Thinkpads Forum

I'm running Vista on a T61.

When on AC power, all I hear is slight fan noise and everything runs great.

Once I pull the AC plug, however, a slight and intermittent hissing noise comes out of the back left side. I realize that's where the vents are though, so perhaps the sound is originating from elsewhere else and I'm just hearing it come out of the vents.

The real problem is that the system locks up on battery power. within about 30 minutes of pulling the plug, the system freezes. Apps freeze, I can't get to task manager, the start menu's dead, all I can do is dance my mouse cursor around.

I noticed the thread before about a similar issue, where the solution was to install the latest Intel Matrix Storage Drivers. I did so, and the problem has not gone away.


I'm also using an extra 1GB of Kingston ram, which I've learned can be a cause for instability. If this is the culprit, however, is there a reason why the instability is only in battery mode?


Thanks for any replies : )

rukiri wrote:I'm also using an extra 1GB of Kingston ram, which I've learned can be a cause for instability. If this is the culprit, however, is there a reason why the instability is only in battery mode?

Run on factory installed module and see if you find any improvement.

Kingston memory and thinkpad machines do not go hand in hand, generally, atleast the cases I've seen, including my own experience.

In case it is the Kingston memory, are there any brands you'd recommend? Or, since the quality between product lines of a given brand can vary wildly... are there any specific model #'s you'd recommend?

It'd be nice to have a 'reason' to upgrade to some 800mhz dimms : )


At the moment I'm trying to isolate when, and by extension why, the hissing occurs. Since it only happens when on battery mode, I've tried adjusting the cpu levels via the thinkvantage Power Manager, with no consistent results. The hissing seems to come and go as it pleases. A little research online pulled up some similar dell cases, as well as a lot of macbook pro complaints. The macbook people seem to have no answer however, and just live with it, though they only experience hissing, no crashing..

Go with Crucial.

I am not familiar with any hissing noise on any thinkpads. I had T61 on me for few days it was quiet but had other problems of its own.

In your situation, all I can say is, it could be some improperly assembled component on the board or perhaps it could just be the speakers...

I tried taking out the kingston ram, but both problems remained. The system still froze after a little under an hour and the hissing, though it sounded somewhat different, remained.

I'm wondering if it's not just some kind of motherboard defect.

If you read my topic about problem with Vista and T61, you can either uninstall intel matrix storage driver or delete the parameter under the registry iastorv to solve the freezing problem.

I'm actually not sure it's the same problem though since I don't get BSOD's..

Though, having said that I'm not sure if the hissing and the freezing are related either, they just seem to be strongly correlated.

In any case, I ended up calling tech support and the man I talked to on the phone seemed to be familiar with this issue. He didn't bother asking any troubleshooting questions and went straight to offering me a pickup service, which I gladly accepted.

Whatever the cause, I just hope all gets resolved by the time I get it back.

Thanks for your help guys : )

EDIT:
BTW, I heartily recommend using their "ECS" system. The one where you input your information / problem online and a tech calls you back. If you don't mind getting interrupted later that is. It sure beats the heck out of waiting on hold.