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My late 2011 iMac is chirping. Any suggestions?

B

BradM73

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Oct 31, 2011
19
0
Hi all,

I purchased a 27" iMac back at the end of October 2011. It's the 2.8Ghz model.

Over the past few days, I've noticed something inside the iMac is making a chirping sound. "chirp, chirp, chirp... chirp, chirp, chirp", and it doesn't seem to be stopping. And before the sarcastic results begin, it's highly unlikely that it's a bird on an insect. It's basically non-stop though. Sometimes it sounds more regular, sometimes irregular. My guess is a fan of some sort, but I'm really hoping it's not the hard drive.

It seems to increase in frequency when I'm actively interacting with the computer, but even if I leave the room and come back, it still does it, so I'm kind of at a loss to say what it is.

If anyone has any suggestions about what the problem might be, please let me know. I won't be used this upcoming week, but when I get back, if the sound still persists, I'm going to plan on calling Apple support and taking it in for servicing. It's starting to drive me insane.

Thanks in advance to those to help.
 
Take it to the apple store you are covered under on year warranty and if it's the ram or a fan or what ever they should be able to fix it and should be free
 
coolmacoz said:
Faulty RAM is a possibility. I will replace the RAM first.
Click to expand...

It won't be the RAM, the RAM has no moving parts. It is very likely it is the hard drive, and that the noise is normal, due to the read/write head moving when you 'interact' with the computer. :)
 
Yea, I wouldn't think it's RAM either, but stranger things have happened. It should be fun walking through the mall to the Apple store with a 27" iMac... I knew I shouldn't have thrown that dang box away!!

It almost sounds like its getting worse now. :(
 
No it's not weatherbug. It makes the sounds regardless if muted or not. Also, it's volume level never changes either, so I can rule that out.
 
It's either the hard drive or one of the fans, install SMC fan control and go through the fans to see if it's that issue. If not it's a failing hard drive.
 
Did you ever get a resolution to this? I have googled for this sound and nobody seems to have a good answer. I think it is most likely some kind of fan problem, but who knows.
 
I have the exact same problem with a late 2011 27" iMac. It sounds like a cricket that won't shut up. I've been backing everything up daily since the noise started happening, and while the noise just keeps getting louder and more frequent, it has been 3 months since it started and there seem to be no performance-related issues. It's coming from the lower right-hand corner of the computer and I know that is where the logic board is located... I guess I'll just take it in to get it fixed/replaced.
 
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