Metallic plinking and buzzing sounds

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Level 1

4 points

Metallic plinking and buzzing sounds

I'm hearing an occasional metallic "plink" sound from the area of the
left grill on my Mac Book. I can hear the fan noise and what sounds like
a very faint, pulsating buzzing noise that sounds like the disk drive. The
plink is quiet, but easily heard and the buzzing is faint, but is a concern
because I hear it all the time, even when there is no disk activity. For
lack of a better way to describe it, it sounds like noisy ball bearings.

I'm worried that the plinking and continuous buzzing may indicate a
disk problem. Is there any way for me to check this? I'd rather not
migrate everything from my iMac onto the Mac Book until I'm sure
I know what's happening.

My system has the upgraded 100GB 7200 RPM disk.

Any suggestions much appreciated.

Josh

Mac Book Pro 1.83GHz

Mac Book Pro

Mac Book Pro

Posted on Mar 5, 2006 8:03 AM

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Answer 1

Best reply

Porgie

Level 1

125 points

Mar 5, 2006 11:58 AM in response to ibid

Sorry John, I can’t help you out with this one. I can only say you’re not alone. It was described in another thread as, “ every 60-90 seconds, I’m hearing a sound similar to a droplet of water falling on a metal plate.” Bang-on if you ask me. Indeed I have this symptom as well, however I’ve been too busy with my “whine” issue to address it. I don’t suspect it’s a common problem though- he had no replies.

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Answer 2

Porgie

Level 1

125 points

Mar 5, 2006 12:02 PM in response to Porgie

Sorry, I meant Josh.

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Answer 3

ibid Author

Level 1

4 points

Mar 5, 2006 12:06 PM in response to Porgie

A drop of water hitting a metal plate--yes, that's an excellent description of what I'm hearing.

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Answer 4

Mar 5, 2006 12:13 PM in response to ibid

I hear it as well. Seems to be coming from the middle left side. I think it's the read head in the hard drive cycling. The hard drive is so quiet, anything is noticeable.

MacBook Pro 1.83 Mac OS X (10.4.5) 7200 rpm hd 2X512 ram

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Answer 5

ibid Author

Level 1

4 points

Mar 5, 2006 12:28 PM in response to S.J. Yokel

I see you have the 7200 RPM option as well.

Are you also hearing a continuous/pulsating noise that
is different from the fan noise and there when there is
no disk activity?

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Answer 6

Mar 5, 2006 12:28 PM in response to ibid

Some hard disk drives are generating these plinking sounds when the heads are parked in a safe position. This parking operation is initiiated by the drive itself after a period of inactivity. The auto park function has nothing to do with Apple's motion sensor, it's something which is integrated in the drive itself.

Cheers

Hans-Joachim

iMac 17" Core Duo Mac OS X (10.4.4) owns also a bunch of PPC Macs

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Answer 7

ibid Author

Level 1

4 points

Mar 5, 2006 12:34 PM in response to Hans-Joachim Fabry

Thank you for the information. Does this mean that the noise is normal for the drive and should be ignored, or might it indicate a problem either now or one that will develop over time?

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Answer 8

Mar 5, 2006 12:35 PM in response to ibid

No, I hear some noises but they are minor. My Thinkpad and Dell laptops sound like a Husquevarna and Makita comparably.

MacBook Pro 1.83 Mac OS X (10.4.5) 7200 rpm hd 2X512 ram

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Answer 9

Mar 6, 2006 9:36 AM in response to ibid

The noise is normal - don't worry about it.

Hans-Joachim

iMac 17" Core Duo Mac OS X (10.4.4) owns also a bunch of PPC Macs

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