X41 noise when I tilt notebook side to side (even when off)

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timellemit · #1 Post by **timellemit** » Mon Feb 20, 2006 4:54 pm

Whenever I tilt my X41 from side-to-side, it makes a noise as though there's a loose ball of some sort somewhere in chassis. You can hear it moving from side-to-side. It's clearly a physical issue as the notebook being powered on or off has no bearing on the noise. It only makes the noise when I move the notebook side-to-side, and not front-to-back.

Is this normal? If so, what is it that's moving in there? A gyrosensor of some sort? Or something else? Has anyone else experienced this? Or do I possibly have a broken/loose part in the computer?

Operationally, the computer works fine.

Thanks!

timellemit · #2 Post by **timellemit** » Tue Mar 21, 2006 11:53 pm

Anyone else have this problem? It sounds like "shoooook, shoooook" when I tilt it from side to side.

christopher_wolf · #3 Post by **christopher_wolf** » Wed Mar 22, 2006 12:19 am

Hmmm; I would say it could be the armature of the HDD, but that would be far too soft a noise to pickup through the casing and ambient noise. I did that to my friend's X40 and couldn't hear anything strange (and now he is looking at me funny). You could take the keyboard off to check and see; if you can't see what is making that noise when the keyboard is off, chances are it is too deep into the system to worry about and/or be concerned about if everything else works fine.

tvi55 · #4 Post by **tvi55** » Wed Mar 22, 2006 2:52 am

timellemit wrote:Anyone else have this problem? It sounds like "shoooook, shoooook" when I tilt it from side to side.

I just "heavily" tested it with my X41. I don't get that noise.

Just guessing - may it be related to the shock protection system for the hard drive?

Herr Yunta · #5 Post by **Herr Yunta** » Thu Mar 23, 2006 9:49 am

Yes, that is the Active Protection System turning on when it senses movement. You can temporarily disable it or turn it off.

malone · #6 Post by **malone** » Thu Mar 23, 2006 10:30 am

Hi, I have this issue too. I don't believe it's the Active Protection System since the rattling noise happens even when the machine is completely off. IBM's document on APS says that it's automatically disabled when the machine is turned off (http://www-307.ibm.com/pc/support/site. ... MIGR-53167).

Anyhow, I did some searching around in the forums, and this is what I found:
http://forum.thinkpads.com/viewtopic.php?t=1496
http://forum.thinkpads.com/viewtopic.php?t=4108
http://forum.thinkpads.com/viewtopic.php?t=7628

Apparently, this is a known issue, but is nothing to be concerned about. The rattling/'shook-shook' noise is from the PCMCIA/PC Card slot latch mechanism. I put in a PC Card myself into the slot to see if the rattle/'shook-shook' would go away, and it almost completely does go away. However, I did notice some other very light clicking noises on the left side of the notebook that was masked by the rattle-shook-shook whenever I tilt the notebook from side-to-side. I can only hear that light clicking when I'm in a completely silent room if I explicitly tilt the unit from side-to-side (in particular, left-to-right or right-to-left, and not up-down or down-up).

If anyone else has any insight to add to this, or has this issue, make mention of it--the more who can hear it, the more likely it's just part of the design and nothing to be worried about!

Herr Yunta · #7 Post by **Herr Yunta** » Thu Mar 23, 2006 1:09 pm

If you have a Hitachi drive, you could try changing the acoustics with the management tool or Notebook Hardware Control.

malone · #8 Post by **malone** » Thu Mar 23, 2006 2:52 pm

Herr Yunta wrote:If you have a Hitachi drive, you could try changing the acoustics with the management tool or Notebook Hardware Control.

That might help reduce the clicking noise from the HDD, but the above issue has to do with mechanical parts moving about, even when the unit is powered off, AC adapter is not plugged in, battery is not in the bay, etc., etc.

Again, the above issue is independent of power being on or off.

timellemit · #9 Post by **timellemit** » Thu Mar 23, 2006 4:04 pm

Correct. The noise I hear happens regardless of whether the unit is on or off.

I guess the issue is more of a design thing than a unique flaw. So who else can hear the noise? Do you guys hear *anything* when you tip the notebook left to right (off or on)?

christopher_wolf · #10 Post by **christopher_wolf** » Thu Mar 23, 2006 4:15 pm

If it is *really* light clicking, then it is the HDD armature rattling just a tiny bit in the ramp position. Anytime the Thinkpad, or any laptop, is turned off or goes below the S4 Sleep State (Hibernate, Power Off), the HDD ramps the armature at the end of the shut-down sequence. On most drives, at least on the Hitachis I have seen, there is a latch on the opposite side of the fulcrum that locks the heads in that position. Even though, you can still hear a tiny amount of wiggling....If it is indeed that, you have very sensitive ears.

This wouldn't work so well for the Thinkpad being on as the heads are tightly controlled in that case; I tried this on my friend's X40 and can hear a tiny little noise...but I am not sure if it exactly waht you are describing.

Herr Yunta · #11 Post by **Herr Yunta** » Thu Mar 23, 2006 5:33 pm

I realize what you are describing now. I have an older Travelstar 40GN that does the same thing. If you remove the drive from the laptop and tilt it around, i bet you can narrow it down. Chris describes it well.

jonnnny · #12 Post by **jonnnny** » Mon Apr 17, 2006 10:14 am

same thing happens to my x41 when i tilt it to side to side

and i checked and indeed, it's just the pcmcia latch.. wonder if i can tape it down or something, as i don't use the pcmcia for anything anyway

ex24 · #13 Post by **ex24** » Sun Jul 30, 2006 7:06 pm

http://www.hitachigst.com/hdd/support/download.htm

X41 noise when I tilt notebook side to side (even when off)

X41 noise when I tilt notebook side to side (even when off)

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