Please post here if your 1.83 GHz MacBook Pro whines & makes other odd noises

[thegreatluke]

Fortunately, I got my MBP 1.83 today. It's amazing. But it does have some weird things.

Fortunately,
a) It's a bit warm, but not hot like people with 2.0's have said. The left side (next to the keyboard near the back) is warm, but the right side is only the smallest bit warm. (Like the warmth you get from wearing a t-shirt )
b) It's awesome.

Unfortunately,
a) It's buzzing. (I'm getting a headache, blech.)
b) My fans are blowing audibly even though I only have Safari open. (Is it just because it's configuring the computer? I just turned it on ten minutes ago.)
c) During the initial startup, the manual said I should hear the tone, which I heard, and the sleep indicator light should come on and stay on. The sleep indicator light never came on.

I don't know what to do about b and c. Are they problems?

 

[brikeh]

I don't know what to do about b and c. Are they problems?

Well...if its giving you a headache then yeah its a problem.

 

[Lord Blackadder]

You guys are all sissies. Come stick your ear to the back of MY computer and you'll hear real noise.

Or better yet, come to the lab I work at and stick your ear next to the dual Xeon tower we have there. Make sure to bring burn cream.

 

[thegreatluke]

Well...if its giving you a headache then yeah its a problem.

It was buzzing before but now it's stopped... I'm also importing into iTunes though. I guess if I can't really do anything about it, it's not a problem because I can just load PhotoBooth into the background or something.

But if anyone knows if I can do anything about it or not... I'd like to know so I can get my MBP fixed

Is everyone having the buzzing problem or just certain people?

 

[macbook123]

Someone on the Apple forum at

http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?messageID=1810973&#1810973

found that downlading and starting the "mirror" widget helps. The user said that the whining (or however you want to call it) even stays off once you close that widget, and the green camera light goes off. The problem with running photobooth might be that it lowers the battery life. I don't know whether running the mirror widget will lead to the same. If it won't, there's hope that Apple can invent a software update to fix the problem permanently. However, somebody on the above forum (who seems to be quite knowledgeable about computers) wrote that the whining is a consequence of the Intel processors being put into a power saving state, quoting the guy ("MtnViewJohn"):

"The cause is an interaction between the CPU's switching power supply, the OS X task scheduler interrupt, and the CPU low power states. OS X configures the hardware to generate a hardware interrupt at some fixed period that is probably on the order of 1kHz. If the system is idle then this interrupt causes OS X to wake up the CPUs, determine that the system is still idle, and put the CPUs back into a low power state. The net affect of this is that the current flowing from the power supply to the CPU is a square wave at some frequency on the order of 1kHz. Components in the CPU power supply are vibrating at this interrupt rate and producing audible noise."

Hope this helps.

 

[Meyvn]

I've found the solution. If your MBP is making the noise, get a life! Listen to some music. Get out of your room. Get a roommate. Go to a coffee shop. Life is far too short to waste on the small defects of an otherwise fabulous new computer that Apple is not going to bother to fix. The only time I am ever in a situation where I could hear such a noise is if I'm specfically trying to hear it. Peace. Enjoy your dual-core, high performance-per-watt laptops, praise the Lord, eat, drink, and be merry!

 

[thegreatluke]

Someone on the Apple forum at

http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?messageID=1810973&#1810973

found that downlading and starting the "mirror" widget helps. The user said that the whining (or however you want to call it) even stays off once you close that widget, and the green camera light goes off. The problem with running photobooth might be that it lowers the battery life. I don't know whether running the mirror widget will lead to the same. If it won't, there's hope that Apple can invent a software update to fix the problem permanently. However, somebody on the above forum (who seems to be quite knowledgeable about computers) wrote that the whining is a consequence of the Intel processors being put into a power saving state, quoting the guy ("MtnViewJohn"):

"The cause is an interaction between the CPU's switching power supply, the OS X task scheduler interrupt, and the CPU low power states. OS X configures the hardware to generate a hardware interrupt at some fixed period that is probably on the order of 1kHz. If the system is idle then this interrupt causes OS X to wake up the CPUs, determine that the system is still idle, and put the CPUs back into a low power state. The net affect of this is that the current flowing from the power supply to the CPU is a square wave at some frequency on the order of 1kHz. Components in the CPU power supply are vibrating at this interrupt rate and producing audible noise."

