Beeping iMac

[Mightee]

I encountered an Indigo slot-loading iMac this weekend which made an odd beeping noise while it was sleeping. It was sort of a high-pitched sound, and was definitely coming from the computer itself and not the speakers at all. Also, while the sleep light was "breathing," it would flash quickly with each beep, though the breathing and beeping were not in unison.

It's really annoying. Has anyone encountered this before? Is there a fix for it?

 

[Calliander]

Re: Beeping iMac

Originally posted by Mightee
I encountered an Indigo slot-loading iMac this weekend which made an odd beeping noise while it was sleeping. It was sort of a high-pitched sound, and was definitely coming from the computer itself and not the speakers at all. Also, while the sleep light was "breathing," it would flash quickly with each beep, though the breathing and beeping were not in unison.

It's really annoying. Has anyone encountered this before? Is there a fix for it?

I would try the usual quick fixes first - PRAM reset and NVRAM reset.

Other than that, get it checked out. Is the sound an actual beep or just a high-pitched noise? It could be a display issue.

 

[Mightee]

It's like a beep... for some reason I have it in my head that it's the bulb in the button, but what do I know.

How do we reset the PRAM and NVRAM again?

 

[Calliander]

Originally posted by Mightee
It's like a beep... for some reason I have it in my head that it's the bulb in the button, but what do I know.

How do we reset the PRAM and NVRAM again?

PRAM Reset: Turn on computer and hold down the keys "Apple" "Option" "P" and "R". The machine SHOULD briefly initialize the display and then restart. Keep holding the keys until you've heard the startup chime three or four times.

Don't do the NVRAM unless the PRAM doesn't solve the problem.

NVRAM Reset: Turn on computer and hold down the keys "Apple" "Option" "O" and "F". The machine will boot to a white screen with black text and a prompt. From the prompt type (without quotes):

"reset-nvram" and press return
"set-defaults" and press return
"reset-all" and press return

After that, the machine should restart. The problem could be PMU related, but let's see if those change the problem.

 

[Mightee]

Cool... we'll give it a shot and let you know.

Thanks.

 

[Sun Baked]

Of course it could be the drive, there were quite a few threads awhile ago on the Maxtor drives that would make a beeping noise.

If the drive isn't sleeping and having a problem.

 

[FattyMembrane]

it's the hard drive. i have exactly the same computer and had exactly the same problem. i think there may have been some kind of recall involving those particular maxtor drives, but i'm not sure. i recently switched it out for a maxtor diamondmax plus 9 and i'm much happier. the drive is faster, quieter, and cooler than the old one (and it doesn't give me that terrible beeping). it sucks that we were stuck with lemons for hard drives, but it's well worth the money to upgrade.