Thinkpads Forum

Hi all,

My new Lenovo T550 laptop, running Windows 7, seems to be always making a strange noise, coming from its bottom (base).

As this laptop is equipped with an SSD hard-drive, I would have expected it to be completely silent. The noise is high-pitched and intermittent/noisy. It is not loud, however in a quiet environment it is noticeable and irritating. The noise is always on, i.e. not just when the CPU is under high load, and does not seem to be correlated with anything that's going on in the software. Indeed this is not the CPU fan, as that comes on sometimes under heavy software load, and makes a different (more tolerable) noise. The noise can be heard whether on AC or on battery.

http://www.2shared.com/audio/q5Aq21JC/l ... noise.htmlis a WAV file that I recorded with my phone, holding the microphone next to the base of the laptop. I would really appreciate some advice with regard to what this noise might be due to, and if there are any software settings that might get rid of it. I doubt it is "normal" and would think that indicates that the laptop (or parts of it) need to be replaced.

I have had the motherboard replaced today by my dealer - however the same noise is still there, and the shop does not have any other suggestions.

Thanks for any help!

Welcome to the forum.
Sounds like your CPU-area is the whiner!
Dell solved the problem with replacing the motherboard with a revised version.
Lenovo is less customer-friendly here (and I'm trying to say this nicely...).
If under warranty, ask for yet another motherboard (different specs if possible), or give it back for a refund.

They told me they will order another MB, although I doubt this will not produce the noise, since the previous two did. Perhaps the problem is some other component?

Assuming it *is* the MB that's the culprit - do you hapen to know exactly what other specs I should ask for, in terms of a new MB?

You could try another CPU, to see if the noise now disappears.
But you're not the only one complaining... https://forums.lenovo.com/t5/ThinkPad-T ... -p/2092568
For another mobo-version, try one without Intel AMT if you're not a business that wants remote-control.
Or try and borrow one without AMT just to try.

Personally I have given up on Lenovo after the Tx20/Wx20/X220, since their "new" keyboards from xxx30 onwards are beyond palatable.
Possible exception: an xx30 when the chip-mod to use an xx20-keyboard instead is fully finished.