[stryfe]

Heya,

I purchased a new 17" iMac in August and I love it - except for one really annoying problem. For some reason I can't understand, I sometimes hear a very high pitched squeel coming from the system. It's loud enough so if I have a stereo or TV on and I'm infront of the computer, I hear the squeel over the noise from the device.
I initally thought it would be a Hard Disk problem. However my brother, who works for Apple, said it is because of the video card. He said his Powerbook G4 does the same thing. I can't think why the world it would do this. If it continues without a good answer, I might need to take it in for service and I'd love to avoid that. Any ideas?

[snct]

Sounds like a fan motor is going bad. Taking it in for service is a good idea, though it may continue to squeal like that for some time before the fan dies... But when it dies, you'll really be screwed .

[discotronic]

On the 1GHz 17" I had the same problem. From what I have heard, all of those models had the same problem. I upgraded to the 1.25GHz and it doesn't have the sound. I think that your brother is right about the video card. I have heard that is the cause a few times.

[MichaelB43]

Originally posted by stryfe:
Heya,

I purchased a new 17" iMac in August and I love it - except for one really annoying problem. For some reason I can't understand, I sometimes hear a very high pitched squeel coming from the system. It's loud enough so if I have a stereo or TV on and I'm infront of the computer, I hear the squeel over the noise from the device.
I initally thought it would be a Hard Disk problem. However my brother, who works for Apple, said it is because of the video card. He said his Powerbook G4 does the same thing. I can't think why the world it would do this. If it continues without a good answer, I might need to take it in for service and I'd love to avoid that. Any ideas?

Although it doesn't sound like mine does it nearly as loud as yours, my 17" 1Ghz iMac does have that same noise. It sounds electrical, not mechanical. In other words, it isn't the fan. It seems to do it when I click on something. The video card seems reasonable. In any case, it doesn't bother me, as it is very subtle. In fact, I wouldn't doubt it if most PC's do this, but the noise is masked by the fan. The iMac is just so darn quiet that you'd notice every little noise it makes.

If mine were as loud as it seems yours is, I would bring it down to the dealer in a heartbeat.

Mike

[hempcamp]

My 15" iMac has the same occasional high-pitched squeal. It really sounds to me like it's the hard disk when it is spinning up all the way -- like when I am doing several processor-intensive tasks at once.

Mildly annoying, but liveable.

--Chris