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    Core Duo notebook - buzzing noises when on battery power?

    Discussion in 'Dell' started by Pandaren, Jun 11, 2006.

  1. Pandaren

    Pandaren Notebook Geek

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    My D620 is silent when on AC power, but on battery power, it makes constant buzzing sound, which seems to come from the left hand side of the machine near the vents.

    The noise sounds like electrical pulsing. I am sure it is not the fan or the HDD.

    Does anyone else who owns a Core Duo notebook notice this?
     
    Pandaren, Jun 11, 2006
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  2. Pandaren

    Pandaren Notebook Geek

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    Nobody has encountered this? With all The E1400 and 1700 machines, and D6/820 machines around, I'm surprised nobody has commented.
     
    Pandaren, Jun 12, 2006
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  3. gohanssjn

    gohanssjn Notebook Evangelist

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    I've heard of this problem, but don't remember where exactly. Happens when CPU idles. Do a google search and see if you find anything. I am pretty sure there was a program to trick the CPU to thinking it was working when it wasn't, and dropping the buzzing.

    Sorry I cannot be more specific :(
     
    gohanssjn, Jun 12, 2006
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  4. jmilesfox

    jmilesfox Notebook Enthusiast

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    I do know that a good number of Macbook Pros have this problem. It is linked to the Core Duo not being utilized enough. The easist fix is to have a program run in the background. This will reduce battery life, but to some (me) it was worth it. I also heard disabling the second CPU also got rid of the sound, this would reduce a negative impact on battery life. I bet that is why you are having this problem...
     
    jmilesfox, Jun 12, 2006
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  5. Pandaren

    Pandaren Notebook Geek

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    Disabling one core, disabling speedstep, or both, in BIOS, had no effect on the noise.

    Any other suggestions?
     
    Pandaren, Jun 13, 2006
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  6. Pandaren

    Pandaren Notebook Geek

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    I have a small update that may be of interest to some people

    I've been running I8KFanGUI to monitor the system temperatures. When I'm on AC Power, and my processor is at 1 GHz (lowest speed), idle temperatures can reach 50 Celcius or so and stay there until I push it to 52-53 and the system fan comes on.

    When I use battery power, my idle temperatures are 39-40 Celcius, at the same 1 GHz processor speed.

    My theory is that when the system goes to battery power, the processor is told to use the more advanced sleep states, and that this has something to do with the noises coming from the system. Maybe something in the system that supplies voltage to the CPU makes noise when it has to supply much lower than standard voltages.

    I suspect that the buzzing noises could be fixed with a software patch that prevents the CPU from using its deepest sleep states even when on DC power. However, this would probably cause the machine to run much hotter on battery power.
     
    Pandaren, Jun 13, 2006
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  7. Pandaren

    Pandaren Notebook Geek

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    I've got a solution!

    Link

    "i dont remember, but somewere someone said to change usb settings to get the internal noise to go away. i went to bios and set t he usb to high speed instead of "compatible" and the noise is significantly reduced. but the label says "will use more power". i dont know. cant really hear the buzz anymore" - azntwboy

    azntwboy's solution works! I went to the BIOS, and set the USB to high speed instead of legacy mode. Then I rebooted, unplugged the AC, and celebrated the zen-like silence. Until the HDD started reading :)

    All's good!
     
    Pandaren, Oct 27, 2006
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