Am I the only one with a blip/pop noise?!

HDAPM doesnt seem to work for me either. When I run it in terminal I do get a message saying it was succesful, but still this god awful noise. My original Fujitsu 120 was fine, but the new Hitachi 250 I put in clinks and clunks all the time (though really only noticable in a quiet room). I'm not 100% sure, but I dont think it makes this noise when I am in parallels/XP. I also tried Hitachi Ftool to set the power and acoustic levels (only works in windows), but it wouldn't allow me to change any of the settings, and I wasnt so sure that they would "stick" anyway when I shut down parallels.

This is very frustrating. I love my Mac, but this noise is frustrating/embarassing.

u guys think that to apple fix this they have to change the hard drive hardware or just a software update can be fix this?
cuz i dont wanna change my hd every 1 month! i alredy changed my hd in the apple store and the noise started again, and i will again in the apple store but in another city to see what they say about this.
what u guys think?
we gonna have to change everytime our hd or just and firmware can solve this?

so, i'm getting really tempted to dowload the fix but have some trepidation about it not being good for the computer. anyone know of any problems at all with the fix?

I did the fix but I still get "localhost com.apple.launchctl.System[2]: launchctl: Dubious ownership on file (skipping): /Library/LaunchDaemons/hdapm.plist" even after creating hdamp2.plist? Even suggestions? Thanks!

Listen, I haven't read every single post in this thread. But I am sure its not a hard drive thing. I just bought the brand new MBP 2.4 (early march 2008) and noticed a lot of problems with the audio card/system. First I noticed the headphone problems now I hear the "blips" and "pop".

I deal with audio for a living and if you listen closely to the speakers, it hisses quietly and sounds like white pink noise, like an SSSSSSSss........Then it goes away but wait!!!! it pops. My theory is that its the gate installed to automatically turn it off (the speakers) when its not in use, however for some reason it turns on then shuts off. Its a common and useful thing, but now its driving me nuts. I am going to call apple care tomorrow and ask them if there is a fix or if its a bad design..........The robot noises and high pitched frequencies in the headphone system is another thing, I figure its picking up noise from the logic board and amplifying it.

Hey People,

A lot of the info you're looking for can be found in the posts. I know there's a lot of posts, but if you want to get the info, read em.

*_Im pretty sure it's the HD parking. If it's not, id love to see you prove it_*. I say this w/o any defensiveness, honestly i'd just like to know. the issue seems to be pretty well docucmented, but im not saying you're not right!

From the primer I read on HDD parking, and from what I can gather from educated guesses (i studied computer engineering for a year, for what it's worth :d),

*_here is what I think the potential disadvantages are to installing HDAPM_*

1) your HDD will spin more, leading to more wear n' tear on the motor, more heat, more chance of motor faulure
2) your HDD heads will be parking less, meaning that if you accidentally bump your notebook hard, the heads are less likely to be in a secure position and they could thump down on the HDD and damage it... easier.?

aside from less noise, *_are there any benefits of running HDAPM_*? each HDD seems to be "rated" for a number of head parks. supposedly after a few hundred thousand (or whatever) your HDD is expected to be suseptable to failure. thus, less parks= less wear and tear - so HDAPM might actually be better in your HD in this respect.

personally, i've just accepted the noise. if i had to work in absolute (pin-drop) quiet surroundings, i probably wouldn't be able to deal. but even in active-library-style quiet surroundings, i can deal with it.

also i find soft background music works well.

if it ever really tics me off, ill go for the hdapm

hope this helps, and good luck!

josh

...following up from my previous post:

Took my brand spankin new (two day old) 'blipper' into a genius bar and showed them this thread. They switched it out with a new one and thankfully it did not 'blip/pop'.... but, alas, the U-key was misfiring on the keyboard. So I took it back and they told me there's been keyboard issues with the latest MBP's and tried to fix/replace a doohicky under the U-key but with no luck (and said since the version of the machine is so new, a keyboard part is not even available to order for it yet (??).... so they switched it out with ANOTHER new one (#3) and guess what.... another 'blipper'!!!

