MacBook Pro :: Noise Heard From Left Side Of Computer
Jan 6, 2010
My girlfriend recently bought a 17" Unibody MacBook Pro (the one with the built-in battery). Yesterday, we noticed that the computer was making a noise from the left-hand side. It sounds like the hard-disk accessing information. Pretty much the sound all PC's make, however, we had never heard the machine make the noise before. She has had the computer for about 2 months. Our concern is primarily because my older 15" MBP Unibody is virtually silent and never makes a similar noise.
It's only today that I noticed my MacBook's right speaker is considerably louder than the one on the left. I opened Sound panel in System Preferences to see if the balance was off, but it was set at dead center. Then, I dragged the balance slider all the way to the left to see if the sound coming from the left speaker was okay at all. Well, it sure isn't. Very muffled, muddy sound. No highs at all. Dragging the slider to the right side reveals a very different sound texture. Very crisp, as it should be. Really weird. Anybody else experiencing this odd speaker behaviour?
I googled for this problem and found this thread, right here on Mac Forums. It's a thread for the MacBook Pros, though. The people with a MacBook Pro think it's because there's a subwoofer on the right side. Well, the MacBook doesn't have a subwoofer, so it can't be that. Any ideas? Is it repair time?
By the way, I have a late 2008 unibody MacBook, the 2,4GHz model.
This is my first post, and I apologize as it's a little long. I just wanted to get the whole story on the table and clarified.I've had one of the new Aluminum 13" MacBooks (2.0GHz C2D) since Christmas Eve. A few weeks ago, it accidentally fell off my desk at work (not a far drop , but far enough for my heart to stop for a few minutes) when I got tripped up in the power cord under the desk.
For all intents and purposes, the MacBok seemed to work fine. I had one of our IT staff, who happened to be a trained Apple repair tech, take a look at it; the only real damage was that the display hinge had been knocked a little out of alignment. Just ot be on the safe side, I took the machine to the Apple Store, where they told me not to worry about attempting to get the hinge fixed (because I'd be paying a lot of money for such minor work), and the Genius sold me a hardcover plastic Speck case for the MacBook.
While the Speck case certainly looked nice and madethe already sturdy laptop feel sturdier and "protected", I was a little concerned about the amount of heat the machine was giving off within the case. On Sunday, I unplugged the machine from the MagSafe charger for a few hours and left it closed in sleep mode. When I woke it back up, the fan on the left continually gave off some sort of high-pitched whine whenever the computer was in idle mode.
I Googled, searching this site and others, and read about the "CPU whine" in the previous generation MacBooks and MacBook Pros. I also saw where a few people with new Aluminum MacBooks were having this same issue or something similar:
URL
It seems to only make the noise when the computer is running off of the battery - plugging in the MagSafe charger makes the noise quiet 85% of the time (I've found that plugging, unplugging, and replugging will not stop the whine from occurring).
I tried installing QuietMBP as was recommended in some posts, but the only setting that will stop the computer from whining is the "highest" setting (that is, allowing the processor 0 seconds of idle time), which causes QuietMBP to eat up 30% of my processor usage in Activity Monitor and to start the fans going (and, presumably, to significantly lower my battery life).
I don't know whether all of this was the result of the MacBook falling, from it overheating in the case, or something that "just happened". I set up an appointment with the Genius bar for today at 4 PM, but Idiscovered another odd occurance when I set up a new account for the Apple Store (rather than give them my password)
The noise never happened under the new account. Never. I left the machine idle until any and all initial processes were done. No noise. I checked Activity Monitor for stray processes. None. And no noise.
Now I'm bewildered. Could something have gone wrong somewhere in my account, leading to a corruption of a power management utility or process? I'm not canceling my appointment, but I am going to try a few things before I leave. I've already repaired disk permissions, and I'm about ot reinstall the 10.5.6 OS X combo update. Should I try to reset the PRAM too? What other options should I be looking at?
Or should I just wait, and let the Genius Bar folks look into it? As a note, I'm aware I may have to pay for any repairs because they may or may not blame them on the MacBook having dropped (despite two to three weeks passing between the fall and this issue arising), and I'm okay with paying for reapirs (though I will try my best to argue my case, of course).
