Janice Fisher

Q: Voices on iMac when I log on; must restart to stop

This is a very odd situation.  I have a new iMac.  Twice during the last few days when I wake up the computer to use it, I get the strangest sound.....it is like about 50 people all talking at once!  It is really strange.  I have checked everything: iTunes is not on, there is no obvious source for the sound.  To stop it I have to restart.   I thought it could be the "text to speech' or whatever that is...I have never used it so don't know anything about it.  Thei weird thing is that it is not one voice...it is many. 

 

Has anyone heard of this?  Any idea what it could be? 

iMac, Mac OS X (10.6), iMac Intel

Posted on May 21, 2013 1:39 AM

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Q: Voices on iMac when I log on; must restart to stop

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  • by Paul_31,

    Paul_31 Paul_31 May 21, 2013 1:57 AM in response to Janice Fisher
    Level 6 (13,925 points)
    May 21, 2013 1:57 AM in response to Janice Fisher

    It probably isn't this, but check System Preferences>Accessibility (or Universal Access)>Voice Over and make sure that isn't enabled (Command + F5 can toggle it on/off).

     

    Edit: Also check System Preferences>Dictation & Speech and check wther that is disabled or not.

  • by Janice Fisher,

    Janice Fisher Janice Fisher May 21, 2013 2:06 AM in response to Paul_31
    Level 1 (101 points)
    May 21, 2013 2:06 AM in response to Paul_31

    Thanks for responding.  I had checked these before and just rechecked.  It looks like everything is as it should be....no speech functions seem to be activated or turned on.  It is the strangest thing I've had  with a computer....and I've had some strange things.  If it were a single voice I might think something was turned on, but it the babble of voices that is weird.  Scared me to death the first time I heard it. Talk about hearing voices!

  • by Paul_31,

    Paul_31 Paul_31 May 21, 2013 2:13 AM in response to Janice Fisher
    Level 6 (13,925 points)
    May 21, 2013 2:13 AM in response to Janice Fisher

    What login items do you have in System Preferences>Users & Groups>Login tab?

  • by Janice Fisher,

    Janice Fisher Janice Fisher May 21, 2013 2:20 AM in response to Paul_31
    Level 1 (101 points)
    May 21, 2013 2:20 AM in response to Paul_31

    I have Safari, Mail and Calendar. 

  • by Paul_31,

    Paul_31 Paul_31 May 21, 2013 2:29 AM in response to Janice Fisher
    Level 6 (13,925 points)
    May 21, 2013 2:29 AM in response to Janice Fisher

    Hmm, scratching my head here - I wouldn't have thought any of those would cause the problem.

    Got any speakers or devices connected to the Mac that could give static?

    If I come up with any ideas I'll post back, but hopefully some others will spot this thread and come up with ideas.

  • by Janice Fisher,

    Janice Fisher Janice Fisher May 21, 2013 2:42 AM in response to Paul_31
    Level 1 (101 points)
    May 21, 2013 2:42 AM in response to Paul_31

    Thanks so much!  If it happens again, I will try to be more aware of exactly what I was doing before it happens and when it happens.  It takes me so by surprise, all I can think of doing is shutting off the noise rather than trying to analyze what is actually going on.  The only thing I have attached to the computer is an external disk. I just hooked it up a couple of days ago and the talking has only occurred since that time, but I cannot imagine that this is anything but coincidence.   I've never heard of an external back up disk talking!

  • by Janice Fisher,

    Janice Fisher Janice Fisher May 21, 2013 6:57 AM in response to Janice Fisher
    Level 1 (101 points)
    May 21, 2013 6:57 AM in response to Janice Fisher

    The sound is like a record playing at a too fast speed ,  Just remembered what it sounds like...thought if add this as another clue to solve the mystery.

  • by Paul_31,Solvedanswer

    Paul_31 Paul_31 May 21, 2013 7:02 AM in response to Janice Fisher
    Level 6 (13,925 points)
    May 21, 2013 7:02 AM in response to Janice Fisher

    Good idea to add some info to bounce this up the list to get the attention of the afternoon (in Europe) crowd .

  • by Paul_31,

    Paul_31 Paul_31 May 21, 2013 7:44 AM in response to Janice Fisher
    Level 6 (13,925 points)
    May 21, 2013 7:44 AM in response to Janice Fisher

    Thanks for the points, but I don't think they're deserved. Now the thread shows 'solved' it might not get the attention it otherwise would. You might need to repost if you don't get any other comments soon, if the problem persists.

  • by Janice Fisher,

    Janice Fisher Janice Fisher May 21, 2013 7:40 AM in response to Paul_31
    Level 1 (101 points)
    May 21, 2013 7:40 AM in response to Paul_31

    Oh, shoot....I didn't mean to show it solved.  I must have clicked something I didn't Intend to.  That happens when I'm on this iPad

  • by Allan Jones,

    Allan Jones Allan Jones May 21, 2013 9:09 AM in response to Janice Fisher
    Level 8 (35,151 points)
    iPad
    May 21, 2013 9:09 AM in response to Janice Fisher

    Do you live near a radio broadcst tower or a cell tower? It's rare with modern electronics but some can pick up nearby (=strong) signals and your hear them on the speakers.

     

    Try this: plug in a pair of headphones and see if the sound comes through them. If so, you may get a better idea of teh content as to tell if it is radio or cell interference.

  • by Janice Fisher,

    Janice Fisher Janice Fisher May 21, 2013 12:01 PM in response to Allan Jones
    Level 1 (101 points)
    May 21, 2013 12:01 PM in response to Allan Jones

    Interesting!  I am not near a radio tower but I don't know about a cell tower.  I will check to out.  Thanks.

  • by Janice Fisher,

    Janice Fisher Janice Fisher May 21, 2013 11:22 PM in response to Allan Jones
    Level 1 (101 points)
    May 21, 2013 11:22 PM in response to Allan Jones

    It happened again tonight.  Interesting that it has happened three times and at about the same time....early evening.  All three times it is when the computer has been asleep for awhile and I start to work on it again.  As it wakes up the voices start then I restart and they stop and all is well for the rest of the evening.  I will call Apple tomorrow and see if they have any ideas of what this is.  If it were something external like cell towers I think it would have happened to my other Mac....it has only happened this week on this new computer.

  • by Paul_31,

    Paul_31 Paul_31 May 22, 2013 12:25 AM in response to Janice Fisher
    Level 6 (13,925 points)
    May 22, 2013 12:25 AM in response to Janice Fisher

    I'm clutching at straws here, but is there anything in this 'whooshing sounds' article that may be relevant?

    http://www.geektheory.ca/blog/random-whoosh-sounds-from-os-x/

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