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Cei · Apr 30, 2005, 07:48 AM

Dual 2.5 G5, 2Gb RAM, Radeon 9800XT OEM.

Updated to Tiger last night and went to bed...when I turned the machine on this morning I became aware of a very faint pulsing noise coming from the back of the G5 which hadn't been there before. It's now really irritating, as I can hear it all the time above the general running noise of the system. It's not that loud, but definitely audible.

How come an update to Tiger can cause this? Has anybody else experienced this at all?

Skaar · Apr 30, 2005, 08:37 AM

I've noticed the same pulsing noise coming from my G5 after installing Tiger as well, and it's starting to become annoying.

Cei · Apr 30, 2005, 08:49 AM

I'm on to AppleCare this second, will keep you updated!

Cei · Apr 30, 2005, 09:41 AM

Update:

Tier 1 were clueless.

Tier 2 were baffled, but eventually solved the problem.

First of all, run repair disk permissions. Then, delete your power management file in Library. Restart (your machine may actually crash), and it should be gone on boot.

Skaar · Apr 30, 2005, 08:44 PM

Thanks for checking this out with Apple. I just got home from work and tried it out and it works! Woohoo! Thanks!

Big Mac · Apr 30, 2005, 11:01 PM

Originally Posted by Cei

Update:

Tier 1 were clueless.

Tier 2 were baffled, but eventually solved the problem.

First of all, run repair disk permissions. Then, delete your power management file in Library. Restart (your machine may actually crash), and it should be gone on boot.

Glad Apple figured it out for you. Their tier 1 tech support reps work off a script and appear to be equally ignorant whether they are from here or overseas. Once you get to the second tier you're talking to knowledgeable staff.

Thomas_MacFreak · May 3, 2005, 05:49 PM

Originally Posted by Cei

Update:

Tier 1 were clueless.

Tier 2 were baffled, but eventually solved the problem.

First of all, run repair disk permissions. Then, delete your power management file in Library. Restart (your machine may actually crash), and it should be gone on boot.

This file? com.apple.PowerManagement.plist

I tried deleting this file now, and I did a restart, but I still hear cricket sounds when viewing the new RSS Visualizer in Tiger. Do you hear this sound too, when viewing the RSS Visualizer?

TheAlbinoBowler · May 3, 2005, 06:29 PM

yeah, i've been researching this as well, and the only thing that I can find to stop it is disabling Nap from the chud tools, but I keep reading this isn't recommended for prolonged amounts of time...if deleting a pref file can help this that would rule. so is it the file Thomas_MacFreak specified?

Thomas_MacFreak · May 3, 2005, 06:38 PM

Originally Posted by TheAlbinoBowler

yeah, i've been researching this as well, and the only thing that I can find to stop it is disabling Nap from the chud tools, but I keep reading this isn't recommended for prolonged amounts of time...if deleting a pref file can help this that would rule. so is it the file Thomas_MacFreak specified?

I have also had success on getting rid of the cricket sounds by turning off NAP with CHUD tools (Processor pref.pane), but as you say, Apple does not recommend turning NAP off.

I have tried deleting the pref-file several times now, rebooted, reset PRAM, without any luck. I notice a little intermittent electrical beep if I set the processors to perform at "Highest" speed (Energy Saver settings). This beep goes away when the processors are set back to "Automatic". I believe that is why those of you who tried to delete the PowerManagement.plist file got rid of the beeping. You maybe had your processors set to "Highest", and then when deleting the pref.file the power settings changed back to defaults ("Automatic").

I am thinking about calling Apple support soon(I have AppleCare on my system), but will do some more research before I do that.

killabyte · May 4, 2005, 12:25 AM

I just got my PowerMac G5 today and noticed the same weird electrical chirping under CPU load. Disabling nap does the trick but I can't get this other method for solving it to work. Hopefully Apple comes up with a fix.

Thomas_MacFreak · May 4, 2005, 02:19 AM

Originally Posted by killabyte

I just got my PowerMac G5 today and noticed the same weird electrical chirping under CPU load. Disabling nap does the trick but I can't get this other method for solving it to work. Hopefully Apple comes up with a fix.

