pg2114
Senior Member
Beware of the flippers!
Posts: 151
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Post by pg2114 on Mar 4, 2009 22:07:24 GMT
Wow, my third thread in the "Help" board today! It's another long-running problem which I've had for a fair few months.
Whenever my Mac is on, there is a quiet high-pitched noise, however this gets annoying in a silent room. It sounds as though it's the hard drive, but the noise comes from the rear half of the MacBook.
The strange thing is, it is completely silent when I am scrolling down a webpage or document. Even with two fingers on the trackpad I can still hear it until I start scrolling!
Thanks,
Peter.
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Post by CyberChimp on Mar 4, 2009 22:56:01 GMT
You say the high pitched noise stops as soon as you start scrolling a webpage / document.
Is the same high pitched noise present: a) when the only thing being displayed onscreen is your desktop? b) when a moving image is being displayed onscreen (ie an .mpg video file is being viewed on screen in Quicktime / VLC)? c) when the Mac is displaying it's screen saver? d) the screen has gone to sleep and is displaying nothing at all?
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pg2114
Senior Member
Beware of the flippers!
Posts: 151
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Post by pg2114 on Mar 4, 2009 22:58:58 GMT
You say the high pitched noise stops as soon as you start scrolling a webpage / document. Correct, yes. Is the same high pitched noise present: a) when the only thing being displayed onscreen is your desktop? b) when a moving image is being displayed onscreen (ie an .mpg video file is being viewed on screen in Quicktime / VLC)? c) when the Mac is displaying it's screen saver? d) the screen has gone to sleep and is displaying nothing at all? Good suggestions. I have tried each scenario and the noise is present in all of them. Thank you, Peter.
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Post by CyberChimp on Mar 4, 2009 23:26:31 GMT
I have a feeling that you've already checked this as well (and it isn't the source of the noise) - but have you made certain that the noise is coming from the actual MacBook rather than the capacitors inside the external power supply.
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pg2114
Senior Member
Beware of the flippers!
Posts: 151
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Post by pg2114 on Mar 4, 2009 23:29:02 GMT
Have you made certain that the noise is coming from the actual MacBook rather than the capacitors inside the external power supply. Good idea, but the noise is definitely from the MacBook itself. Thanks anyway, Peter.
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Post by HeatherKay on Mar 5, 2009 8:57:18 GMT
Good idea, but the noise is definitely from the MacBook itself Does it squeal when running off solely the battery?
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Post by Forum Cat on Mar 5, 2009 9:47:38 GMT
One word. "Flippers"
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Post by CyberChimp on Mar 5, 2009 9:48:09 GMT
Am I correct in assuming that you're talking about using the trackpad scroll ability to scroll down the page when the noise stops?
If so, would I also be correct in assuming that when you scroll down a page by clicking on the tab within the window (or by using an external mouse) the noise stays around?
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pg2114
Senior Member
Beware of the flippers!
Posts: 151
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Post by pg2114 on Mar 5, 2009 18:12:21 GMT
Does it squeal when running off solely the battery? I've tried it today and it does make the same noise whether plugged into the mains or running from its battery. I have quite sensitive ears I think, since nobody at work was able to hear it today. Maybe my ears are broken? Am I correct in assuming that you're talking about using the trackpad scroll ability to scroll down the page when the noise stops? Yes. There is no noise when I use the trackpad to scroll with two fingers. Even if I have pressure on the trackpad, the noise is still there until I actually start scrolling. If so, would I also be correct in assuming that when you scroll down a page by clicking on the tab within the window (or by using an external mouse) the noise stays around? Could you expand on this, please? I'm not sure I understand. Thanks for all your help. Peter.
