Weird High pitched noise on MB Unibody

MGu3l · 2015-04-09 06:16:07

Good night everyone!

I'm a little bit worried since I detected a little noise coming from my mac, I tought it was only when I was using Arch, but right now I'm on OSX and can hear it too.
I noticed this sound yesterday during the night, after a long day using the Mac and then again today in the night so I guess it starts to sound after a long time being used.

maybe it's a little hard to hear it, but if you can you'll hear the fan at a regular speed and then something like a scratch, and it's noticeable when you put your ear next to the keyboard.

This is the link to the sound [you can hear it online, no need to download anything]:

https://www.dropbox.com/s/o1qruatt3gwef … o.m4a?dl=0

and this is the area where it comes from:

If anyone could help me it would be great, since I'm a little bit worried about it

Last edited by MGu3l (2015-04-09 06:49:16)

jasonwryan · 2015-04-09 23:35:38

Moving to Laptop Issues...

MGu3l · 2015-04-10 05:20:05

I did some other test today and as I suppose, the noise is coming from the board and not from the hard drive, and in fact is only happening in Arch, not in OSx. Everything else is normal compared to OSX: fan speed, heat, HD clics and noises.

Please if someone knows anything about it i'll be glad you could give me a hand I don't want to come back to OSX.

pypi · 2015-04-10 06:58:33

Google "high pitched noise macbook".

There are several possible causes, according to google, and a few different 'fixes' reported.

For instance, this thread. Or this one. These were the first and second links google suggested for me...

MGu3l · 2015-04-10 07:14:10

I already looked on google but nothing is working, in fact I already tried the Ubuntu solution with no success I'm gonna try the other one, but since is an OSX solution I don't know if it'll be working when I come back to Arch.

pypi · 2015-04-10 07:36:11

Well, there is a whole list of things to try here.

What exactly have you tried? I am a bit confused - is this Arch specific, or does it happen in Mac OSX too? You've posted saying both...

Some whine might be expected, too. But I would have thought that most Macs had LED backlights - CFL backlights need a high voltage inverter, which in my (very limited) experience causes a whine.

Also, what model of Macbook do you have (something like x,y)? Have you tried other linux distros (live CDs) and do they also have this issue?

MGu3l · 2015-04-10 14:00:23

MacBook 7,1. I've tried an Ubuntu Live CD and there's no sound at all or it's unhearable.

At first I tought it happened in both systems but no, is only happening on Arch and it starts as soon as the system start X. it's almost unhearable during the day but that's enviroment-related.

from that list I tried everything except the disable-one.core part; turning of the camera seems to do something about it while it's on, and also adjusting brightnes changes the pitch but doesn't do anything else.

I alo tried some stuff HD-related, I tought at first that was the problem... but since I realized it's the board I don't know what should I tri without wrecking it.

pypi · 2015-04-11 04:32:41

MGu3l wrote:

MacBook 7,1. I've tried an Ubuntu Live CD and there's no sound at all or it's unhearable.
At first I tought it happened in both systems but no, is only happening on Arch and it starts as soon as the system start X. it's almost unhearable during the day but that's enviroment-related.
from that list I tried everything except the disable-one.core part; turning of the camera seems to do something about it while it's on, and also adjusting brightnes changes the pitch but doesn't do anything else.
I alo tried some stuff HD-related, I tought at first that was the problem... but since I realized it's the board I don't know what should I tri without wrecking it.

So, it appears to be an Arch problem, albeit only when X is started. Does it ever appear when running purely from a VT? As a wildcard, what graphics drivers are you using - maybe that's the difference between Ubuntu and Arch?
What happens if you start X, then switch to a VT? Does the sound go away, or remain?
What other conditions are required for the sound to be present?

On the theme of differences between Ubuntu, OSX, and Arch, maybe you could try the LTS kernel. Although I can't imagine what difference it would make...
What is the cmdline used in Ubuntu?

What exactly does turning off the camera do? Does the sound go away, or lessen?

Also, you could try disabling one core. At least then you'd know that it wasn't the problem...

MGu3l · 2015-04-11 21:02:49

Well after some other test I found out that Ubuntu is no longer working.
The sound appears even from a VT.
My graphic is a Nvidia GeForce 320M and I'm using the Noveau Drivers [Tried to install the Nvidia Drivers but they just messed up my System and I waas unable to login].
If I start X and then switch to a VT the sound remain.
The only one condition needed for the sound is to load Arch. The sound is not preent during Grub, it just starts to sound as the screen says "/dev/sda:" and shows info about the blocks.

[also I noticed something from the boot sequence, it says something about 017 and 018 disable, you should try allhwsupport0 or allhwsupport1, something like it... is really fast and I can't se it].

I was thinking the same thing, maybe do some test with the LTS kernel and see what happens.

Turning on the camera and changing the screen brightness seems to alter the frequency of the pitch, but it remains constant.