This electrical chirping was present during the early days of Panther too (10.3.4, 10.3.5). It was gone in 10.3.6 through 10.3.9. When upgrading to Tiger, the chirping has come back. As you say, turning off NAP does the trick, but it is not smart to do that. Your processors rise to the max temperature and stays there (80� celsius), until your turn on NAP again. Apple has done major changes under the hood (in the kernel) of Mac OS X Tiger. Read more about that here: http://arstechnica.com/reviews/os/macosx-10.4.ars/4

I believe some of these changes may be the reason why the chirping is back.

Cei · May 4, 2005, 06:02 AM

Ah ha...time to ring AppleCare again then - I don't want my CPUs trolling along on Automatic, as it seems to take a while to notice I actually want to do some work!

Thomas_MacFreak · May 4, 2005, 10:00 AM

Originally Posted by Cei

Ah ha...time to ring AppleCare again then - I don't want my CPUs trolling along on Automatic, as it seems to take a while to notice I actually want to do some work!

Please let us know what AppleCare has to say

. That would be much appreiciated!

gperks · May 6, 2005, 11:56 PM

I have the same chirping noise, about once per second, that you can hear when idling (e.g. when reading this post).

I repaired permissions, removed the power management plist, rebooted; no change.

So if anyone finds another fix, please post!

Also, under the default account the PM will sleep. Under my wife's account, migrated from a Mac mini, the display will sleep but the PM will not. Yet Energy Saver shows identical settings for each account (indeed, the power management plist is in /System not ~/System). Any ideas why the PM wouldn't sleep?

Cei · May 9, 2005, 05:16 AM

Originally Posted by Thomas_MacFreak

Please let us know what AppleCare has to say

. That would be much appreiciated!

Am planning to ring them this week - need to find the spare hour or two it always takes! I might email the guy who dealt with the case though...

NY152 · May 9, 2005, 06:41 AM

Sorry for the dumb question. What is NAP and what does it do?

Thanks

Thomas_MacFreak · May 9, 2005, 06:56 AM

Originally Posted by NY152

Sorry for the dumb question. What is NAP and what does it do?

Thanks

Computer Hardware Understanding Development Tools (CHUD Tools)

The CHUD Tools are applications and tools for measuring and optimizing software performance on Mac OS X as well as for hardware bringup and system benchmarking.

The CHUD Tools are delivered as a part of the Xcode Tools for Tiger.

Read more here:
http://developer.apple.com/tools/per.../overview.html

When you install CHUD tools, you get a new System Preference pane, called Processor. In there you can disable NAP. Apple does not recommend doing this. Your fans speed up, but you get rid of the crickets. I have tried it, and it works, but I do not want my processors or fans going bananas, so I will wait for Apple or somebody else to come with an other solution.

I've read in the Apple Discussions that some owners of the new Power Mac G5 Dual 2.3 and Dual 2.7GHz, do not experience any soft beeps/chirps/crickets. Apple must fix this soon, for all other PM G5-users too.

Skaar · May 9, 2005, 09:12 AM

Well, the chirping is back. I went into the energy saver preference and set the processor speed to highest, and as soon as I did it started again.

bells0 · May 10, 2005, 09:03 AM

I've got this too!

callefoss · May 10, 2005, 09:06 AM

me too. Pretty fu%*#ing annoying.

jasonsRX7 · May 10, 2005, 09:18 AM

I'm picking up a new power supply and installing it this afternoon. My system chirps badly with the RSS screensaver. I'll post back if it solved the problem, but from what I've seen and read, it's about a 50/50 chance of getting a non chirping power supply.

callefoss · May 10, 2005, 09:28 AM

are you saying that Tiger damages the power supply!? Can't be..or?

jasonsRX7 · May 10, 2005, 10:06 AM

Originally Posted by callefoss

are you saying that Tiger damages the power supply!? Can't be..or?

