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MacBook Making Loud Noise

I've had a White MacBook (2.0GHz with 2 gig of RAM added) for about a month and a half now (it's a week 25 model), and have been very, very happy with it. About a week or two ago, however, I started noticing a loud buzzing sound coming from the MacBook that almost always occurs during processor-intensive tasks (i.e. photoshop, Roxio Toast encoding, downloading, etc.). Is this normal?

More Info.: The noise is particularly loud; I can hear it outside of a closed room. I have read about both the "mooing" and the power-source buzzing issues and determined that it is neither of these problems. My issue occurs regardless of whether the MacBook is plugged in, and I have never experienced the "mooing" problem.

For all I know, this simply could be normal...but I just wanted to ask all of you to make sure. Thanks.

White MacBook 2.0GHz, 2 gig RAM Mac OS X (10.4.7)

White MacBook 2.0, 2g RAM Mac OS X (10.4.7)

Posted on Aug 13, 2006 7:19 PM

Best reply

Stargazer Alchemist

Level 1

5 points

Posted on Aug 13, 2006 7:25 PM

Two of my friends have had iBooks for a about a year or two now and none of them have ever made any noise like that.

I know my girlfriends Toshiba laptop made a very loud noise after about 30 minutes of operation, which was diagonised as bad berrings in the fan... could that be a possiblity with you?

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33 replies

Aug 19, 2006 4:19 AM in response to Chris3495323

Same here then. A friend of mine suggested heat build up from the HD where it's seated and that it simply starts to vibrate as the metall enclosure expands. It would have nothing (or little) to do with processor heat and thus wouldn't show up at any particular temp when running CoreDuo Temp for instance. That also makes sense when taking into fact that the sound stops when I tilt the machine and/or gently shake/rock it.

I think...

There's no immediate rush on my wife's part to take it to the repair shop so we'll leave it be and see if it it turns out that more computers are affected and they decide to do a recall, as with the Macbook Pro battery and logic board deal.

Cheers

Peter

Macbook Mac OS X (10.4.7)

EricLErak

Level 2

380 points

Aug 19, 2006 9:58 AM in response to Chris3495323

Install the new SMC firmware update it fixes most fan problems the macbooks havebeen having

http://www.apple.com/support/downloads/macbooksmcfirmwareupdate.html

Aug 19, 2006 10:08 AM in response to EricLErak

Yep, did that but the problem is still there...

Peter

Chris3495323 Author

Level 1

0 points

Aug 19, 2006 11:08 AM in response to EricLErak

Install the new SMC firmware update it fixes most fan
problems the macbooks havebeen having

http://www.apple.com/support/downloads/macbooksmcfirmw
areupdate.html

Eric,

I also installed the firmware update and am still having the same problem.

EricLErak

Level 2

380 points

Aug 19, 2006 11:18 AM in response to Chris3495323

ok it is probly your fan motor to test that

boot from your install cd go to the utilities menu and open the terminal then run the command yes > /dev/null

then go to file/new shell and run it again this will boost your cpu to 100% cuaseing the fan to kick in and if you here the problem with the cd in then its a hardware issue if not then its software

Aug 19, 2006 11:29 AM in response to EricLErak

Sorry, didn't work for me at least. Well, the fans did kick in but the sound wasn't there. I'm still suspecting vibrations from the HD. I wish there was some way I could put the HD to sleep manually to see if I'm right.

Peter

EricLErak

Level 2

380 points

Aug 19, 2006 11:43 AM in response to Peter Bergting

did you boot from the <<b>install CD> not your hard drive

EricLErak

Level 2

380 points

Aug 19, 2006 11:46 AM in response to EricLErak

ps if the sound wasent there from booting from teh install cd the reinstall your system software see of ot helps

Chris CB

Level 3

631 points

Aug 19, 2006 11:51 AM in response to Peter Bergting

On my computer there is an option to turn off the Hard Disk only "when possible". (It's in System Preferences > Energy Saver > Sleep)

Maybe if you can activate that you'll be able to judge if the Hard Disk is the source of the noise.

(Note: I have a different computer and version of Mac OSX to yours, so I don't know if yours will have the same function)

iMac Flat 800MHz Mac OS X (10.3.9)

Aug 19, 2006 12:03 PM in response to EricLErak

Yep, did that (booted from CD). I think I have to do it again after the sound has manifested since it needs to be warmer first. I'll keep you posted.

And the put to sleep when possible is on my system too, but I was hoping there'd be a way to do it manually =).

Cheers

Peter

Chris3495323 Author

Level 1

0 points

Aug 19, 2006 7:59 PM in response to EricLErak

I booted from the install CD and there was no noise--I basically had the same results that my new pal, Peter, did.

Erik, I can't for the life of me understand what this sentence means... could you please retype it or elaborate on it further:

ps if the sound wasent there from booting from teh
install cd the reinstall your system software see of
ot helps

Thanks all for your help so far... I'm really trying to solve this for myself because being in New Orleans, the nearest Apple Store is in Houston (a 700 mile round trip)... and I'm trying to avoid having to take a day off to drive there. So again...thanks for all your help so far. I really appreciate it.

EricLErak

Level 2

380 points

Aug 19, 2006 8:13 PM in response to Chris3495323

haha sorry i was in a hurry when i typed that

I meant to say

If there was no noise from your fan when you were booted from the install CD
then the noise you are hearing when you are booted from your regular system folder is a software related issue. I suggest reinstalling Mac OS X to see if thise helps your problem.

If it does not call apple Technical Support.

There number is 1-800-275-2273

Tell them you are hearing odd noises from your fan and you want the fan replaced. They will send a box to your house and all you need to do is pack up your computer and then drop it off at a FED EX or DHL.

-Eric

Chris3495323 Author

Level 1

0 points

Aug 20, 2006 8:45 AM in response to EricLErak

haha sorry i was in a hurry when i typed that

I meant to say

If there was no noise from your fan when you were
booted from the install CD
then the noise you are hearing when you are booted
from your regular system folder is a software related
issue. I suggest reinstalling Mac OS X to see if
thise helps your problem.

If it does not call apple Technical Support.

There number is 1-800-275-2273

Tell them you are hearing odd noises from your fan
and you want the fan replaced. They will send a box
to your house and all you need to do is pack up your
computer and then drop it off at a FED EX or DHL.

-Eric

Eric,

Thank you for all your help so far. I have a question for you regarding reinstalling OS X: Do I have to erase everything and reinstall a fresh copy or can I do this while keeping my user data/preferences/applications/etc.?

EricLErak

Level 2

380 points

Aug 20, 2006 9:15 AM in response to Chris3495323

Yes you can do that its called an archive and install
this will transfer all your user data ,music, documents etc

When you Archive and Install it will install a new system folder in your HD, But it will still keep your old one it will be named something like Previous System.

When everything is loaded and your at your desktop i recommend deleting or securely deleting the previous system folder to save you a few gigabytes.

-Eric

Chris3495323 Author

Level 1

0 points

Aug 28, 2006 6:27 PM in response to EricLErak

After reinstalling OS X, I am still experiencing the noise.

MacBook Making Loud Noise