Last edited by MGu3l (2015-04-11 21:06:47)

MGu3l · 2015-04-11 21:57:36

pypi wrote:

On the theme of differences between Ubuntu, OSX, and Arch, maybe you could try the LTS kernel. Although I can't imagine what difference it would make...
What is the cmdline used in Ubuntu?

Update: LTS installed, the noise is still there but the message regarding "0x17 and 0x18" it's gone, seems to be some problem between the 3.19 Kernel and the Broadcom Drivers.

MGu3l · 2015-04-11 23:04:02

Update 2:

I did some test with the stres package, and found out some interesthing things.

1. Did a processor test with -c 2 and -c 6, everything normal, no problem at all and no sound.
2. Did a mem test with -m 30: no sound at all:
3. Did a mem test with -m 60: it started to sound and the test gave me this:

4. Did a dual-stress with -c 2 -m 30, test stops itself and show and image similar to the one above.

5. Another dual-stress with -c 6 -m 30, computer freezed, after 5 secs test stop itself and show this:

This are the specs about my RAM:

 Memory Device
	Array Handle: 0x0006
	Error Information Handle: No Error
	Total Width: Unknown
	Data Width: 65506 bits
	Size: 4096 MB
	Form Factor: SODIMM
	Set: None
	Locator: DIMM0
	Bank Locator: BANK 0
	Type: DDR3
	Type Detail: Synchronous
	Speed: 1067 MHz
	Manufacturer: 0x8634
	Serial Number: 0x00000000
	Asset Tag: Unknown
	Part Number: 0x535550455254414C454E5430310000000000

Handle 0x000A, DMI type 17, 27 bytes
Memory Device
	Array Handle: 0x0006
	Error Information Handle: No Error
	Total Width: Unknown
	Data Width: 65474 bits
	Size: 4096 MB
	Form Factor: SODIMM
	Set: None
	Locator: DIMM0
	Bank Locator: BANK 1
	Type: DDR3
	Type Detail: Synchronous
	Speed: 1067 MHz
	Manufacturer: 0x0198
	Serial Number: 0xC51FA354
	Asset Tag: Unknown

pypi · 2015-04-19 05:23:50

Right.

So, is this solved? Have you found a work around?
Or have you been doing other things instead?

MGu3l · 2015-04-19 06:52:22

not solved yet, the sound is still there... I tried using different RAM's and different RAM's combinations [2Gb, 4Gb, 5Gb, using the original RAM that came with the MacBook] but nothing worked and the sound keeps annoying me.

PD: I seem to remember, if I recall correctly that all MacBook Boards have this little "pins" that make contact with the case to discharge electricity or something like it, we call that in spanish "polo a tierra" but I don't know how to name it in english. Anyway, I think one of these pins in my board is kind of bend and attached 20% to the board [but some "Genius" at Apple told me there was no problem using my MacBook like this], so you think maybe this could be an electric issue?

pypi · 2015-04-20 19:50:03

In my experience, static just stops the 'board from booting. I've had that issue with a couple of Acer machines...

I suspect that the issue is either related to the power supply, or to the GPU - not the RAM. But I'm honestly out of ideas - you'll have to continue experimenting to find out what conditions are required to stop the sound. Google might suggest a few more things to try!

As a workaround, could you just constantly loop one of the tests which stop the sound?

MGu3l · 2015-04-21 20:57:59

May be its the GPU, I just checked my boot info and it says something about "Noveau" which is the Nvidia open driver, I'm going to check if this is the cause of the problem.

About your workaround, unfortunately no... the only way the board didn't make the sound was letting the Mac still while I was running the test.

Thanks for your help man, I'm hoping for solving this soon.

Arch Linux

#1 2015-04-09 06:16:07

Weird High pitched noise on MB Unibody

#2 2015-04-09 23:35:38

Re: Weird High pitched noise on MB Unibody

#3 2015-04-10 05:20:05

Re: Weird High pitched noise on MB Unibody

#4 2015-04-10 06:58:33

Re: Weird High pitched noise on MB Unibody

#5 2015-04-10 07:14:10

Re: Weird High pitched noise on MB Unibody

#6 2015-04-10 07:36:11

Re: Weird High pitched noise on MB Unibody

#7 2015-04-10 14:00:23

Re: Weird High pitched noise on MB Unibody

#8 2015-04-11 04:32:41

Re: Weird High pitched noise on MB Unibody

#9 2015-04-11 21:02:49

Re: Weird High pitched noise on MB Unibody

#10 2015-04-11 21:57:36

Re: Weird High pitched noise on MB Unibody

#11 2015-04-11 23:04:02

Re: Weird High pitched noise on MB Unibody

#12 2015-04-19 05:23:50

Re: Weird High pitched noise on MB Unibody

#13 2015-04-19 06:52:22

Re: Weird High pitched noise on MB Unibody

#14 2015-04-20 19:50:03

Re: Weird High pitched noise on MB Unibody

#15 2015-04-21 20:57:59

Re: Weird High pitched noise on MB Unibody

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