Hope this helps.

Oh, thank you so much for the info!
That's really awesome. I'll dl the widget in a couple minutes and tell you guys the results.

So I guess there can't be a patch then? Or will there be?

Edit: Not patch, software update. Sorry, I'm a new switcher.

 

[brikeh]

I've found the solution. If your MBP is making the noise, get a life! Listen to some music. Get out of your room. Get a roommate. Go to a coffee shop. Life is far too short to waste on the small defects of an otherwise fabulous new computer that Apple is not going to bother to fix. The only time I am ever in a situation where I could hear such a noise is if I'm specfically trying to hear it. Peace. Enjoy your dual-core, high performance-per-watt laptops, praise the Lord, eat, drink, and be merry!

Thats just stupid, if you spent 2k on a computer that makes a noise that is seriously giving you a headache then theres something wrong.

 

[solidbreakz]

I've found the solution. If your MBP is making the noise, get a life! Listen to some music. Get out of your room. Get a roommate. Go to a coffee shop. Life is far too short to waste on the small defects of an otherwise fabulous new computer that Apple is not going to bother to fix. The only time I am ever in a situation where I could hear such a noise is if I'm specfically trying to hear it. Peace. Enjoy your dual-core, high performance-per-watt laptops, praise the Lord, eat, drink, and be merry!

That was obnoxious and unecessary. People have just dropped much coin on their new laptops and are posting here for insight and help...not to read the comments of someone who should heed their own words...

get a life!

yeah...YOU first, pal.

 

[thegreatluke]

Mevyn: I work on my computer for several hours a day. If there's a buzzing that gives me a headache, that's a problem. I do work on this computer, not play. If I dropped 2,000 USD on a computer, I'm going to hope it's perfect!


Thanks so much for everyone's help!
Macbook123: That's amazing. I tried the mirror widget, and it worked perfectly. No buzzing anymore with nothing open, and even with a one-tabbed Safari page open. Thank you so much for taking away my headaches!

Solidbreakz: You're awesome. And right.

 

[macbook123]

Macbook123: That's amazing. I tried the mirror widget, and it worked perfectly. No buzzing anymore with nothing open, and even with a one-tabbed Safari page open. Thank you so much for taking away my headaches!

Sounds good, as long as the battery life is not affected by the mirror widget. Have you checked this?

 

[mark!]

I've found the solution. If your MBP is making the noise, get a life! Listen to some music. Get out of your room. Get a roommate. Go to a coffee shop. Life is far too short to waste on the small defects of an otherwise fabulous new computer that Apple is not going to bother to fix. The only time I am ever in a situation where I could hear such a noise is if I'm specfically trying to hear it. Peace. Enjoy your dual-core, high performance-per-watt laptops, praise the Lord, eat, drink, and be merry!

MMKAY a s s h o l e just as soon as you find out how I can use my MacBook for recording & audio work with a magical microphone. K, thanks.

 

[thegreatluke]

Sounds good, as long as the battery life is not affected by the mirror widget. Have you checked this?

No, actually, I'm calibrating the battery right now (still on the charging part).

It's on "Calculating... until full," whatever that is.

I'll post back when I get a chance to test this.

Shouldn't it not affect battery life (after the widget is closed), though?

 

[macbook123]

No, actually, I'm calibrating the battery right now (still on the charging part).

It's on "Calculating... until full," whatever that is.

I'll post back when I get a chance to test this.

Shouldn't it not affect battery life (after the widget is closed), though?

