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Loud Beep Every 15 Minutes

Small White Car

Small White Car

macrumors G4
Original poster
Aug 29, 2006
10,972
1,468
Washington DC
My 5,1 Mac Pro makes a loud beep every 15 minutes. (For a week now.)

Apple said there's nothing they can do over the phone and I need to take it in to the genius bar. I'm still planning on doing that but thought I'd throw it out to crowd to see if there's any other suggestions.

I've already:

1) Reset PRAM
2) Un-plugged it for 5 minutes
3) Run Disk Utility checks on all disks
4) Run a RAM-checking program
5) Completely failed to get Apple Hardware Test to run, either locally or internet-based. (It just starts up the OS no matter what I try.)

Anything else I should try?
 
Don't know if it would help you, but I had similar issue and it was one of my disks. From time to time, it would make a sort of "Dzzzt" sound.

Therefore, you may try removing each and see if it persists. I wouldn't know otherwise!

About the apple hardware test lol, it seems that both of us are doing something wrong. I just posted my own thread where I also mentioned I'm failing to start AHT and I get to OS every single time no matter what

I guess we are doing it wrong...
 
Marhowl said:
Don't know if it would help you, but I had similar issue and it was one of my disks. From time to time, it would make a sort of "Dzzzt" sound.
Click to expand...

Thanks. I think I'll do that before I take it in.

Wonder if the hardware test would have reported this to either one of us. Guess we'll never know... :confused:
 
Have you tried running it from a fresh installation of OS X to see if OS X is the problem and not the hardware?
 
Intell said:
Have you tried running it from a fresh installation of OS X to see if OS X is the problem and not the hardware?
Click to expand...

I didn't because it beeped when I was running disk utility in the recovery disk. That deterred me from trying your idea, but I have a disk right here, I'll try this too since it won't take long.
 
Try booting it into the boot menu (Option at chime) and keeping like that for 20 minutes without selecting a drive to start from. If it still beeps, then it is indeed a hardware/firmware generated noise.
 
So with all hard drives removed (just the boot SSD remaining) and in the disk-selection mode I still got the beep.

Guess I'll be taking it in. But thanks, everyone, for giving me even more certainty!
 
Small White Car said:
So with all hard drives removed (just the boot SSD remaining) and in the disk-selection mode I still got the beep.

Guess I'll be taking it in. But thanks, everyone, for giving me even more certainty!
Click to expand...

Let's determine if a failing hardware component is causing that noise .

1) Disconnect all external devices connected to your Mac . Everything . Start up your Mac with just one drive with an OS X installed internally in the HDD bay. If noise persists then :

2) Verify your Optical Drive works by inserting and playing a DVD . Does it play video and audio properly ? If noise persists then :

3) Shut down Mac . Remove power plug to Mac . Disconnect the power/data cables of your optical drive . Remove all HDD and SSD . Reattach power plug . Start up Mac and let it flash that blinking question mark . If noise still persists ,

5) Shut down Mac . Remove power plug . Remove all PCIe cards , except the video card . Reattach power plug . Start up Mac . If noise persists,

6) shut down Mac . remove power plug . remove video card . reattach power plug . Start up Mac . Listen for chime . Don't worry , your Mac can actually operate without a video card . If the noise persists, you probably have a logic board failure . Outside chance of a speaker failure .

I've had more than one Mac in my shop that had boot chimes through the front speaker , but did not have any audio through that speaker while running OS X . partial circuit failure .
 
Where is the beep coming from?

I'm staring at the service manual for that machine right now and the internal speaker is wired up directly to the HD audio codec (sound card). EFI maintains momentary control over this device during startup to play the usual chime, but then control is handed off to Mac OS X for use as an output device (which you can select in System Preferences).

There is no way for the motherboard or SMC to issue a "beep" through the speaker once OS X is running.

This makes me think that it's a fan or possibly the PSU (some sort of defective capacitor or transformer). There are no piezo speakers anywhere else in the computer, and like I said it's probably not coming from the internal speaker.

If you can figure out where it's coming from, that's going to be your culprit. The only thing I can suggest is to leave the panel off and sit there waiting for a beep. Top quadrant is going to be from the PSU, anything else'll probably be a fan.

