strange noise from T42

[asmalik]

I have a new T42 2373H1U with DVD writer.

I have noticed a strange sound emanating every 1-2 minutes or so from what seems to be the top right area of the keyboard while I am working on the laptop.

The sound is akin to what one hears when running a fingernail across the teeth of a comb. It lasts for about 1-2 seconds.

It doesn't seem to be coming from the hard drive, because the drive activity light doesn't come on and it's noticeably louder than the hard drive noise.

Is this typical? If not, is it something to worry about? I'm taking my laptop out of the country for a year next month and want to make sure everything is in working order before I leave.

Thanks.

[leegaard]

Tried to empty the DVD writer for media?

I guess I have heard similar sound when a poor or unreadable media is in the media tray..

[christopher_wolf]

Does this happen with a DVD or CD in the Drive? That would tend to suggest it is due to faulty and unbalanced media. Try stopping the Optical Drive, via the taskbar, and work on it for awhile to see if the sound comes back. If it does, then it cannot be related to the Optical Drive.

Oh wait.... *listens to very most top right spot*


I can hear *something*, it is very faint though and I am in a pretty quiet room. It sounds to me like a chipset oscillator. I have no idea what it could be. I cannot narrow down whether or not it is the battery (not probable) or something inside the Thinkpad. Hmmmm; after toggling the power schemes, it got fainter. Try that as well and see if it helps at all; the sound should not be audible in standard laptop usage form with your head a foot or so away from the keyboard. Very good decription of the sound by the way; we learn something new everyday. Anybody know what actually resides in that part of the system?

Fascinating...

[asmalik]

The noise is unrelated to the presence of media in the CD/DVD drive.

The sound is quite a bit louder than hard drive noise--one doesn't have to listen carefully to hear it, so I can hear it while working on my machine in a quiet room.

It is intermittent and doesn't last more than a second or two, sometimes 5-10 minutes can elapse without my hearing it. At other times I hear it every couple of minutes. I haven't been able to figure what determines its frequency.

I have worked on quite a few laptops and have never heard anything like it!

Thanks for your input.