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Deva Solomon

Q: Display making high pitched noise

I have read that this type of problem can be a warning that the display is going to break. However, this seems to be something a little different because the high pitched noise is the only symptom. Everything else about the computer works fine. There are no display issues or anything else. What should I do? Thanks in advance for any and all help!!



Emac   Mac OS X (10.4.2)  

Posted on Dec 31, 2005 8:40 AM

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Q: Display making high pitched noise

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  • by dngonzales,

    dngonzales dngonzales Feb 4, 2006 7:51 PM in response to Deva Solomon
    Level 1 (20 points)
    Feb 4, 2006 7:51 PM in response to Deva Solomon
    i have the same symptoms i get a high pitched squeal that is intermittent
    everything operates fine but boy that noise is anoyying not to mention it hurts my ears what is this ?
    anyone else have / had this problem ?
    should i send it back to get fixed?
    what if it comes back worse ?
    i love my emac but this noise has me concerned
  • by Mark Hunt,

    Mark Hunt Mark Hunt Feb 11, 2006 7:12 PM in response to Deva Solomon
    Level 4 (1,070 points)
    Feb 11, 2006 7:12 PM in response to Deva Solomon
    It may just be your harddrive getting old & since the eMac is an all-in-one design, it seems like that is where the noise would be coming from. Try putting the disk to sleep but still ahve the CRT on, if the CRT is on & you here the harddrive spin down, & there is no noise, it is the harddrive.

    To spin down the harddrive go to
    System preferences>energy saver>put hard drisk to sleep when possible (check)

    wait for the disk to spin down and see what happens, hope this helps!
  • by Evan P.,

    Evan P. Evan P. Feb 28, 2006 9:26 AM in response to Deva Solomon
    Level 1 (15 points)
    Feb 28, 2006 9:26 AM in response to Deva Solomon
    Deva:

    I completely understand your issue and would like to be of assistance in any way possible. However before we continue I am going to require a little more information from you in order for me to determine the exact problem.
    Firstly what is your current refresh rate?

    Second what resolution is your CRT set at?

    Third what revision is your eMac? (eMac, eMac with ATI graphics, eMac 1.0GHz, eMac USB 2.0, eMac 2005)

    eMac 1.42GHz (2005)   Mac OS X (10.4.5)  
  • by Nong Shin,

    Nong Shin Nong Shin Mar 15, 2006 1:30 PM in response to Deva Solomon
    Level 1 (65 points)
    Mar 15, 2006 1:30 PM in response to Deva Solomon
    I am currently experiencing the same issue with my eMac (USB 2.0). Often times the display will emit a high-pitch noise that lasts roughly 10 to 30 seconds, then goes away until another random power-up / wake-up from sleep.

    I'm running the computer at 1152 x 864. I also like to note that the computer will also make the noise on 1280 x 960 although not on 1024 x 768 or 800 x 600.

    Funny thing is that I had the display assembly completely replaced by Apple for several monitor issues including this one and the replaced display (although almost flawless looking) still has the exact noise. So I'm guessing Apple repaired my display with another faulty replacement display with the same exact problem.. whoopie. Now they won't even recognize that the noise is a problem since they say they NEVER hear it.



    eMac 1.25Ghz Superdrive 160GB    
  • by Evan P.,

    Evan P. Evan P. Mar 26, 2006 9:02 AM in response to Nong Shin
    Level 1 (15 points)
    Mar 26, 2006 9:02 AM in response to Nong Shin
    Most Cathode Ray Tubes will emit a high-pitched sound if you go higher then the native resolution.
    The most common culprit for that high-pitched screeching sound is the horizontal fly back transformer. When the transformer receives a non-sine like Alternating Current wave form then an asymmetric filed is created around the transformer. This field that is produced causes the laminations within the transformer to vibrate, thus a high-pitched sound is produced. Another culprit could be the deflection yoke and any corresponding geometry correction coils.

    These issues usually do not suggest an impending failure, however if this noise is a problem with you then I would suggest that you make Apple aware of your issue.

