MacPro Screams?

I have an Intel Core2Duo MacPro w/ 4GB of Ram +30" monitor. Sometimes when I do something that's kind of processor-heavy, it starts to scream--a kind of loud, high-pitched scream. There's nothing I can do to make is stop, and it's loud enough that others working in the cube-farm where I work come over and ask me (not very politely) to please make it stop.

This is NOT normal hard-drive noise. It is not the optical drive--it happens when there's no disk in the optical drive. Both of these were suggested to me by the Apple customer service rep, but I refuse to pay $50 to talk to them further if it's something I'm doing.

It happens most often when I'm doing something like scrolling an enlarged graphic in Photoshop. Yesterday, it did it while I was downloading a big file off my network server in the background and doing a spotlight search in the foreground (and it went on for a full 5 minutes AFTER I stopped both the download and the search while there were 5 people standing in my cube telling me to MAKE IT STOP!).

Does anyone have a clue why this is happening? Where do I even start to figure out the cause?

TIA!

kariscott said:

I have an Intel Core2Duo MacPro w/ 4GB of Ram +30" monitor. Sometimes when I do something that's kind of processor-heavy, it starts to scream--a kind of loud, high-pitched scream. There's nothing I can do to make is stop, and it's loud enough that others working in the cube-farm where I work come over and ask me (not very politely) to please make it stop.

This is NOT normal hard-drive noise. It is not the optical drive--it happens when there's no disk in the optical drive. Both of these were suggested to me by the Apple customer service rep, but I refuse to pay $50 to talk to them further if it's something I'm doing.

It happens most often when I'm doing something like scrolling an enlarged graphic in Photoshop. Yesterday, it did it while I was downloading a big file off my network server in the background and doing a spotlight search in the foreground (and it went on for a full 5 minutes AFTER I stopped both the download and the search while there were 5 people standing in my cube telling me to MAKE IT STOP!).

Does anyone have a clue why this is happening? Where do I even start to figure out the cause?

TIA!

Click to expand...

Kinda wierd, huh? Is it under warrantly?

That's not right at all.

It could possibly be the internal cooling fans - I wouldn't call the noise they make a scream, but they're really loud when they kick off, mine sounds like a vacuum cleaner. I guess if one of them was getting a bit tired it could make a different noise.

In which case, I'd think about whether there was enough ventilation around the machine - they do kick out a fair amount of heat. Don't be tempted to run it with the cover off though, that'll just make it worse.

These are just guesses . . . I'd definitely get a tech to look at it if I could.

jonnyd said:

It could possibly be the internal cooling fans

Click to expand...

No, it's definitely not the fan. I have a noisy fan at home, and this is well ventilated and the fans are very quiet.

It's a high-pitched, steady (no oscillation), almost a really LOOOONNNNNGGG "beep"--that goes on (steady) for minutes. It sounds like an alarm, but I can't figure out what it's telling me, and no warning windows or anything like that come up. It doesn't affect the operation of the computer at all, but it's definitely coming FROM the computer.

Hmm. Interesting.

Just gooling around, there's something that may be related in this thread. If I understand it, it seems the problem could be from several components, but it basicallymeans your machine is working harder than it wants to.

The test seems to be to disable nap (see the thread), but that can cause overheating, so it's not a permanent fix.

How much RAM do you have - that's the usual culprit for an overworked Mac, assuming we're on the right track here.

Try muting your speaker... make sure the noise isn't coming from a program.

Possible sources:

1. A program.
2. The motherboard piezo buzzer
3. A fan (system or video card)
4. Hard drive

Start eliminating the possibilities one at a time. Start by muting the speaker.

Joe

kariscott said:

No, it's definitely not the fan. I have a noisy fan at home, and this is well ventilated and the fans are very quiet.

It's a high-pitched, steady (no oscillation), almost a really LOOOONNNNNGGG "beep"--that goes on (steady) for minutes. It sounds like an alarm, but I can't figure out what it's telling me, and no warning windows or anything like that come up. It doesn't affect the operation of the computer at all, but it's definitely coming FROM the computer.

Click to expand...

Very good suggestions Joe. Does the Mac Pro's Motherboard have a Piezo speaker?

Joe West said:

1. A program.
2. The motherboard piezo buzzer
3. A fan (system or video card)
4. Hard drive

Click to expand...

I know it's not from the speaker, b/c I work in a cube farm, and I use wireless headphones that are OFF when I'm not using them, and I wasn't using them both times it happened today. I'm pretty sure it's not a program, because it happens most often while I'm working in Photoshop, but it happened twice today, and I've not had Photoshop open at all. In fact, when it happened first this morning, there were NO programs other than the Finder open.

I don't know what a piezo buzzer is; can someone give me an idea about how to check that? I'm almost certain it's not a fan. It happened first thing this morning when the computer had been off all night, so it wasn't even particularly hot yet, and it doesn't happen enough when the computer is hot.

The hard drive is my gut instinct, but so far I haven't been able to MAKE it happen, so I can't get it to do it for a genius at my local Apple store. I did call Apple, and they tried to get me to pony up for Apple care, or pay $50 to talk to them on the phone (when the *&*(^ thing is under warranty for gosh sakes). I don't think I should have to do that. During the short time I was able to talk to him w/o forking over bucks he insinuated that I was either 1) hallucinating (as, apparently, all of my coworkers are as well), 2) lying about whether a CD is in the optical drive because that's obviously what it is, or 3) too stupid to actually operate a computer.

I really love my Mac, but Apple's customer service after the sale leaves a WHOLE lot to be desired.

jonnyd said:

How much RAM do you have - that's the usual culprit for an overworked Mac, assuming we're on the right track here.

Click to expand...

4GB, which I think should make it unlikely that it's overworked. I had seen your link before, but it doesn't stop when I do anything--it doesn't stop till it wants to stop, and it often lasts for 3-5 minutes longer than any immediate processes going on on the computer. It's definitely NOT a "chirp."