So, obviously the stockrooms are loaded with these glitched drives or sound-cards or whatever this widespread mystery issue is.

I'm going back in the morning to ask if they can switch out the working keyboard with the earlier quite MBP and hopefully the Frankenstein will live, QUIETLY!

I would strongly recommend that anyone who has Applecare or is within warranty keep demanding they swap them out no matter how many times it's needed until you get a proper, quite machine. I'm sure it's the only thing that will move Apple to address the issue properly. Don't forget that two people in the thread(s) attribute premature HD failure with this issue.

-Ted

I am glad to hear others with this problem. I have no solution to post, but ... I believe it's Apple's responsibility to fix this and also do not think it is wise to fix this ourselves with previous solutions mentioned. I was extremely irritated when I called Customer Care about this and also then took it to a Genius Bar. The techs at the Genius Bar told me this was normal for a drive, even though they didn't hear it, even after supposedly taking it to a quiet room and using a stethoscope. I told them I would gladly debate with them that this was not normal. This is annoying and my experience with this (and also not awaking from sleep on my MBP) is helping Apple to lose their status.

I am so sorry to hear that this issue continues to be an enigma for too many MBP owners. I ended up returning my MBP as I live in remote NH and have no store close by. The CR i worked with at APPLE was great and thought this was would be an issue that would be addressed/resolved by APPLE? I have to wonder what is happening to all those computers that are being returned? I returned 3 before demanding a refund. I am back on my POWERBOOK and MAC PRO and enjoying the quiet hum. I hope there is a resolution soon as I would like to update the laptop. Keep up the good work everyone. I have sent this ongoing discussion to every rep I worked with since November. We are to continue bombarding them so that the issue reaches a focal point.

davidhermiston,
check out the video to confirm your assumption that it's not an HD issue. This blip/pop noise is not coming from the speakers otherwise it would likely be heard over headphones which it is not.

Video link:

http://web.mac.com/ethwrite/iWeb/Digital%20Witch/MBP%20PONG%20%20NOISE.html

Just got back from a Genius Bar in Los Angeles and got the familiar raised-eyebrow-run-around:
After they took it into the back-room, the tech came out and said "this MBP is within specifications and the issue is normal HD behavior". I replied: "Then it's setting a precedent for an otherwise non-existant issue in the Apple laptop line."

So after three machines I got a full refund. (My second MBP was not blipping but had an unfixable, dead key on it and they would not allow me to switch out the dead keyboard with the 'quite' MBP since it had already been accepted/logged as a 'failed' machine the night before.)

So at least we know there are SOME machines on the shelves NOT making noise.

I think enough returned machines is likely the only reason Apple will move on it, which might not happen since it's such an idiosyncratic problem and not an issue for large numbers of customers.

I'll follow the threads and may purchase another MBP when I have time for another (potential) run of swaps, but for now I'm also reverting back to an older, quite Powerbook.

I really want an upgrade too but need it for use in quite surroundings. Sometimes the blip is louder than other times and either way it's too distracting for me.

I urge MBP owners to avoid getting into discussions with Applecare or Genius Bar techs and instead just refer them to this discussion thread (particularly the digwitch video: http://web.mac.com/ethwrite/iWeb/Digital%20Witch/MBP%20PONG%20%20NOISE.html
and keep demanding replacements and/or refunds.

oh, what a sad state of affairs. my faith in apple declines.

You're right Greenbot, I do hear the speakers pop, but I also now hear the that there is a mechanical pop. My old powerbook made noises too but I don't recall them being distracting. I am just bored of thinking about this issue. Maybe I will learn to love it.

After hearing this same noise for weeks my internal HD finally failed 2 days ago....

I am not an engineer or technician, I can't say if these two are related.

F

Actually I had a few screen freezing issues just before (3 to 4 days) the HD failure.

F