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Post by CyberChimp on Mar 5, 2009 19:47:06 GMT
If so, would I also be correct in assuming that when you scroll down a page by clicking on the tab within the window (or by using an external mouse) the noise stays around? Could you expand on this, please? I'm not sure I understand. If you using 'two fingered trackpad scroll' stops the noise I'm guessing that what's making the noise stop could possibly be related to either: (a) putting pressure on the laptop while doing the scrolling or (b) the activity load being placed upon the processor / graphics chips while the laptop is carrying out the onscreen scrolling action. This was the basis for asking if the noise goes away: (i) when making the document webpage scroll up and down by clicking on the up / down arrows loacted bottom right of the window. (ii) when using a USB mouse with scroll wheel to scroll up and down by using the scroll wheel. Not sure that I've made things much clearer with this attempt of an explanation though!!!
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pg2114
Senior Member
Beware of the flippers!
Posts: 151
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Post by pg2114 on Mar 5, 2009 20:37:55 GMT
If you using 'two fingered trackpad scroll' stops the noise I'm guessing that what's making the noise stop could possibly be related to either: (a) putting pressure on the laptop while doing the scrolling or (b) the activity load being placed upon the processor / graphics chips while the laptop is carrying out the onscreen scrolling action. From my testing, I would suggest it is more likely to be related to (b) since putting pressure on the laptop does not affect the noise until I begin to scroll. Even if I use two fingers on the touchpad with a fair amount of pressure, the noise is definitely there until I actually move them down or across to scroll. This was the basis for asking if the noise goes away: (i) when making the document webpage scroll up and down by clicking on the up / down arrows loacted bottom right of the window. (ii) when using a USB mouse with scroll wheel to scroll up and down by using the scroll wheel. Not sure that I've made things much clearer with this attempt of an explanation though!!! That is much, much clearer thank you. I'll try these things out when I can get some peace-and-quiet with my Mac Thanks, Peter.
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pg2114
Senior Member
Beware of the flippers!
Posts: 151
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Post by pg2114 on Mar 5, 2009 21:26:58 GMT
This was the basis for asking if the noise goes away: (i) when making the document webpage scroll up and down by clicking on the up / down arrows loacted bottom right of the window. (ii) when using a USB mouse with scroll wheel to scroll up and down by using the scroll wheel. I have tried both of those things and the noise does go away whilst I am scrolling. What does this mean then, please? Thanks, Peter. Edit: I'd also like to note, please, that the noise does go away when I grab the scroll bar and drag it.
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Post by CyberChimp on Mar 5, 2009 22:41:39 GMT
For the time being all it really means is that we've managed to get closer to eliminating several possibilities for whining noises as the source of this particular one - and narrowed down potential sources.
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It's a bit of a longshot, but if you keep your flippers crossed the source of the noise may be your RAM...... but to help estimate the likelihood of this yet more questions I'm afraid:
1) the laptop is a MacBook (as opposed to MacBook Pro) isn't it? 2) is any of the RAM installed in the MacBook from a third-party source? 3) if you have got third-party RAM installed in the MacBook, do you still have the original (factory fitted) RAM stored anywhere?
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pg2114
Senior Member
Beware of the flippers!
Posts: 151
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Post by pg2114 on Mar 5, 2009 23:06:55 GMT
1) the laptop is a MacBook (as opposed to MacBook Pro) isn't it? 2) is any of the RAM installed in the MacBook from a third-party source? 3) if you have got third-party RAM installed in the MacBook, do you still have the original (factory fitted) RAM stored anywhere? It is the 13.3" MacBook, with third-party RAM. I've still got the original stuff, so I'll stick that in my machine tomorrow and see how it goes Thank you, Peter.
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pg2114
Senior Member
Beware of the flippers!
Posts: 151
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Post by pg2114 on Mar 6, 2009 19:05:05 GMT
It is the 13.3" MacBook, with third-party RAM. I've still got the original stuff, so I'll stick that in my machine tomorrow and see how it goes I have just replaced the third-party sticks with the originals and the high-pitched noise is still present. It took ages for my MacBook to boot on 1Gb of RAM! Thanks for your suggestion again, Peter.
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