High pitch noise, x24...

[Mack]

I have had my ThinkPad X24 for a while now. There is a high pitch noise coming from this laptop, mostly together with the use of applications, like internet explorer and flash sites, and msn messenger. But the noise can be there more or less anytime, and gets louder the higher cpu frequency I use (speedstep). It seems to drop when the cpu-load is high though. Unless you listen to music or something, this noise is very disturbing. Seems like it is coming from the right upper side of the laptop, but it is not harddisc related.

Any clue to what it can be, and what I can do about it? I use Windows XP Sp2. In Linux I can make the noise stop by compiling a custom kernel and set the "idle timer interrupt"-frequency to 100 Hz...

Thanks.

[kingofthehill3]

I have exactly the same problem, but the frequency change was not really successfully. To fix this problem, I removed the keyboard to get access to the right upper corner. There I found the problem: one of the two voltage converters. I could remove most of the noise by gently putting some pressure on this converter. Now I only hear the noise if there is much network traffic with the built-in intel-pro network adapter. Although I hope that the noisehas nothing to do with the reliability of the converter.

[Mack]

Hi king, nice to get a reply to my post, although sad we both have to endure this pitch noise. I take it you also have an X24 then? What OS do you use, win xp or linux? Can you describe the procedure: what the voltage converters look like, and did you remove the keyboard while the laptop was still running? I will try this thing myself.

I need to add, not really sure if there is a specific located source to the noise. It seems to come from upper right corner at a first examination, but putting the ear towards the laptop, I can only say it seems to come from upper part of the laptop.

Thanks,

/Mack

[scrible88]

My x22 does the same thing, upper right hand corner of the base unit.

I don't think there is anything for you to worry about. I have had laptops in the past that make the same sort of high pitch noises. My Powerbook does it, my brother's Toshiba does it, my old HP does it, my x22 does it...

Again, I don't think there is anything for you to worry about.

[kingofthehill3]

Jepp.. I have a IBM X24 2660-MPU and it is mainly used with Debian Linux but also with Win XP SP2.

The removal of the keyboard is quite easy. Just remove 3 bolts at the bottom side of the notebook. Then you should be able to lift up the keyboard starting at the "mouse buttons". If you don't remove the keyboard connector then you should be able to power up the notebook without problems.

I made a photo of the upper right location of my X24. The yellow circles show the positions of the two converters. In my notebook the left one makes the noise, so I put the dirty workaround (paperclip) on top of the converter. The pressure minimizes the pitch noise, but it is still noticeable in some situations (high network traffic for example).



Noise in connection with voltage converters seems to be a very common problem. My IBM power supply also makes this noise and my old fujitsu-siemens notebook, too. I found some other workarounds to fix this problem: Putting clue or plastic spray into the converter to stop the vibrations. But I don't know if this works!

btw. has anyone of you tried to replace the buitlin mini-pci modem with a 54mbit wlan card?

Marcel

[Mack]

Scrible, the high pitch noise on this machine is totally unbearable if I run the cpu on 1.1 Ghz. Only on its low setting, 733 Mhz, is what have kept me sane. I have seen this happen on other peoples laptops too, but when the noise gets too loud it is usually a warranty errand. Too bad there is no warranty left on this machine.

And yes, my ibm power supply unit is making a high pitch noise too, if I unplug it from the laptop. (still connected to power source) It disturbs me even if I am 5 meters away.

King, thanks for the pic! Really kind of you. I will do this "surgery" within some days. I let you know if I can locate the noise source or not.

Thanks,

/Mack

[Mack]

I managed to get some free time for the "surgery" this evening. I located the source, it is the same voltage converter as on your machine, king. And if I put some high pressure on it, the noise decreases quite much. I have much hope that if I can keep this pressure and put the keyboard in again, I shouldnt be able to hear much of it anymore.

Only problem is, that paperclip trick of yours seems a bit tricky to perform. Not sure how you managed to attach it, but I guess one option is to put something between the keyboard and the converter, and let the "keyboard" do the pressure. But not sure if that will be enough pressure. Need to think of a solution..

