My macbook (core 2 duo, 2 Ghz) goes through 'ticking phases' every once in a while, every hour or two if I had to guess. There is a tick and the volume icon shows it going to Max for a split second, though any music or sound is muted at the same time. Music and sound from video repeatedly 'stutters' like this for a few minutes. I would record the actual tick that accompanies this but it is not loud enough for the built-in mic. These ticking phases occur whether I have the volume muted or not, and whether or not I have music/sound playing at all. (These are not the ticks of a damaged hard drive, by the way, which I'm familiar with from my old iPod - these really are only just audible through the speakers)
The timing of these ticking phases is random, it does seem to depend on how hot the computer is running or if I've got a number of programs open. I'm really lost on this, especially since it is one of those problems that will inevitably 'play dead' when I finally get time to take the laptop to Support...
Surely it's a hardware (soundcard?) problem.. It is hard to explain, and I may not be doing a very good job of it, but does the problem ring a bell with anyone here?
Otherwise, any tips on how to best communicate a 'once in a while' problem to the people at the Apple store?
The timing of these ticking phases is random, it does seem to depend on how hot the computer is running or if I've got a number of programs open. I'm really lost on this, especially since it is one of those problems that will inevitably 'play dead' when I finally get time to take the laptop to Support...
Surely it's a hardware (soundcard?) problem.. It is hard to explain, and I may not be doing a very good job of it, but does the problem ring a bell with anyone here?
Otherwise, any tips on how to best communicate a 'once in a while' problem to the people at the Apple store?