So essentially the title says it all. My Macbook has been making the "eject-a-cd" noise at random times since about yesterday. As of yet I have not attempted a restart.
MacBook Pro 15" Unibody Mid 2009. I got my new MBP 15" one month ago, I noticed a noise coming from underneath the touch-pad. The noise sounds like a loose small piece of metal cracking there. When I hear this noise: - when the laptop is on my legs/bed/couch and I move it a little bit. - when I tab on the aluminum around the touchpad.
I hear the noise more frequently day after day. I noticed that when I shake the laptop (shuted down) with the lid opened I hear the noise way more than with the lid closed. My laptop is new, its case never opened. I thought of the following: - Something wrong with the thing that adjust the touchpad click (if it exists) - There is a free screw moving there (maybe while assembling the laptop they accidentally dropped the screw).
Basically, I have noticed that sometimes if I put pressure (not really hard or anything just like if I lean my wrist on it when typing) on the bottom right corner of the macbook, it makes a clicking sound when I press it. It sounds to me like something is bending when I press down there. It doesn't always click consistently, and sometimes I have to press in different places to get it to click.
I only noticed it when I applied a gelaskin to the top and was rubbing it to get the bubbles out and noticed when I rubbed over that corner it would make a clicking sound. Its really weird and I don't want my macbook to die as I'm already on my second one this year! I have backed up the hard drive as I have been told that the hard drive is in that corner but I have no idea if thats the problem or not. It seems to be that something is loose but I don't know what or how!!
I am the proud new owner of a core i5 MBP! I am loving it a lot so far, but I have noticed something a bit odd, every once in a while I hear a little clicking noise inside the computer, when I'm moving it and when it is sitting still. The sound is for sure coming from inside the computer. Could this be something wrong with the inside It's not a gigantic problem, just a minor annoyance and I want to make sure that nothing is wrong!
The last two days I have woken up and started my G4, and I hear an odd noise. I hear my drives spin up, but it takes probably 15 seconds for the Apple to show up on the grey bootscreen, after the first Chime I hear a 2nd noise from the internal speaker that I can't really describe? I can also hear a weird noise that sounds like rubbing or something if I listen very closely. Maybe this is a dust build up on the fan. Disk Utility says both of my drives are fine, and my computer is running fine. I'm just kind of confused here.. Should I pick up some canned air and clean out the computer a bit?
I managed to get a CD, possibly 2 if my niece stuck one in too, in my Macbook. I have no idea if there was one in there when I put my blank CD in but I know its possible to have 2 stuck in there, and with the problems I'm having I wouldn't be surprised. My mac doesn't recognize that their is a CD in the drive, no icon, itunes doesn't recognize its there, nothing. I can hold down eject button and nothing happens. The only time I get a response is every time I turn my computer on or awake it from sleep it tries to, at least this is what I assume its doing, to eject the CD.
When it does this is makes the most horrible noise you've ever heard for about 10 seconds then stops. It's almost like a tune, different horrible notes being screeched from my poor computer. I have tried absolutely everything. The cardboard, the business card, pressing spacebar at start up, tilting it, every trick I have googled has not worked. Any experts out there with new ideas? I would love to be able to turn my computer on without it screaming at me every time...and a functional CD drive would be a plus too.
So the first time it did it was I think two days ago and I was doing something in Mail, when all of a sudden 'Beep', it's not really high pitched, and lasts about a second or less, and then it did it again about 30 seconds later. Now it's doing it frequently. Is it bad? A sign of impending doom? Used the Applecare TechTool Deluxe and everything passed. Also, it isn't always beeping, sometimes it's silent, for ages, then it'll beep and beep for a while, then quiet again.
Background Info: Earlier today, I experienced a what I am 99.9% sure was a hard drive crash on my white MacBook (about 36 months old). Everything stopped responding, and I heard a clicking noise coming from where the the hard drive is located. I forced a shutdown by holding down the power button, and tried to reboot, only to be greeted by the little question mark folder and the clicking sound. Fortunately, I had just backed it up the previous night, so I knew I hadn't lost anything of value. Then, about an hour ago, a made another attempted to start it up again, and to my surprise, was greeted by no clicking and an logo.
Actual Questions: I am guessing this is not a one time occurrence, and that the noise and another crash will be back, am I correct? If so, does anyone have any guess on how long until it does return, and ultimately, how long can I put off my trip to the genius bar?
