Small experiment I would like owners of Intel Apple Notebooks to try, please

[DevilsRejection]

Now I know people here don't like me because I prefer Thinkpads, but all that hate aside now, I want to try something. Sadly I don't have a MacBook or a MacBook Pro to test my hypothesis.

Some people have reported that 10.4.7 fixes the issues with the whine and/or mooing. This got me thinking that the problems people are facing might not be hardware related at all, but software based!

My favor to the MacRumors forum is this:

1. Install bootcamp
2. Install windows
3. Report back in here if mooing, whining persists

Now you may be asking yourself why in the world am I asking this. I want to figure out if the mooing and the whining is a physical/hardware defect, or an issue with OS X itself.

If the mooing and/or whining are still occurring in Windows then we can reach the conclusion that the issue is hardware based. If the problem is gone then we know the problem is OS X.

Now hey if you don't want to install Windows but install Linux then knock yourself out, I'm just suggesting to try an operating system that isn't OS X.

To the brave souls who do this, many thanks for your time and effort.

If this experiment was already done then I apologize for a repost of the same old topic and ask that this thread be locked and deleted.

EDIT: I forgot to create a poll ::slaps forehead:: and am trying to get a mod to correct the issue. Hang tight!

[GavinT]

Not been a reader of this forum to know about DevilsRejection reputation ;) but this sounds like a reasonable test to run?

FWIW: I'm still going to get a MBP soon (and run OS X (+Windoze until Adobe goes Universal Binary)).... as I think this moo/whine stuff is 'overhyped' (though, it must be a pain for those who have suffered from it).

[lfh284]

I run both XP(bootcamp) and OSX on my 2 Ghz MBP and the whining/mooing persists only in OSX. However, this is not a problem: as soon as I turn on the mirror widget in OSX the whining/mooing stops. The high pitch noise that emminates from the screen is the same in both Windows and OSX, and can be minimised in both operating systems by setting the screen brightness to around 80%. Overall, the whining/mooing isn't a problem in OSX, as the mirror widget eliminates it while one does low intensity work, and it dissapears on its own when one does demanding tasks. If anyone needs more info on how to use the mirror widget to stop mooing in OSX, there are several threads that discuss the issue in further detail (there are apparently many ways to get rid of the moo, all of them involve loading the cpus with work to some extent)

[rugonnaeatthat]

I hate to state the obvious but the mooing is simply the fans turning on and off - it's not a problem to be fixed, it's just computers. They get hot!

If anyone is holding off buying a macbook because of mooing they are being ridiculous - computers aren't going to get any cooler.

Of note I have not noticed any high pitch squeal from my macbook. I have had some issues however (see the end of the Macbook Released thread if interested)

[dextertangocci]

My MB DOESN'T moo AT ALL, it never did and never will:)

[lfh284]

rugonnaeatthat: I hate to state the obvious but the mooing is simply the fans turning on and off - it's not a problem to be fixed, it's just computers. They get hot!

Thats bull, you obviously have no idea what you are talking about, the whining noise most MBP owners are posting about has nothing to do with fans, it has to do with one of the Intel cores running idle. For some reason this idleness causes an incredibly annoying whine, with which it is almost impossible to work with. While this whine may not be present in all machines, it is an issue that needs to be adressed, as it could obviously be solved by apple with a simple firmware update (as it doesnt occur in XP and can be fixed by creating tasks that involve both cores). in short, it is not ridiculous at all to hold off on buying a MBP or an MB at the moment, as, even though i love my MBP, it has certain issues. To anyone who can wait, i would suggest you do so, until apple has adressed these issues. Otherwise you run the chance of getting a slightly defective computer. As concerns the heat issue, this is also a current problem in MBPs, as apple applied too much thermal paste on the processors which causes them to heat up a great deal more than they should. While the heat is not a HUGE problem, in fact, i don really mind it at all, the thermal paste will hopefully also be fixed in the next revision of MPBs. Another good reason to wait.

[macenforcer]

I am running XP on macbook. PERFECT. No noises whatsoever. All these problems are OS X related.. period.

[zign]

I am running XP on macbook. PERFECT. No noises whatsoever. All these problems are OS X related.. period.

Install all the updates in XP and you will get your whine.

[Jo-Kun]

10.4.7 whine is gone... thnx... and I still prefer OSX with a whine over XP without whine... because the whine was (until today) the only thing to complain about in OSX on my MacBook... don't get me started what I dislike about XP :p (tried beta of vista on the MacBook.. its better but still...)

[macenforcer]

Install all the updates in XP and you will get your whine.


Did, and none.

[DevilsRejection]

stop guys, just freaking stop, this isn't an xp versus mac thread

this is a thread to test, once and for all, if the defects in the new intel based mac notebooks is hardware based or software based

period

if you want to use linux and not windows fine, i just want to setup a control, like any experiment you change only one variable at a time. in this case our variable is the operating system, now i recommended xp because bootcamp was created with windows xp in mind, that's it.

now a few users have chimed in, and i thank you for that, but we haven't even hit page 2 and there are OS wars occurring. just freaking stop.

[TBi]

Relax... but seriously if you'd done your homework and a bit of google searching you would have found out that you don't get most of these problems in Windows XP. I've seen it posted already plus i've already posted it in another thread on this site.