No, not damage.. but it does some things that seem to increase the likelihood of hearing the chirp (such as the RSS screensaver). This article from ars explains it exactly. It's been a problem since the G5s first came out, and mentioned in these boards several times. I never had it before because I used to have a single G5 and they weren't affected. Now that I have a dual, the noise is driving me nuts.

NY152 · May 10, 2005, 12:06 PM

My new dual 2.7 has the notorious chirping. But like others here only when I have the processor speed set to highest. When in automatic no noise.

I'm Matt · May 10, 2005, 12:10 PM

Mark me as one more annoyed customer. It is things like this that will make me buy the extended AppleCare.

callefoss · May 10, 2005, 12:17 PM

well it has to be a software issue since I did not have this under 10.3.6-9. Just have to wait for Apple to releaase an update I guess

I'm Matt · May 10, 2005, 01:13 PM

i've had it since last july when i got the machine. 10.3-10.4 has always given me a problem. also it makes a high-pitched whine in column view if i click on a video file and the preview icon appears. very annoying.

Webscreamer · May 10, 2005, 05:33 PM

It always happened to me when rending graphic on screen.

starman · May 10, 2005, 09:23 PM

Ok, I'm not the only one.

Dual 2 GHz G5.

I get this annoying "chirping" noise which goes hand-in-hand with CPU usage. Scroll a web page - chirping. Run the RSS screen saver - LOTS of chirping!

Mike

jasonsRX7 · May 10, 2005, 10:11 PM

The original poster of this thread mentions this application which you can download and use to test your system for the chirp. It actually plays a tune with the power supply. It's very loud and annoying on my system.

funkysmurf · May 11, 2005, 04:03 AM

It's happening here as well. Dual 2.5.
Watching tv on HD or RSS screensaver makes it more constant.
Would love a solution to this.

Cei · May 11, 2005, 05:47 AM

Righto, update from AppleCare...

My tier 3 technical support guy, Tomas(first name terms and all...) is worried. He's checking with the engineering department to see what's going on - I mentioned that other people are having the same issue and it's been tied down to the performance setting of the machine, and it's happening on the dual 2.7 model as well.

Hopefully I'll get an email from him sometime soon, with maybe some information from the engineering department. I've linked him to this thread as well.

Thomas_MacFreak · May 12, 2005, 04:45 PM

Originally Posted by Cei

My tier 3 technical support guy, Tomas(first name terms and all...) is worried. He's checking with the engineering department to see what's going on - I mentioned that other people are having the same issue and it's been tied down to the performance setting of the machine, and it's happening on the dual 2.7 model as well.

Hopefully I'll get an email from him sometime soon, with maybe some information from the engineering department. I've linked him to this thread as well.

Good to know they are on to the problem now! Thank you for your effort. Please let us know when you get an e-mail from AppleCare (Tomas)

zakatov · May 13, 2005, 05:39 PM

My once-per-second chirping noise does not go away at Automatic CPU setting... It's insanely annoying and distracting. Brand new Dual 2ghz Rev C. Why by the 3rd revision Apple can't get this right is beyond me...

x Infinity

nod · May 14, 2005, 07:20 PM

This chirping has been an issue since the first rev. G5s. It's been quite an issue in the pro-audio world. I wonder why there are still techs in the Apple support world who still aren't aware of this issue, and better yet, why it's still such a major problem.

callefoss · May 17, 2005, 06:29 AM

does not seem as 10.4.1 solved the beeping issue

d.fine · May 17, 2005, 06:58 AM

I used to have this on my RevB Dual 2.0, but it has been gone since 10.3.6 ... Hope Apple comes up with a solution for all of those who have this annoying problem.

Big Mac · May 17, 2005, 07:06 AM

I thought the chirp was dead way back when. My G5 has never chirped on 10.3.4, 10.3.5 and 10.3.9, set on Automatic.

Marv · May 17, 2005, 07:16 AM

Great. I was just going to pull the trigger and get Tiger. No thanks, I'll wait.

Darn!

