Thinkpads Forum

Hey-
I just recently got a new T60(2636D6U to be exact) and love it. But one thing i noticed is when i run on battery power it makes a very annoying 'buzzing' sound. I'm not electrical expert, but it sounds like some sort of power conversion sound(like an inverter or something?). High pitched, nearly constant, and varying in pitch. Wondering if this is normal or if my ears are overly sensitive? Its definitely not a fan. Seems most intense when i'm using wifi or the touchpad. Just wondering if any of you have any ideas. I rather not hassle with warranty service but this is driving me nuts.
If you want to listen and see if you can hear what i do:
http://optimusprimal.com/~quink/noise.mp3
(might be a bit soft so turn it up if you hear nothing)

I did talk to the tech support people and they didn't really have anything to say except send it in for service or i go to a service center.

Have you tried toggling the power schemes? That usually makes it go away. However, on all of the Intel, particularly Centrino based, laptops I have encountered thus far...I have heard a noise very similar to that. At certain times when on battery, my T43 makes a noise like that, but it quickly goes away within the span of 10 seconds; if not, a power scheme toggle usually do the trick.

HTH

[censored]. Part of the reason i got a laptop was to avoid the noise. I was prepared for the fans to run, but this is high pitched constant and like nails on a chalkboard. So an RMA wouldn't do anything to fix it?

quink wrote:[censored]. Part of the reason i got a laptop was to avoid the noise. I was prepared for the fans to run, but this is high pitched constant and like nails on a chalkboard. So an RMA wouldn't do anything to fix it?

This is one of those things where it is an "unknown unknown;" I am on battery now and cannot hear a thing similar to that sound. It sometimes varies in loudness, it can be very distinct, somewhat faint, or barely audible at all. It shouldn't be related to a hardware defect (unless it is buzzing that is associated with an set of electrical conductors about to fragment and break; highly unlikely in this case.)

When you use WiFi or the touchpad, the noise does get louder; sometimes, you can do this by forcing the mouse pointer to the top of the screen and holding it there (beats me why that can sometimes exacerbate it).

Did you try toggling the power schemes in the Power Manager yet?

Tried the power manager with no luck. The main problem is its hard to tell where the sound is coming from, hard to get a bearing on direction iwth the high pitch of the noise. Maybe its something simple like a wire crossed in the speakers causing some sort of feedback.

quink wrote:Tried the power manager with no luck. The main problem is its hard to tell where the sound is coming from, hard to get a bearing on direction iwth the high pitch of the noise. Maybe its something simple like a wire crossed in the speakers causing some sort of feedback.

The noise that has been indicated doesn't, and shouldn't, come from the speaker or audio system; do you hear it near the corner of the Thinkpad?

It comes from the general area of where you rest your left hand. Near the logos, shift key, etc.

If you are within the 30 period, just return it. The chances of getting another one with the same issue is very slim.

My runs quiet and cool, and so does the other 32 ThinkPad T60 & T60p models in my office.

No, i'm not in the 30 day period anymore. But i do have thinkpad protection + 3 year warranty.
The problem seems to occur when touching the trackpad. If i touch it, it makes the sound and keeps making it for a few seconds after i release my touch. It also seems to randomly make it during wifi use.
I'm going to take it in for servicing(service center is 5 miles from home) and update this thread once i find out whats wrong.

I have similar problems... Tell us then what service said about it.

I have a similar problem too. Resolution? I always put AC on. Well, the same problem I had with X41t. It is definitely related to the battery.

I have a similar problem too although i think on my T60P, the squealing noise is coming from the hard disk (Hitachi 7200RPM 100 GB). I am planning to buy a Seagate 80GB drive for back up and will temporarily use it as primary drive. Will check if the squealing noise will go away after I temporarily replace the Hitachi drive.

_________________________
T60P 200783H (HK model - same whinning noise when on batteries)

Here is an article regarding various noise issues with ThinkPads.

http://www.thinkwiki.org/wiki/Problem_w ... tch_noises

I don't have a sound like that on my T60p (2007-83U). When I suspend the machine I get a sound from the area of the video chip (around the spacebar) that is most audible from the vents underneath the spacebar, but not while the machine is running.

I suggest that you have the machine repaired. If they can't find the problem, you've always got TP Protection should the laptop go for a swim.