    If you have any questions comments or concerns please do not hesitate to let me know.
  • by DV Guru,

    DV Guru DV Guru Apr 7, 2006 12:45 PM in response to Deva Solomon
    Level 2 (240 points)
    Apr 7, 2006 12:45 PM in response to Deva Solomon
    I had the very same problem on my 1.25GHz eMac. 3 days after I took it out of the box, the display began to squeal intermittently. I thought it was normal, as if the disply were warming up. I was wrong. After 8 months with the machine, the noise had become unbearable, so I took it in for a hardware repair at my local Apple dealer.

    As it turns out, one of the video coils on the CRT's electron gun was faulty, requiring complete replacement of the CRT and PAV board. I am afraid that this is the same problem that you are having. Run Apple Hardware Test just in case, but there is a 99.9% chance that you need a hardware replacement.
  • by Niclet,

    Niclet Niclet Apr 13, 2006 1:03 AM in response to Deva Solomon
    Level 1 (5 points)
    Apr 13, 2006 1:03 AM in response to Deva Solomon
    The answer :

    This look like a Fly-back transformer issue. This little transformer as a part like a cylinder witch is made with a matter that dry with times. in the center of it, there is like a metallic rod part and this rod begin to vibrate with the slack at almost the same frequency that your CRT setting.

    I had a lot of T.V. and computer monitors with this problem.
    You can pay a tech a lot of $ to get rid of this prob but the repair can cost a few cents !!

    Here why and how :

    DON'T TRY THIS YOURSELF UNLESS YOU'RE A TECH OR YOU HAVE THE FULL EXPERIENCE IN CRT REPLACEMENT ! DON'T FOOL WITH CRT : THEY KEEPS HIGH VOLTAGE, SO BEWARE !!!!!!!!!!

    The "economical" way to fix this is to insert toothpicks (yes ! toothpicks) around the metallic rod of the fly-back transformer. Each toothpic is inserted and broken at the top of the transformer. The rod will be immobilized and will stop to vibrate. Your ears will never suffer this hight-pitch sound anymore.

    I had this trick from an old timer tech who worked for our national television (well, I'm from Canada) and he show me how to do it. Not only it works, but none of my repaired CRT restarted to make that noise after then.

    Company's technicians have no choice to change the F-B Transformer and charge you the full bill. But this is a physic and normal problem that can be repair so simply.

    So, find a cool T.V. or electronic or computer tech, explain the solution and let him try it. You'll just have to buy a toothpicks box and a couple of beers (for after).

    Voilà !

    1.5GHz PowerBook G4   Mac OS X (10.4.6)  
  • by tedunk,

    tedunk tedunk Jun 1, 2006 4:25 PM in response to Deva Solomon
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Jun 1, 2006 4:25 PM in response to Deva Solomon
    Are you sure that the noise isn't coming from your cooling fan? If you have a trained ear you might know the difference right away, but I have known a bad fan bearing to throw off techs before. A fan is usually not an expensive fix and they are easily accessable on the eMac.
  • by ShinigamiJin,

    ShinigamiJin ShinigamiJin Jun 23, 2006 6:30 PM in response to tedunk
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Jun 23, 2006 6:30 PM in response to tedunk
    I have the same problem. it is definitely the monitor and like mentioned above it will only make the high pitched noise at the two higher resolutions but not at the two lower ones. i have only had my emac about 9 months and it started making that sound less than a week after i got it.
  • by N.O.W.™,

    N.O.W.™ N.O.W.™ Aug 28, 2006 7:00 PM in response to ShinigamiJin
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Aug 28, 2006 7:00 PM in response to ShinigamiJin
    Hello all, within the last 3-5 days I have had the squeal and the bad logic board show up. The squeal didn't start until I upgraded to Tiger, which I did hoping that it would fix the frozen screen issue. I bought my emac January 29/05 and it has served me well, but my 1998 Wallstreet Powerbook has never given me any issues in its entire lifetime. I'm glad to see they have the repair program for the boards, but I find it funny that nothing about the squealing CRT's is mentioned even though this was a know problem well before I purchased mine.