Marv

bells0 · May 17, 2005, 08:23 AM

hmmm - thought it had gone with 10.4.1, but was a brief lunch stop at home, so will have another listen after work to confirm [rev b dual 1.8]

bells0 · May 17, 2005, 01:19 PM

Nope. i stand corrected, wasn't there when i got in, did some photo shop edits and it's come back again - that combined with the damn chirping something makes whenever i mess with images [is this the graphics card??]

Annoying, but still quieter than my PC!

Cory Bauer · May 18, 2005, 05:35 AM

My revision A Dual 2Ghz G5 chirps when it's working, such as rendering video in Final Cut or encoding video in Compressor, which is what it's doing right now. When it's doing nothing, setting Energy Saver to "Highest" performance will cause it to chirp all the time. Setting to "Automatic" keeps him quiet when he's not thinking. Been there through every OS X update that I'm aware of, including Tiger. Of course, there was that period of time with 10.3.7 or 10.3.8 (I don't remember which) where the fans went berserk about once an hour - that was really special.

It doesn't bother me too much because even with the electronic crickets Apple decided to bundle inside every Powermac G5, it's still a thousand times quieter than the Dual 1Ghz G4 Vacuum cleaner it replaced. Besides, when the chirping stops I know my render/encode is done

modernpixel · May 25, 2005, 12:42 AM

I have a first generation Dual 2.0Ghz. My machine used to have the baby bird chirping. But throughout the time I've had the machine (since whenever it was released) the sounds have morphed and grown. My machine has several very special sound effects now (I guess all you who are jealous will have to wait for your G5s to age a bit before they are able to manufacture this cacophony.)

1.) Cricket Chirping - this is the once per second chirp that happens when I using the computer at all, even moving the mouse around without touching anything.

2.) Pulsing - this annoys me the least, it's a constant mechanical heartbeat.

3.) Alien Morse Code - this is like cricket chirping, but much louder and in constant chunks of repetition. It happens when portions of the GUI are being toyed with (scrolling, moving windows, RSS screensaver, playing Quicktime movies.)

4.) Crickets on Crack - this is the absolute worst of them all. It happens whenever I'm doing anything processor intensive. It is at it's peak when using Motion and realtime playback. It is a VERY loud, sped up version of the cricket chirping that sounds like electrical screeching. The sound is so annoying, in fact, that my roommate can hear it from across the room, so I have to limit my Motion time to when he isn't around. Truly a nightmare.

Set processor to different speeds - no difference.
Tried trashing the powermanagement prefs. - nothing.
Have run all flavors of OS X since Jaguar and the machine has chirped through all of them.
Haven't done the CHUD trick - I don't think I should have to worry about a meltdown just to override a clear defect in Apple's machines.

It kills me that Apple won't directly address this problem. It's criminal.

Frida's Boss · May 25, 2005, 08:41 AM

I believe that my machine is talking to your machine using the Alien Morse Code® you mentioned above. 'Tis crap.

flanders · May 25, 2005, 11:56 AM

You don't need to fix the chirping, just run iTunes more often with larger speakers.

Frida's Boss · May 25, 2005, 12:40 PM

And if you can still hear it then get better speakers.

d.fine · May 25, 2005, 05:04 PM

ANd if that doesn't work get some headphones, big ones...

Frida's Boss · May 31, 2005, 01:56 PM

Originally Posted by jasonsRX7

The original poster of this thread mentions this application which you can download and use to test your system for the chirp. It actually plays a tune with the power supply. It's very loud and annoying on my system.

I tried this and it made me laugh. It also pissed me off.
Any of you have success in getting the PS replaced and having it fix the problem?

Nelsun · Jun 1, 2005, 01:07 AM

Can someone record this sound and host it somewhere? I just got my first G5, a 2.7. So I have no previous experience to judge by. Thanks!

I'm Matt · Jun 1, 2005, 10:13 PM

Here is a recording I made using my iPod and the Belkin mic. I used the SystemLoad app mentioned earlier in the thread to provide the 100% load on both of the processors.
Apple really screwed the G5 owners with these defective power supplies and it is about time they own up to it and replace these pieces of shite. Thank you and have a fantasgreat day.