One would hope that it doesn't affect battery life. I'm just wondering because the other guy on the Apple forum claimed the whining is a consequence of the cpu's going into low power mode (see my post above). This would imply that if there's no whining, there's shorter battery life...

PS: Is it necessary to do the calibration right away? I got my MBP a few days ago and haven't had a chance to do this yet.

 

[thegreatluke]

One would hope that it doesn't affect battery life. I'm just wondering because the other guy on the Apple forum claimed the whining is a consequence of the cpu's going into low power mode (see my post above). This would imply that if there's no whining, there's shorter battery life...

PS: Is it necessary to do the calibration right away? I got my MBP a few days ago and haven't had a chance to do this yet.

No, I just want to.

My dad's a pc fan (though he's often seduced by the dark side) and if he sees a battery life below 4 hours he won't let me forget it.

 

[funkychunkz]

My LCD at home does this too. Does this most of the time, exept when the processor is busy. I just keep FAH running in the backround.

 

[ncoffey]

Got my 1.83 w/ 2x512 ram today. It is doing a high pitched whine when the LCD is on. When the LCD is off (zero brightness, say) it stops doing this. It only seems to do this when the computer is hot. I'm currently using my Cinema Display because of it, but I'm not sure I'd notice it when I'm at school and there would be a little more noise.

 

[watchmainspring]

I clearly hear the buzz coming from the lcd. Mine arrived today

 

[macbook123]

Got my 1.83 w/ 2x512 ram today. It is doing a high pitched whine when the LCD is on. When the LCD is off (zero brightness, say) it stops doing this. It only seems to do this when the computer is hot. I'm currently using my Cinema Display because of it, but I'm not sure I'd notice it when I'm at school and there would be a little more noise.

Does it also stop when you run photobooth?

Are you sure it's coming from the LCD? Could it be that it's coming from CLOSE TO the LCD on the left upper side of the keyboard?

 

[ncoffey]

Does it also stop when you run photobooth?

Are you sure it's coming from the LCD? Could it be that it's coming from CLOSE TO the LCD on the left upper side of the keyboard?

It does not stop when running photoboth, and it seems to be the right upper side of the keyboard. It does stop when I set the brightness to zero.

 

[DND82]

I get a similar whining on my 17" powerbook. It comes and goes, a couple times when I type I hear it with each keystroke.

 

[macbook123]

It does not stop when running photoboth, and it seems to be the right upper side of the keyboard. It does stop when I set the brightness to zero.

Very interesting. If there are no audible changes when you open and close photobooth, you're the first person reporting to not have the whine. Also other 1.83 people reported it. I have it on my 2.0, but doesn't bother me very much. There's also a bunch of recordings on various lists. Wonder what makes your laptop special? Anyway, good for you!

 

[wragen22]

I recieved my 1.83 stock yesterday and sad to say I have the whine as well. It does turn off when in photobooth, however the mirror widget does not fix the problem. My question is how many of you have contacted apple and are exchanging their mbp for a new one for free?

 

[wangahrah]

It sounds the same as when I would turn on processor napping with CHUD. Which would seem to suggest, unless there are several different whines from the LCD and another from the processor.

I'd say it's the processor throttling back, which will help heat and battery life.

On the PM, it annoyed me enough that I turned it off.

 

[ericsthename]

1.83's make noise

Hey all,

Picked up my MacBook today after months.... of anticipation! It does make some whining noises at times, particularly when I first started it up. Right now, its on "normal" power consumption, and full brightness and its silent, but I noticed when i played with the display's brightness slider, the noise changed pitch, and came and went. at about 1/4 brightness, there was little/no noise, and at full brightness the same.

On the whole though, I'm not complaining, this computer is way beyond the speed that I expected. I guess that's what you get for skipping the G4 and G5 revisions, and upgrading from a iMac DV SE 500.

Eric

After a solid afternoon of work, the computer has been silent at a number of different brightness scales. maybe it just needed to be broken in??