[macgeek2005]

When I took my Mac Pro out of it's place to clean it and dust off the parts inside, the first thing I noticed when I put it back, plugged it in, and turned it on, is that it was making more noise that usual.

I tried to pin-point it, but couldn't. It seemed like, after the inital startup chime and the "ALL OUT FANS" racket, another machine of some sort started up in there. It didn't sound scary or bad, it just sounded like there was something in there that turned on. It made a mildly loud humming noise, like that of a normal computer. Definetaly not the Mac Pro's volume.

I got scared, so I booted up the computer on the software CD's, and when the CD spun in the upper optical drive, it would vibrate something in the computer, in a high pitch. It sounded almost like a siron. To the rythm of the disc spinning, the computer would go "wEEewEEwEE, etc".

Disk utility reported no problems anywhere, so I unplugged the computer, opened it up again, and reseated the hard drives and the ram again. I had already done this during the cleanup process.

When I plugged it back in and turned it on, PROBLEM GONE!

Startup chime, really loud fans, fans quiet down.... and then.... normal mac pro operating volume. No extra machine turned on in there.

However, we just had a power outage of several hours, and when the power finally came back on, and I turned on my computer, it was there again!!!

I had to do the same thing again. Re-seat the hard drives and the ram, and now it's back to normal.

I know that it would take countless hours or even days to pinpoint the culprit using trial and error, so I was wondering if any of you could take an accurate guess at what's making that extra noise, and whether it's a part of the computer turning on, or whether it's just vibration.

Thanks.

[macgeek2005]

Alright, I figured out it was all vibration. My Mac Pro is VIBRATING off of my hardwood floor. Now I finally understand everything. All the people that were saying the computer is so quiet, you guys were right!

While it was running, I very carefully lifted it up off the floor, and *SILENCE*. I put it back down, and this hum starts again.

Now, it doesn't bother me that much, but is it bad for the computer? Is there something I could set my computer on? Can you guys suggest something?

Thanks.

[Xyrrus]

Originally Posted by macgeek2005 

Alright, I figured out it was all vibration. My Mac Pro is VIBRATING off of my hardwood floor. Now I finally understand everything. All the people that were saying the computer is so quiet, you guys were right!

While it was running, I very carefully lifted it up off the floor, and *SILENCE*. I put it back down, and this hum starts again.

Now, it doesn't bother me that much, but is it bad for the computer? Is there something I could set my computer on? Can you guys suggest something?

Thanks.

I'd raise it at least a few inches off the floor by putting it on a stand of some sort. IMO putting it on your desk is best. I've heard one too many stories about water lines breaking and computers get deluged.

What you put it on to dampen the vibrations depends on your sense of asthetics. A piece of cardboard or some sort of rubber will probably work quite well, but won't look so great (less of an issue if its under your desk).

I don't think the vibrations will hurt it. After all, the case is vibrating even if you place it on a rubber mat - you're just stopping those vibrations from transferring to the floor.

-Xy

[macgeek2005]

Originally Posted by Xyrrus 

I'd raise it at least a few inches off the floor by putting it on a stand of some sort. IMO putting it on your desk is best. I've heard one too many stories about water lines breaking and computers get deluged.

What you put it on to dampen the vibrations depends on your sense of asthetics. A piece of cardboard or some sort of rubber will probably work quite well, but won't look so great (less of an issue if its under your desk).

I don't think the vibrations will hurt it. After all, the case is vibrating even if you place it on a rubber mat - you're just stopping those vibrations from transferring to the floor.

-Xy

So, no damage WHAT SO EVER, from the vibrations, even if I leave it on the floor?

If this is true, I think i'll leave it on the floor, cause it REALLY doesn't bother me. I was just worried about the computer.

[mutelight]

I was noticing the same thing, sine mine is on a hardwood floor as well. I found some thin strips of rubber and it completely alleviated the problem.

[derekn]

My old Beige G3 did that on the stand I used. The solution I used then was to just take an old mousepad, cut it into fours and put them under the G3s feet.

I think the same should be okay with the MacPro. You may want to put it on there to test and check how stable it is and decide if you're okay with it. Great use for old, useless mousepads.

[macgeek2005]

Originally Posted by mutelight 

I was noticing the same thing, sine mine is on a hardwood floor as well. I found some thin strips of rubber and it completely alleviated the problem.

Rubber huh? I'll see if I can find some of that. I put two washcloths underneath it, and i'd say it reduced the vibration by 80%, but it wasn't completely gone.

Right now theres barely any vibration, it seems to come and go at different times. If someone can confirm that it doesn't damage the computer at all, then i'll leave things the way they are right now.

Can someone confirm that?

[Xyrrus]

Originally Posted by macgeek2005 

Rubber huh? I'll see if I can find some of that. I put two washcloths underneath it, and i'd say it reduced the vibration by 80%, but it wasn't completely gone.

Right now theres barely any vibration, it seems to come and go at different times. If someone can confirm that it doesn't damage the computer at all, then i'll leave things the way they are right now.

Can someone confirm that?

Well I'm not a mechanical or computer engineer, but my line of reasoning goes something line this. The vibrations are coming from the hard drives. The fans are plastic, unlike the metal platters in the drives, and have better bearing systems. They also spin a lot slower - 2500rpm vs 7200rpm. So the drives are probably the culprit in *causing* the vibration. Hold a spinning 3.5" 7200 RPM drive in your hand while its attached to the computer via a ribbon cable and you'll feed first hand the amount of force that spinning disk generates.

What's vibration going to do to a computer? Aside from unseat components over time (any all the connectors in a modern PC tend to be pretty stiff), probably nothing. The item that's most likely to be "damaged" is something purely mechanical - like the platters on the HDD. But since the HDD is the device that causing the vibration in the first place, I find it hard to believe that its going to cause damage.

Again, that's basically just how I thought through it when I had the same problem. Maybe integrated circuts are incredibly succeptable to vibration and all my computers are ticking-- err humming -- time bombs.

-Xy

[- - e r i k - -]

Get some rubber nubs from a hardware store, it'll stop the vibrations and won't be noticeable.