[Rspaight]

HP notebooks moo, too. (Probably others, but HP is the one I have first-hand experience with.) This isn't just an Apple thing.

Ryan

[yellow]

My MBP doesn't moo. But it does whine.
But the whine stops if I turn down the brightness 4 "clicks".

[Eduardo1971]

How about adding a third choice response: "my MB/MBP does not moo/whine".

[2ndPath]

I installed windows on my MacBook Pro and running windows it did not whine. But still I would not draw the conclusion that it is purely a software issue. It seems to be a matter of how the power management in the OS is set up, which can to a certain amount regulate voltages and the clock speed. This might just be tuned differently in windows and osx.

[loser]

My macbook moos much more when running xp. Mostly I am using XP for video chat, which might keep it at the temp that makes it moo, but it definitely moos more in XP than OS X for me. I have no whining problem in either.

[bbrosemer]

Umm yeah where is the no moo/whine selection there is no way to tell what percentage of people are having the problem, anyway 17'' Firmware update made the very low barley audbile noise I had go awa completly.

[yellow]

As a matter of fact, the whine is 100x worse when booted into Windows because I cannot control the brightness of the screeen.

EDIT: Until I found the apple-added menubar control for it. Thanks Apple.

[Mord]

the whine is not at all related to the brightness of the screen, all core duo laptops experience it when the cpu is idle below about 8% load, windows is a more intensive OS so when the cpu idles it does so at about 10% thus the whine is not apparent, also in XP/vista the fans on my macbook come on much easier and they stay on, the level of usage in OS X is at the level that the fans turn on and off ect causing the moo.


this is not a problem in OS X it's a bad thing caused by a good thing that OS X is more efficient.

[yellow]

the whine is not at all related to the brightness of the screen, all core duo laptops experience it when the cpu is idle below about 8% load, windows is a more intensive OS so when the cpu idles it does so at about 10% thus the whine is not apparent, also in XP/vista the fans on my macbook come on much easier and they stay on, the level of usage in OS X is at the level that the fans turn on and off ect causing the moo.

It isn't huh?

Can you explain to me then why the whine goes away when I lower the brightness of the screen in both OS X and Windows?

[Mord]

you may have a faulty inverter board which is entirely unrelated to the Core Duo whine, my macbook whine does not go away, though it's not too loud and does not bug me as it's not that high pitched.

[zap2]

My favor to the MacRumors forum is this:




I think you mean your asking for a favor from MacRumors Forum;)

[yellow]

So then how does one differentiate betwixt "whines"? For all accounts I've read, the "whine" is a high-pitched noise like the ringing in one's ears if one suffers from tinnitus.

[Mord]

i suffer from tinnitus and my macbook whine is allot lower pitch, it's still a high pitch whine, but not nearly a high as others.

[yellow]

For the love of cheap sctoch...

I don't think the point was to compare pitches of tinnitus, as it's likely the tinnitus you have and the tinnitus that others may have had are not the same pitches. The point is that the whine is similar to the ringing in one's ears that one hears when one suffers from tinnitus. I find it hard to believe that the whine I hear is totally different from the whine that others are experiencing.

[mus0r]

I got my MBP this week and it was fine and loaded with 10.4.6 so I doubt it is an OS issue. My MBP doesn't moo, whine or anything. Actually, it doesn't even get hot except that tiny area above the keyboard, which is pretty easy to avoid.

[cherry38]

So then how does one differentiate betwixt "whines"? For all accounts I've read, the "whine" is a high-pitched noise like the ringing in one's ears if one suffers from tinnitus.

Both whines sound very similar. The way to differentiate them is by how you get rid of them: either changing screen brightness or using the iSight.

I had the whine that you have - screen brightness related. It is a sign of a faulty screen inverter, and when I brought it to the Apple Store they gave me a new laptop immediately.

You really should contact Apple and yours fixed or replaced, because it is a known hardware issue.

[garethh]

Mine MB doesn't moo in OS X, only in the Vista beta.

[milozauckerman]

If the CPU whine (you'll be able to differentiate it from others by placing your ear above the upper-middle section of the keyboard, just right of center on my MBP) is normal, just a function of OS X consuming very little power, then why did mine only start after ten days? Was it less efficient for the first ten days?

The "THERE IS NO WHINE/MOO" answers (like the first one on the fans - no one's talking about the normal start/stop of computer fans, moron, this is a specific issue) are getting old.

[Mythriatrix]

My MBP whine (high pitch only) is best audible at the left (upper) side of the the machine. I'm shure it's not the speaker, nor the screen or powercable. When I start up in OSX it's there, WinXP it's gone.

Are there other solutions like Quiet MBP, or Mirror Widget that don't take away 30 to 45 minutes of battery life or CPU that's needed for other apps? I bought this computer to work with audio, but it sucks mixing down music with a permanent whine underneath. And since I payed enough money for it, I want it to work properly. Agree?

Regards

[risc]

My MBP makes no noise other than normal computer noises, which I can't hear unless I put my ear on the case. So I have no need to try another OS to see if it i"moos".

[count chocula]

thankfully mine never whines, moos, etc.