-darren

Update: Now that you have me listening for it, I hear a noise when I move the mouse. Curse you!



-darren

I had this issue on my T43p which spent an extended vacation with L2 support in a sound room. Unfortunately the sound levels were deemed in spec...I dumped the machine. I have very good high freq hearing and the machine drove me mad. It only occured when running on battery and would vary in intensity and pitch depending on activity of the trackpoint or trackpad. it was at its worst with USB pointing devices attached ie Logitech MX500 or 3Dconnexion Space Pilot/Traveler. Browsing the web in a quiet room's armchair was anything but a relaxing experience. Needless to say this was a big disappointment and tarnished my opinion of what was otherwise an excellent machine.

It was reported to be some noisy capacitors and had nothing to do with the audio system, but it was most audible in the left front corner of the box.

Mercifully, I've gotten a good sample of the T60p and we have many samples of T43p's that produce nowhere near that noise level. I was surpised that IBM/Lenovo didn't offer to take it back for exchange or apply the cost to a T60p upgrade as I opened the call within the first 2 weeks of ownership, but se la guerre.

I now return anything that we're not completely satisfied with within the 30 day limit which will eventually prove costly to them when enough corporate users take the same approach.

Is there any more news on this? Some MacBook Pro owners over at Ars Technica were complaining of similar electrical noise.

I have read reports that this has something to do with the low power states on the Core Duo processor, but there's no way to be sure.

K. Eng wrote:Is there any more news on this? Some MacBook Pro owners over at Ars Technica were complaining of similar electrical noise.

For the record, mine also has the same noise -- though it is pretty much swamped by the noise of the HD spinning.

K. Eng wrote:I have read reports that this has something to do with the low power states on the Core Duo processor, but there's no way to be sure.

Seems plausible, as mine only makes the noise when on battery?

Would be interesting if someone could try with SpeedStep disabled...

K. Eng wrote: I have read reports that this has something to do with the low power states on the Core Duo processor, but there's no way to be sure.

But some people experience it with T4x or X4x, which do not have the Core Duo.

I recently "upgraded" (actually used desktop drivers) for the ATI video card (see my post elsewhere).

A few days later I reversed as I noticed high pitch sounds coming from the machine with certain screens opened in certain locations. Both machines did it, although the 1.8 Ghz CPU did not have trouble with it, the 2.2 (upgraded) did and the 2.6 was extreemly upsetting.

With the original video drivers I can still hear it on the 2.6 (very, very minor) but not on the machine with the 2.2Ghz CPU.

Have heard stories about the 2 Ghz Mobile Pentium 4-M makes strange noises elsewhere.

Marinus

My T40 has a buzzing sound, which I was able to isolate as the USB Root Hub power management. When I disabled this, the buzzing stopped. However, I lost about 15-20 mins of battery life as a result.

Based on the reports I'm reading on the MacBook Pro, I don't think the USB power management is the problem here, but there's no way for me to be sure.

heiss wrote:

K. Eng wrote: I have read reports that this has something to do with the low power states on the Core Duo processor, but there's no way to be sure.

But some people experience it with T4x or X4x, which do not have the Core Duo.

K. Eng wrote:I don't think the USB power management is the problem here, but there's no way for me to be sure.

I don't know if the recent Microsoft Update would have any effect, but I'll post it in case you want to give it a go. I don't have the problem myself, but I did install the Update.

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/918005

Turning off the power saving processor (!) feature in the BIOS fixed that problem for me!

sorry to dig up this old topic, but I've a qn regarding the processor power saving feature in the Bios.

I had the problem with the high pitched electrical noise when on battery which got aggravated when wifi was turned on or when the cursor was moved. I got rid of the sound by disabling the power saving processor feature in the BIOS.

What exactly does this power saving feature allow? I don't notice any of its power saving features (voltage drawn is still the same, etc.)

Anyone?

AFAIK the only feature is a longer battery-time

how exactly does it improve battery time? If the processor is already at "lowest" on battery, how else does it help?

By disabling this in the BIOS, approximately how much battery time am I expected to lose; if it's only 5-10 mins, I'd think it'd be a good trade-off, but if it's more (like close to 30mins), well..., I don't really know what I'd do then.

If this is a problem with the power saving features of the CoreDuo, rather than a problem with IBM/Lenovo, then wouldn't other less-well built brands have this same problem?