my buzzing fan noise

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allen · #1 Post by **allen** » Wed Sep 19, 2007 9:19 pm

it's not high pitched, it's not a normal fan blowing whizzing air sound,
it's a buzzing, low pitch, almost like 2 pieces of plastic are vibrating against each other. and the volume changes in like a wave pattern

AC, docked, or battery.

it's LOUD, and irritating.

i know it's the fan because, when i stick a piece of paper in, and the fan hits it and slows down, the noise follows.

and only within the last month or so, out of the 9 months i've had this machine.

no major changes to my system.

my power manager doesnt let me apply new schemes, it's had a bug like that for a while, and i fixed it, and now at least it's stuck in the scheme i want.

without having to read or start a 3-22 page forum thread, with fan noises not like mine, is there a definitive solution?

Shade · #2 Post by **Shade** » Thu Sep 20, 2007 2:41 am

Dude.. Don't stick a piece of paper in your fan while its running.. thats just plain stupid.

Don't be too sure its you fan.

Take a look at this guide:

http://forum.tabletpcreview.com/showthread.php?t=3516

allen · #3 Post by **allen** » Thu Sep 20, 2007 2:51 am

you know, when the noise is driving you crazy for a couple weeks, you resort to things like that. i don't think it was stupid, but whatever you want to think about that is fine by me. it was a 1mm wide strip.

i'm not too keen on having to install a software and have it always running in the background, and settings that you're not too sure if it'll damage your system.

#4 Post by **ryengineer** » Thu Sep 20, 2007 2:59 am

Please apply the latest BIOS update.

Another option for you is to avail your warranty service, you can contact IBM EasyServ at 1-800-426-7378 (24/7)!.

allen · #5 Post by **allen** » Thu Sep 20, 2007 1:44 pm

ok so, bios may have helps slightly, i think it's somewhat less irritating now.
i do remember now i did update bios sometime in the last month or so, so maybe that was related,

i haven't started doing anything "intense" like photoshop or anything to test, just a few hours of internet,

but i did just talk on skype, and either the microphone is right next to the fan, or it's resonating through the laptop, because on the phone, it's magnified and hard to speak, when i mute the microphone in skype it stops, but otherwise it sounds like aliens are talking over us, or robots.

any more help??? i reaaallly don't want to send my system in.

allen · #6 Post by **allen** » Tue Sep 25, 2007 12:44 am

well i was wrong, the bios update didnt help, it's still driving me crazy

Shade · #7 Post by **Shade** » Tue Sep 25, 2007 8:46 am

well.. I still refer to post 2

Pascal_TTH · #8 Post by **Pascal_TTH** » Tue Sep 25, 2007 11:25 am

LordCyber wrote:Dude.. Don't stick a piece of paper in your fan while its running.. thats just plain stupid.

Don't be too sure its you fan.

Take a look at this guide:

http://forum.tabletpcreview.com/showthread.php?t=3516

If you go with RMclock, the most important thing to to is to undervlot the CPU. The Core (2) Duo are both fixed at 0.95v at the lowest speed. But the max speed voltage can be lowered to 1,15v. This have much more effect then to use advanced idle states or halt mode when CPU already produce few heat.

STC · #9 Post by **STC** » Tue Sep 25, 2007 1:24 pm

allen wrote:ok so, bios may have helps slightly, i think it's somewhat less irritating now.
i do remember now i did update bios sometime in the last month or so, so maybe that was related,

i haven't started doing anything "intense" like photoshop or anything to test, just a few hours of internet,

but i did just talk on skype, and either the microphone is right next to the fan, or it's resonating through the laptop, because on the phone, it's magnified and hard to speak, when i mute the microphone in skype it stops, but otherwise it sounds like aliens are talking over us, or robots.

any more help??? i reaaallly don't want to send my system in.

perhaps try turning off the microphone?

allen · #10 Post by **allen** » Tue Sep 25, 2007 4:26 pm

STC wrote:perhaps try turning off the microphone?

well how would the person i'm talking to on skype hear me if i turned off the microphone?

no but seriously, i'll test it with a plug in microphone, and... i gues i'll try the rmclock when i get a chance, thanks.

allen

lmittell · #11 Post by **lmittell** » Tue Sep 25, 2007 5:21 pm

On the other hand, it could be the fan, as you first surmised. Mine whirred and buzzed for a few months and finally got extremely loud in its death throes. All subsequent attempts to power-up resulted in "fan error" being displayed on the screen, followed by immediate shutdown.

An on-site tech showed up the following day with a replacement fan. Now my TP is blessedly silent.

The tech said that sometimes they'll ship the fan assembly direct to the customer for DIY replacement. He wasn't aware of what it is that triggers the decision to do so.

HTH,
Larry

allen · #12 Post by **allen** » Tue Sep 25, 2007 5:31 pm

yeah, i mean, the RMclock is for c2d noise right?
but, if when the fan isn't spinning, there's no noise, isn't it safe to assume it's fan noise? how do they judge over the phone if it's fan noise?

i'll have to call

gaphic2 · #13 Post by **gaphic2** » Tue Sep 25, 2007 6:44 pm

allen wrote:well i was wrong, the bios update didnt help, it's still driving me crazy

I feel your pain.

