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bostonwhaler1

macrumors member
Original poster
Aug 4, 2004
48
0
Toronto, Canada
Hi guys,
First of all, I'm a crazy Mac-head, so don't worry, this isn't one of those "convince me to stay Mac" threads.
I recently got the machine of my dreams. Spent alllll my money on a PB G4 1.5GHz 15" SD. It's about 3 months old now with all the newest software.
Now I've come to realise that on a very regular basis, my PB is too loud to deal with. I use this machine for sound recording (as I assumed many PB owners do). From what I can gather, the noise is entirely from the processor, and it is a problem I have read is common on the 15" and 17" models. I went back to the store to take a listen to the 17 on the floor and I could hear the same noise. It can be described as a high-pitched screaching noise. I've even read in places that Apple considers this to be "normal" and will do nothing about it. Has anyone heard further on this? I love my machine, but this noise is not tolerable. What should I do? It really does make my work difficult to do and makes my hardware seem shoddy to any clients I have. I can't believe Apple would seriously call this "normal" considering how many A/V pros use these machines.

Anyway, any advice is appreciated.
 

LeeTom

macrumors 68000
May 31, 2004
1,581
291
I remember having the same noise one my 1.25GHz 15" Powerbook. Now, the noise is gone. Either I stopped noticing it, it went away eventually, or one of the following helped: (sorry, kinda vague!)

-Try going into Energy Saver and changing your processor performance from Automatic to Highest, or vice versa.

-Are you running the latest version of OS X 10.3? I seem to remember an update helping at one point.

-How much RAM do you have? I upgraded from 512 to 1GB, and that may have helped it go away.


Hope one of those helps!
Lee Tom
 

bostonwhaler1

macrumors member
Original poster
Aug 4, 2004
48
0
Toronto, Canada
...

LeeTom,

Thanks for you response.

I've tried modifying the processor performance from Highest to Automatic, and it did help a bit. The sound was still there, but not nearly as previlant. However, I have a huge problem with this, because even in something like GarageBand, a song will stop mid-way through if I don't have my processor performance turned to Highest. I guess I have a moral issue with it myself. I mean I didn't spend all this money to limit my processor performance, know what I mean?

I'm running the newest availalbe revision of OSX and all of the newest software available for my machine.

My RAM is at 768MB which isn't tons, but it should be enough, right?
 

Demon Hunter

macrumors 68020
Mar 30, 2004
2,284
39
bostonwhaler1 said:
LeeTom,

Thanks for you response.

I've tried modifying the processor performance from Highest to Automatic, and it did help a bit. The sound was still there, but not nearly as previlant. However, I have a huge problem with this, because even in something like GarageBand, a song will stop mid-way through if I don't have my processor performance turned to Highest. I guess I have a moral issue with it myself. I mean I didn't spend all this money to limit my processor performance, know what I mean?

I'm running the newest availalbe revision of OSX and all of the newest software available for my machine.

My RAM is at 768MB which isn't tons, but it should be enough, right?

I don't know much about audio apps, but I'm sure they use a ton of RAM, just like video apps. I would upgrade your RAM. My guess is that this noise you're hearing is the hard disk, accessing virtual memory stored on the drive.
 

bostonwhaler1

macrumors member
Original poster
Aug 4, 2004
48
0
Toronto, Canada
dferrara,

Thanks for the input. However, I find the sound to be loud enough to be annoying a great deal of the time, not only when I'm working with audio apps. For instance, when I have MSN messenger open, when the icon bounces on the dock to let me know i have a message, the sound seems to be in time with the bouncing on the dock. So annoying! ha ha
Is this a warranty issue?
 

bostonwhaler1

macrumors member
Original poster
Aug 4, 2004
48
0
Toronto, Canada
...

I does sound similar to what was described there, except either my ears are more sensitive or it's louder than they describe. It's also there most of the time. By no means is it limited to Dreamweaver. It's a sound that seems to come from around the middle or so of the back (screen side) of the keyboard. I just noticed that unplugging the power adapter from the computer seemed to make a difference??? What's the deal?!
 

Kingsnapped

macrumors 6502a
Oct 16, 2003
929
3
Los Angeles, CA
Do you notice it more when you suddenly demand more than "par" for you computer? For example.. typing up a word doc with a few other apps up, then hitting expose to show all windows. Mine seems to coincide with the windows flying about. When I'm with friends, I'm the only one who can notice it, and it only happens once in a while.

If it's loud enough for clients and coworkers to hear, or it's a consistent sound, you should call up Apple or visit a Genius bar. I don't know what could be wrong, but it really shouldn't be that noticeable.
 

BrianKonarsMac

macrumors 65816
Apr 28, 2004
1,102
83
you most likely have it set to highest performance when plugged in to AC power. having it on highest will cause the fan to run more often. accessing the hard drive or super drive are the two noisiest things you can do however, the processor should actually be pretty silent. like someone else mentioned, it may be due to constantly accessing virtual memory on your hard disk, which means you need more ram. it could also be a faulty powerbook. mine runs pretty silent except after 3-4 hours of War 3 at high processor, then the fan kicks in, but it's definitely not loud.
 

bostonwhaler1

macrumors member
Original poster
Aug 4, 2004
48
0
Toronto, Canada
Kingsnapped,
It seems to be a constant sound that gets louder when I do something. Even something so basic as scrolling up or down a website, or side to side in an audio window in Cubase for instance. Not REALLY demanding stuff, but not idle either.

Brian,
I have it set to highest with both AC and Battery. However, this sound is entriely independant from the fan sound. The fan comes on every now and again and makes it's presence known! ha ha so it's not that.

grrr

getting so frustrated!
 