Thanks,

/Mack

[kingofthehill3]

I would really appreciate if you can tell me your solution (if you have found a better one for this problem). Thx.

Marcel

[scrible88]

Well, mine isn't bad at all when it is running off of battery power. The high pitched noise is only unbearable when it is plugged in and on standby. Therefore I just use hibernate... because, when the high pitched noise is really bad on standby I can't stand it.

[kingofthehill3]

Mack, I found a post of you about external usb cd-rom/dvd drives. I tried this and got exactly the same problem. I can only boot if the drive is not in suspend and as soon as the drive stops rotating the cd/dvd, there's no way to access the drive again. Did you find a solution to this problem, because this really sucks.

Thx,
Marcel

[Mack]

Marcel, yes I remember I had that problem with my external usb cd drive back then. It was a Philips model, and I completely trashed it in pure rage afterwards, lol. Well, I ended up buying a new one, a usb external closure, and put a NEC 3520 dvd burner inside it. This one works without any problems at boot, and has been a pleasure to use any time.

So it must have been the brand. I guess you just have to buy another model/brand if you cant boot from yours. And preferably an external closure. I am sorry I cant help you more there.

As for the high pitch noise problem. I will try something soon. I am still hard working with my brain to actually understand why this noise is triggered in windows, but can be silenced in linux (slackware for me).

On this link http://www.tabletpcbuzz.com/forum/topic ... hichpage=1 they are talking about a very similiar problem. Unfortunately, no solution worked on my machine.

[kingofthehill3]

I talked with an electrical engineer about this problem. He suggested to put some clue or hot-melt adhesive into the voltage converter to stop the vibrations. This should have no effect on the operation of the converter.

I'm still not really sure about doing this (I bought the X24 only a week ago and I don't want to kill it this fast ), but maybe I'll try this fix within the next days.

I'll keep you informed...

In the meantime I'm trying to replace the mini-pci modem with a mini-pci wlan-modem combo card... wish me luck

[Mack]

Good luck with the mini-pci switch! My model doesn't come with wireless abilities, there is no antenna inbuilt. So an xjack 3com pc-card is my best option. I was thinking to utilize the compact flash port somehow, by putting a wireless card in it, but those cards were rare, and driver support not the best.

Yes, non-conductive glue or hot melt stuff actually sound like a good thing to try. It shouldn't affect the laptop, other than hopefully drowning the converter and make it silent.

Btw, it was strange that you couldn't silence the machine in linux. I guess even if we seemingly have the same problem, with the same voltage converter causing the noise, something else must help trigger the noise on your machine. Windows XP is supposed (unconfirmed to me) to have the "idle timer interrupt-freq" (itif) set to 100 Hz (and therefore not hearable), but the noise is highly connected to intense graphics on my screen, like flashites, or animated gifs, or playing media. And gets stronger the higher cpu-freq I use. I have my theory that programs in Windows are allowed to change this frequency by themselves, so if I fire upp a mediaplayer, certain libraries get loaded, and perhaps the "itif" is set to another value, say 1000 Hz, which is causing my ears to bleed.

In Windows we have the directx/directdraw libraries and ati drivers communicating with the graphicscard, and in linux something else (some opengl i assume) + the open source radeon driver. Maybe in linux this "itif" is really hard set, and non-modifable by external libraries.

[Mack]

Just wanted to give a possible solution here to ppl with similiar problems as in this thread. I have managed to eliminate the high pitch noise in Win XP sp2 by disabling flash through a registry patch together with switching to Opera as browser instead of Internet Explorer. I have also switched to Media Player Classic. (one can also disable gif animations too in Opera, if that is needed)

This means I have no pitch noise when I visit webpages, running msn messenger, or trying to play media sound or video. Doesn't matter anymore what speed I run the cpu at either. The computer is finally totally silent. And i don't suffer at all, flash sites are mostly junk anyways, and Opera is an excellent fast browser. Media Player Classic does it job very well with appropriate codec pack.

/Mack