlizzardBomb]

Click on the blue Apple on the top-left -> About this Mac -> More Info -> Graphics/Displays. If you have 64MB VRAM its a Rev. A, 128MB VRAM its a Rev. B.

Anyway, yes a few people have heard this noise and it doesn't cause any problems (hopefully).

https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/199259/

 

[ero87]

oh good, i have 128 MB VRAM (whatever the hell that means )

Thanks for your help, i'll post pics if my computer blows up (knock wood).

 

[kildraik]

oh good, i have 128 MB VRAM (whatever the hell that means )

V=Video, RAM= Random Access Memory. In otherwords, the RAM in your graphics card.

 

[Makosuke]

My iMac just made a pop-crackling sound, and all the sound died! It was during a video chat. No sound effects, music, or anything would play!

After I closed the video chat, I heard another "pop" and the sound returned! Should I be worried?

When the second pop happened, was it the instant you closed the chat app, or a while later when you weren't doing anything in particular? If the former, then the app (iChat, or something else?) shut off the sound for some reason, which can make a popping sound. Probably a bug. If the latter, it may be a hardware issue (loose/broken connection internally?), and if it's under warranty (which you'll be right at the limit of if you didn't buy Applecare) I'd have it looked at right away. If its not, pray it doesn't happen again.

Also, I have intermittently heard crackles (probably once a week or so) from the computer, not affecting the sound. Cause for concern? It's about a year old.

The crackling sounds are *probably* just the case flexing as the temperature changes. I've heard those sounds from G5 iMacs, as well as both my aluminium Cinema Display and an older Studio Display at work (as well as a variety of other electronics--anything that heats and cools and is plastic will probably do it). If that's what it is, it's totally normal and nothing to worry about.

Reminds me that the plastic case of my old CRT TV would make an incredibly loud cracking noise when it had cooled to a certain point. It usually hit that point when the temperature in the house had dropped a few degrees, which often ended up being about 1am. So I'd be laying in bed drifting off when suddenly 'pow!' from the other room. Got used to it, but it was unnerving when it caught me off guard.