I think the bios update is only part of the solution. You also need some fan control software. A very nice app is this german one, written specifically for Thinkpads. Check it out: http://fancontrol.de/bin/fcontrol_v0.8.1.rar

More info on: http://www.thinkpad-forum.de/thread.php?threadid=12194

I've got it installed and the fan does what it's told. Now it's just the booming 7200 rpm HDD driving me nuts ...

vince_wonk · #14 Post by **vince_wonk** » Wed Sep 26, 2007 3:54 am

gaphic2 wrote:
allen wrote:well i was wrong, the bios update didnt help, it's still driving me crazy
I feel your pain.

I think the bios update is only part of the solution. You also need some fan control software. A very nice app is this german one, written specifically for Thinkpads. Check it out: http://fancontrol.de/bin/fcontrol_v0.8.1.rar

More info on: http://www.thinkpad-forum.de/thread.php?threadid=12194

I've got it installed and the fan does what it's told. Now it's just the booming 7200 rpm HDD driving me nuts ...

can u post the meaning of this program? i get confused to use it.

allen · #15 Post by **allen** » Wed Sep 26, 2007 10:41 am

yeah, i don't get that program either, i'll try it out, but that other link to info about it is all in german, which i can't read, unless, maybe i can translate it all on another translation page.

does it explain how i want my fan controlled? i don't mind my fan on, i just don't want it to make noise, it didn't used to make noise.

i feel like if i tell it to turn off, i'll have overheating situations

megalosaurus · #16 Post by **megalosaurus** » Wed Sep 26, 2007 11:03 am

My T60P has been doing the same thing the last couple weeks. I've been procrastinating on sending it in - for the third time - for repair of horizontal lines on the display. I sometimes have as many as 20 of them, and a couple are impossible to get rid of. This is a bad time for me to be without the computer for a week, but with a noisy fan as well, I think it's time for it to go back.

allen · #17 Post by **allen** » Wed Sep 26, 2007 11:15 am

i called tech support, and they said they'd send a box to send my machine in, i told them i can't go a week without it, or even a couple days really. and they said to try a local authorized warranty service repair store... i'll see what they say

#18 Post by **GomJabbar** » Wed Sep 26, 2007 11:36 am

The ThinkPad Fan Control info is in the ThinkPad Utility Work Area forum on this site.

allen · #19 Post by **allen** » Wed Sep 26, 2007 7:08 pm

ok so, i found some time to try the fan utility, and, it's on ok solution so far... a few hours.

at a fan level of 1, the buzzing is acceptable with my usual ambient noise when i want a quiet working situation. but even at 1, i can hear it up close, so i'm willing to bet if i use the built in microphone on skype, it will still be really loud, i haven't had a chance to test an external microphone plugged in.

but, what are acceptable temperatures for my CPU and GPU? and others?

with fan speed at 1, i'm averaging 76C for highest/GPU, and 61C for CPU, while using internet, AIM, skype logged in, msn messenger loggin in, emailing, laptop LCD and external CRT on.

what's dangerous levels for GPU and CPU temps?

allen · #20 Post by **allen** » Wed Sep 26, 2007 7:44 pm

and, can it start in smart mode everytime? so i can just throw it in the startup, and have it ready to go without me intervening?

under ideas it says run as service,
is that a suggestion to the software developer? or is that an option in XP, to somehow have a program run as a service?

allen · #21 Post by **allen** » Thu Sep 27, 2007 1:40 am

the thing that pisses me off the most is,
the fan didn't used to make this buzzing noise,
it would just come on and spin nicely.

is my fan old and croaking? 10 months is all it lasts? and i should get warranty service?
or is this buzzing just the way it's going to be.

rek · #22 Post by **rek** » Thu Sep 27, 2007 5:31 am

Ockam's Razor suggests that it could simply be a prematurely failing fan bearing, or improperly secured fan assembly.. it happens sometimes, and is a common source of buzzing noises in small fans (whose bearings are particularly small, and as such prone to dying an early death).

allen · #23 Post by **allen** » Mon Oct 22, 2007 6:47 pm

thanks for all the help,

my fan got worse, i brought it to an authorized warranty service provider, and didn't want to leave my machine there for 3 days. ibm offered to send me the replacement fan, i got it, and replaced it myself. i also could've gone back to the warranty service provider with the fan and had them replace it for free.

the noise is gone.

any suggestions on settings/thresholds with tp fan control utility? to prolong fan life? if this happens again next year, i wont be under warranty and will have to pay for the fan.

thanks!
allen

Hellbore · #24 Post by **Hellbore** » Mon Oct 22, 2007 7:05 pm

While we are on the subject, someone REALLY needs to write a tpfancontrol version that works with Vista 64 bit.

my buzzing fan noise

my buzzing fan noise

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