Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.

Nuks

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
Feb 25, 2006
504
0
My macbook (fine for almost a month) has started to constantly make noise. It's not a moo, but it's kind of like my old computer, you can constantly hear...... something making a noise in the background (i don't think it's the fans) and it also makes... electronic noises. I can't really explain it better than that, but I'm hoping someone will be able to help me out anyway. I haven't really turned it off since I got it (once to calibrate it, and a couple times for reboots here and there). Anyone have an answer?


Thanks.
 

Nuks

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
Feb 25, 2006
504
0
yeah kind of. Like electronic blips in the background, but predominantly a low, continuous sound like you mentioned (i think)..
 

imacintel

macrumors 68000
Mar 12, 2006
1,581
0
Nuks said:
yeah kind of. Like electronic blips in the background, but predominantly a low, continuous sound like you mentioned (i think)..
Verify S.M.A.R.T status in Disk Utility.

Have you noticed unusual slowness on the machine. Sometimes not starting up correctly?

You may want to take your machine to and Apple Store.
 

MalcolmJID

macrumors 6502a
Nov 1, 2005
774
151
England
I get electronic blips too. I thought this was CPU whine? It goes away when I set it off doing something....hmmmm. I'll check my harddrive too.:rolleyes:
 

Nuks

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
Feb 25, 2006
504
0
I repaired my permissions, and S.M.A.R.T. is enabled, but still the sound persists.

I don't have an Apple store within 2100 kms either, so that's a no-go.
 

imacintel

macrumors 68000
Mar 12, 2006
1,581
0
MalcolmJID said:
I get electronic blips too. I thought this was CPU whine? It goes away when I set it off doing something....hmmmm. I'll check my harddrive too.:rolleyes:

Yes. It's verified. NO ONE appreciates my help that could lead to a happy macbook.:rolleyes:
 

Nuks

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
Feb 25, 2006
504
0
If I do call Apple and it is the CPU, how will they go about fixing it? I won't lose anything off my harddrive, will i?
 

madmax_2069

macrumors 6502a
Aug 17, 2005
886
0
Springfield Ohio
they wont, Apple say's that the CPU whine is normal operation.

i don't know why apple don't try to find out what is wrong. i myself have never herd a CPU whine, i dont own a MB, or MBP yet (prolly never will, im broke) and never seen one in person so i dont know what it sounds like
 

Nuks

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
Feb 25, 2006
504
0
Alright, thanks.

There's no way for ME to do anything, is there?
 

shakerbaby

macrumors regular
Oct 5, 2006
105
0
Not sure if this is the same noise but mine hums due to an inverter problem if the display is not at full brightness and I am gonna take it back next week. Check you display brightness to see if its the same problem.
 

mopppish

macrumors 6502
Nov 27, 2005
356
1
It probably is the processor.
My new Macbook has a bit of processor whine. And it's a week 39 build, so I'm sure that by now the problem has been addressed as much as it can be.
I was a little disappointed at first, but the more I read about it, it sounds like it's kind of the nature of the beast, and I'm quite happy with the Macbook otherwise. I've heard that people hear this noise even on non-Apple notebooks with Core Duos. Some say they have a Core Duo Windows machine and can't hear any noise, but I bet that's mostly because the fan noise covers it up. :D
Anyway, if you send it to Apple, they will probably replace the logic board, and you may get one that's just as noisy because even the "fixed" logic boards have this whine to some extent. It's just not as bad as it used to be.
Don't worry about it too much unless it's REALLY loud or your MB starts acting up in other ways.

P.S. Check your Macbook's build week (the 4th and 5th digits of the serial number). If it's around 30 or above, than I doubt you have a unit that would actually benefit significantly from a logic board replacement.

P.P.S. Ask yourself how bad the noise REALLY is. Sometimes these kind of things seem way worse than they are because once you notice them, you can't stop thinking about them for a while...
 

MalcolmJID

macrumors 6502a
Nov 1, 2005
774
151
England
Mines a week 38. I can live with it easily. It jsut sounds like a faint electronic beep. I can live with it. I only notice any slight noises when (for example, now) I'm in my room at night and the house is silent.:)
 
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.