Just got my new i7 in the mail today after waiting for the refresh for 5 months and it has that stupid high pitched noise that you get when you adjust the brightness. I returned four of these things at the beginning of the year (2 HD failures, 1 power source failure, 1 DOA), one that had the hd failure also had this same high pitched noise.
I love these computers (minus the complete lack of quality control), so I don't want to switch back to PC, but I am at my wits end here. Apple already gave me $150 off this computer for me trouble, but I just don't know if its worth the hassle anymore. I am returning it for sure, but would you ask for more compensation, maybe a ram upgrade or something? I don't like to be the guy who asks for free crap, but the way I see it, they can give me another hundred $, or I can go back to pc and they lose a customer for life.
I have a MacBook Pro, 15 inch (the cheapest one). Just got it a few months ago from best buy. I got SMC Fan Control app for it, helps cool it down when I play games. I noticed that....on SMC Fan Control...it only shows that I have a "Left Side" fan. Are Macbook Pros suppose to have only 1 fan ? Or is mine not functioning? Here is a screenshot [URL].
My rev. A MBA has been having this little issue in the picture for a couple of days now. Most of the time at the top, and sometimes covering the left side. It does it on both my cinema display and the built in.
I have a MacBook Pro and need it for work (music & film) but I've been using my sister's MacBook for school and it started acting up this morning.
IMAGE: [URL]
That's the computer. The right side of the screen is black and the left side is doubling. I'm really upset and want to take it to the Mac store but we don't have AppleCare so I'm hoping I could atleast find out what's wrong?
Ive got my MBpro since May. The first thing is noticed is when the computer is using or charging the battery, that the left side gets hot and feels different then the right side. on the edges. Someone has this to? I have it on my 13'' aswell
My lid seems to overhang very VERY slightly over the left side of the case. I got some people in my family to look at it, and they honestly don't even notice it. The distance is the thickness of a piece of paper. So small it is barely noticeable when looked at, but you can feel a slight difference when you rub your finger over the edge. Should I be concerned about this? I would take pictures of it, but the Macro mode on my camera isn't good enough to properly show this issue. Go Figure... Will this affect hard shell cases? I've also learned something. People that are O.C.D. really have a hard time enjoying their Macs. Seems like we spend more time scrutinizing every square inch of our equipment that we actually spend enjoying it.
I just purchased a 13" MacBook Pro. It's the unibody one, from June. The Bottom panel, on the left side, under the wasd keys, for example, if I press under there, it makes a clicky noise, like the panel is loose. Does anyone else have this? Just want to make sure it isn't bad, that it's normal.
i reinstalled snow leopard and i went to pick my mbp off my desk with the screen open .. and when i picked up pretty quick i heard this sound coming from the left side of the keyboard .. it was really weird .. and i can recreate it everytime if i lift it fast with the screen open .. if i do it slowly no sound i tried this on my mother's 15 mbp and no sound at all .. anyone else get this on a 17inch mbp?
Just bought a new base 15" MBP, running 10.6.2. At a glance, everything runs just fine. However, SMCFanControl 2.2.2 can only read "LeftSide Fan". As if the Right Side Fan doesn't exist.
Well, it could be that the app is at fault, but I worry if there is a hardware problem. Is there any quick way to check whether the right side fan is ok? (while running apple hardware test, I can hear both fans working). I don't live anywhere near Apple Stores or their related service center, so if there's any app to verify the right side fan,
I know this question or thread has been asked a lot, but I started noticing yesterday that my mbp has been making this weird ticking sound. It was a light clicking sound, and it happened on and off. However, it was bothering me so I went to best buy (where I bought my macbook) and told them about it; they said they couldn't do anything for me because it probably wasn't my hard drive. They told me to wait until my computer slows down and then bring it in. But today the sound got worse, it sounds like white noise from the tv or some static from a really bad connection.It usually happens when I turn it on and while I'm using it. Some of my friends think it's over-heating but I doubt that's the case?
I have a 13" MBP. I just realised that when I use my macbook in the dark the keyboard light is brighter on the left side compared to the right side. When I look at my keyboard any key on the left side of the 5, T, G and B keys are brighter than those on the left. It is more evident when I have my moshi clearguard on.