Applespider

macrumors G4
I don't have a high-pitched squeal - perhaps only the Rev B 15" have it.

But my Rev A seems to have developed a strange 'clicking' noise as I scroll down the screen. Not all the time and not on any specific sites although once it starts it's ongoing until it sleeps. Any clues on that one?
 

7on

macrumors 601
Nov 9, 2003
4,939
0
Dress Rosa
My TiBook is loud, as most are. Does your PB become louder while plugged in? Many on the TiBook Apple Discussions believe Apple used a Cheaper Fan for the cooling of the powerconnector than the processor. I dunno if it's the same issue with the AlBooks (as, I've read, Apple de-fans all the floor models in the Apple Stores).
 

aricher

macrumors 68020
Feb 20, 2004
2,211
1
Chi-il
I'm almost 100% surre it's tied to RAM. I used to get that noise when doing heavy Photoshop work (1 GB+ files) I upgraded the RAM from 1 GB to 2 GB - no more squeal - and hella fast rendering.
 

emw

macrumors G4
Aug 2, 2004
11,172
0
Preview squeal

I've noticed that I get a squeal that is quite noticeable whenever I am previewing a movie file through the Finder column view. That is, when a Finder window is open and I select a movie file, I get this high-pitched whine. As soon as I click on something else, the whine goes away.

The whining doesn't happen when I preview any other type of file (jpg, PDF, etc.).

Note that the whining doesn't stop if the Finder window is behind other windows or if the window is minimized.

I've got a 1GHz 15" Ti PB with 1GB RAM running 10.3.4.

I've just learned to not preview movie files...
 

cluthz

macrumors 68040
Jun 15, 2004
3,118
4
Norway
Do you have the bto 5400 rpm 80 gb hd??
Many are complaining about that this drive is a bit noisy.

-tb
 

Megaquad

macrumors 6502a
Jul 12, 2001
817
1
You can turn off that squeeking high pitch sound with CHUD tools.
Search for CHUD on your HD, install it, then open system preferences, you'll see a new "Hardware" pane.
Select it, turn off "Nap" and your PB will be silent.
 

srchurch

macrumors newbie
Jul 17, 2004
14
0
Megaquad said:
You can turn off that squeeking high pitch sound with CHUD tools.
Search for CHUD on your HD, install it, then open system preferences, you'll see a new "Hardware" pane.
Select it, turn off "Nap" and your PB will be silent.

Sorry, I don't have a mac nearby right now... but what is CHUD and what does it change to make the PB silent (what is "Nap"....) Thanks!
 

Megaquad

macrumors 6502a
Jul 12, 2001
817
1
srchurch said:
Sorry, I don't have a mac nearby right now... but what is CHUD and what does it change to make the PB silent (what is "Nap"....) Thanks!
CHUD tools are a bundle of little apps that help developers test their software (turning off second processor, some benchmarks etc.).
Among them is this Hardware pref. pane which I attached with post.

This Nap option seems to have something to do with energy preservation of processor, I'm not sure how exactly but it is noisy when activated...
 

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KD7IWP

macrumors 6502a
Mar 8, 2004
685
33
American living in Canada
Man, mine is so quiet. It's funny since at school I'm one of the guys that runs around fixing everyone's PC. Some laptops just roar -- continuously. Some have fans that NEVER turn off and they sound like a hair blow dryer. I would NEVER be caught in class with one of those. This thing is so quiet, even when I'm able to get the fan to come on, it's very quiet. I can hardly notice it in a quiet room. I have yet to find a quieter laptop. Apple seems to be the only one that cares about quietness. My two cents.
 

greenleaf

macrumors member
Dec 25, 2004
57
0
Eugene,OR
Im not sure that it has anything to do with ram because i untill recently had only 512mb of ram in my powerbook and i seem to have the same model as you...Ive never had this problem most of the time i cant even hear the thing...i use it for recording also i use logic...the fans start going when im using it but ive never heard anything of what your describing...i would suggest calling Apple
 

Skilz34

macrumors member
Oct 8, 2003
73
0
Megaquad said:
CHUD tools are a bundle of little apps that help developers test their software (turning off second processor, some benchmarks etc.).
Among them is this Hardware pref. pane which I attached with post.

This Nap option seems to have something to do with energy preservation of processor, I'm not sure how exactly but it is noisy when activated...


this is the fix for the screech. I am running 10.3.8 but am thinking of downgrading back to Jaguar just to get rid of the high picthed noise/having to uncheck NAP. My fan runs 100% of the time when the NAP is unchecked and I know that's b/c of the enery setting.
 

Skilz34

macrumors member
Oct 8, 2003
73
0
a fix

posted from mac discussions, A FIX FINALLY

Great news, I no longer have the whining!! I read a message on macintouch from someone saying that Virex was causing some problems with noise on their machine. So i uninstalled Virex 7.5.1 using the uninstall script included in the dmg, deleted all files with the word virex in it, rebooted, and no more whining! I suggeste people give this a try.
 

rlantz

macrumors newbie
Feb 24, 2005
1
0
Noise is Gone

Skilz34 said:
posted from mac discussions, A FIX FINALLY

Great news, I no longer have the whining!! I read a message on macintouch from someone saying that Virex was causing some problems with noise on their machine. So i uninstalled Virex 7.5.1 using the uninstall script included in the dmg, deleted all files with the word virex in it, rebooted, and no more whining! I suggeste people give this a try.


Wow!, I had this same noise on my FP iMac and was about to replace the hard drive when I found this post. I found if I unchecked Active Virus scan the noise immediately stops and when checking it again it immediately starts. Thanks, this just saved me a lot of work. Now to remove this 7.5.1 Virex program. Thanks for you message.
Rick
 
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