[hihowareyou]

i have a 1.33 12" powerbook and ever since i got it i've noticed that if i stand up and walk around with the computer turned on (i don't do it often but if i am changing tables etc) i hear a buzzing sound that is quite loud. it also happens if i have the laptop on my lap and change the angle. i think it is the fan but i'm not sure. before it only happened now and again but now it happens all the time.

has anyone else had this happen to them and should i worry about it?
if it is only the sound and nothing more then i won't bother taking it to get checked out but i don't want to kill my computer and i don't want apple to kill it on my behalf (i keep hearing horror stories)

thanks

[asodamiac]

hmm.. same pb as you:

http://forums.macnn.com/69/mac-notebooks/252283/buzzing-from-12-powerbook/

similar problem. maybe its because something is a little loose and the fan is causing it to vibrate? you should read through the thread and see if anything helpful comes up. good luck.

[hihowareyou]

i know the sound that he is talking about but this one is different. it is louder and more like a lightsaber or something.

[analogika]

BACK UP YOUR DATA NOW.

AND I MEAN NOW.

That lightsaber noise when changing angles is *exactly* what I had on my 12" Powerbook's internal drive (and exactly how I described it to others - it's actually a pretty cool sound).

The bearings in my hard drive were failing, and every movement of the 'book would cause the platters (held stable by gyroscopic forces) to vibrate in the bearings, until finally, some weeks later and within half an hour, the thing started vibrating, hissing, and failed completely.

BACK UP NOW AND TAKE IT IN IF IT'S STILL UNDER WARRANTY.

BUT BACK UP NOW!!!

[hihowareyou]

thanks. it has been doing it for almost a year but yeh, i think i was just being lazy about not taking it in. i have another year of apple care but your right.

i think deep down i just don't think i'll be able to cope without my computer

[analogika]

Let me tell you that after you heard that hard drive grind down to its miserable death the way I did, you will never trust it again the way you did before. Those were some of the worst noises I've ever heard - partly because they meant irrecoverable loss of 20 GB of data (my new backup disk, ironically, was on order but hadn't arrived yet).

[hihowareyou]

on waking up this morning my powerbook froze and came up with the multi language warning for the first time ever.

is it possible that what happened this morning could be related?

i backed everything up yesterday and i'm going to wait until i get tiger before i take it in to be repaired. it seem like a waste to have preordered it just not to have a computer when it arrives. so hopefully my poor computer lasts another week.

[analogika]

If your hard drive is failing, the chances of actually having a fully functioning system after installing are pretty close to zero due to increasing read/write errors.

As you found this morning.

If you've backed up everything, don't touch those backups until you've had your drive replaced. Chances are increasing that whatever's on your internal drive is going corrupt.

[hihowareyou]

thanks for all the help analogika.
do you think that it is likely that apple will put in a new HD based on the sound alone? i found this topic on the apple support page that seems to suggest that they don't really know what is making the sound, they even replaced someone's logicboard in order to try and fix the problem and they sent a few back to people claiming it is normal: http://discussions.info.apple.com/we...6@.68a45de8/17

[analogika]

Hm.

a) have you backed up? I hope you've backed up.

b) what does the S.M.A.R.T. test (sounds like a crime syndicate from a 60's TV show) in Disk Utility say about your drive?

I'd just try bringing it in. If the sound comes from the front left palmrest, it certainly is NOT normal and is MOST likely the hard drive.

c) you HAVE backed up, haven't you?

[hihowareyou]

a) yes i backed up the other day
b) s.m.a.r.t status says verified

i don't know when i'll find time to take it in but when i do i'll keep everyone posted.