-SC
 
ScottishCaptain said:
Where is the beep coming from?

I'm staring at the service manual for that machine right now and the internal speaker is wired up directly to the HD audio codec (sound card). EFI maintains momentary control over this device during startup to play the usual chime, but then control is handed off to Mac OS X for use as an output device (which you can select in System Preferences).

There is no way for the motherboard or SMC to issue a "beep" through the speaker once OS X is running.

This makes me think that it's a fan or possibly the PSU (some sort of defective capacitor or transformer). There are no piezo speakers anywhere else in the computer, and like I said it's probably not coming from the internal speaker.

If you can figure out where it's coming from, that's going to be your culprit. The only thing I can suggest is to leave the panel off and sit there waiting for a beep. Top quadrant is going to be from the PSU, anything else'll probably be a fan.

-SC
Click to expand...

Here's a question for the OP now . is that beep really coming from the speaker ? Or , directly from some component as Scottish thinks ? Please find the source . For some odd reason , I thought it was feedback from a failing component through the speaker system , or from failing onboard audio circuitry itself .

For what's it's worth , Scottish , I've only come across 4 failed case fans out of all the Mac Pro, PMG5 , PMG4 systems I've worked on in the last ten years. And none beeped . the fans are really high quality .

OP - are you getting that beep precisely every 15 minutes ?

Scottish - I checked . Speaker is conneced to the Audio codec . Audio codec is connected to the Southbridge chip . Too many sources for feedback at that point , but one of them is the PSU .
 
Last edited:
Crazy idea: could the tiny disc battery on the mboard be failing?

I only mention this because of a totally unrelated event: we came home and our CO monitor was beeping every 30 seconds from a dying battery.

It's a stupid thought, and far from my first or last, but there it is…
 
sigmadog said:
Crazy idea: could the tiny disc battery on the mboard be failing?

I only mention this because of a totally unrelated event: we came home and our CO monitor was beeping every 30 seconds from a dying battery.

It's a stupid thought, and far from my first or last, but there it is…
Click to expand...

Anything that causes us to think from a different approach is not a stupid thought, Dog . But , no, cMPs do not beep if their batteries are failing or removed . I think in all the units I've serviced only three MP have actually needed new batteries . MP batteries have been long lasting . I used to replace factory batteries automatically until another tech I respected told me I was just tossing away perfectly good batteries. But I remember how things were in the PMG4 era with their easy to exhaust batteries , especially if the PMU reset buttons were pressed too often .
 
:mad:
It wasn't the Mac.

I only discovered this while going through Machines's list of items. At one point I got lucky and the beep happened while the Mac was unplugged. This led me to discover that it's the stupid Verizon FIOS box behind my computer rack.

It's so damn loud that I swear to you it still sounds like it's coming from the Mac sitting right here in front of me. Apparently not, but even knowing that it's not it still sounds like it is.

Anyway :eek:

I apologize for the time you've all spent on me but, trust me, I've wasted FAR more myself. So I guess that's an appropriate punishment.
 
I think the beep means the internal backup battery inside the Verizon box is dying and it should be replaced.
 
Small White Car said:
:mad:
It wasn't the Mac.

I only discovered this while going through Machines's list of items. At one point I got lucky and the beep happened while the Mac was unplugged. This led me to discover that it's the stupid Verizon FIOS box behind my computer rack.

It's so damn loud that I swear to you it still sounds like it's coming from the Mac sitting right here in front of me. Apparently not, but even knowing that it's not it still sounds like it is.

Anyway :eek:

I apologize for the time you've all spent on me but, trust me, I've wasted FAR more myself. So I guess that's an appropriate punishment.
Click to expand...

As my chain smoking , scratchy voiced , Junior High grammar teacher used to say (and I can still hear her voice after nearly forty years) :

"20,000 lashes with a wet noodle !" :p
 
Machines said:
As my chain smoking , scratchy voiced , Junior High grammar teacher used to say (and I can still hear her voice after nearly forty years) :

"20,000 lashes with a wet noodle !" :p
Click to expand...

Strange, since the lifetime of a wet noodle is usually around 1,000 lashes. How did she manage the other 19,000?
 
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