Recently I have noticed that the power supply for my Cinema Display has started emitting a high-pitched whine at night when it’s sleeping. It’s almost inaudible. Almost…
I have no idea what to do about this. I would shut it down on the switch, but that means turning off all the power in the bedroom (It’s an old building, one power outlet per room), and I hate not being able to simply sleep my computer.
I remember my old CRT monitor having the same problem, and it drove me nuts!
What the hell do I do!?
What about one of those power-strips with build in USB?
I have no idea if they shot the power to whatever plugged into them when the computer sleeps. But if they do, just lug your screen into the strip and it will shut off completely when you put your computer to sleep.
I think this is from the power supply. I had the same problem whenever I scrolled(eg. website in browser) or used 3D graphics. I just changed my power supply for my PC case, and problem was solved. This problem is common on power supplies used over a longer period…
You could wait 10-20 years until your high-pitch hearing starts to go. ;-) My parents can’t hear most of the whines that annoy me.
I’ve had this problem with all my monitors – even my current Dell flat panel. I took it apart and cleaned it since it was out of warranty anyway. It helped a bit and after two weeks it stopped completely. Haven’t heard it make a squeak since.
My old CRT monitor just stopped making the sound after a few weeks with out me doing anything. My theory is that it’s dust or something like that and it eventually gets toasted away and then the sound stops. Dunno if this is right at all though :)
I suggest turning your brightness down a little bit. I have a Gateway 21 inch LCD and I had initially configured all my brightness and contrast settings fairly high using the built-in controls. And whenever my brightness was set over 80 the monitor would have a high pitched whine. Once I brought my brightness down, it went away. Can’t say this is definitely the issue but it definitely helped me.
Well Matt, the thing is, it’s only when the display is sleeping… And usually only after it’s been sleeping for a little while. Or at least I think so.
Morten, I would take it apart, but it’s an external power supply for an Apple Cinema Display. Good luck breaking one of those open and not decimating it in the process :)
I wonder if they sell those power bricks on the side…
Just start complatining to Apple Support. After enough call and “it’s getting worse” and “I can’t take it to a service ceenter” they may offer to service it or replace the power supply outright…
I actually have the same problem with my external power brick for my laptop. It only does the high-pitched whine when the laptop is off.
I never really thought much of it, but this has piqued my interest. It’s off to Google I go…
Oh yeah, I forgot, my 3-year-old Powerbook powerbrick does the same…
I get a similar sound from my PowerBook’s battery, but only when it’s charging.
[quote comment=“100633”]I get a similar sound from my PowerBook’s battery, but only when it’s charging.[/quote]
Lucky you. I get nothing from my battery. Not even power.
My first-gen iMac G5 had the same problem and replacing the power supply fixed the issue. I doubt that the Cinema Display has any customer installable parts, but you should be able to get something useful from Apple Support.
[quote post=“2476”]Lucky you. I get nothing from my battery. Not even power.[/quote]
Wow. At least you have something to fill that hole in your PowerBook / MBP! (Dude, you should get yourself a new one ;-)
I remember reading about a power strip (not sure where, Life Hacker maybe?), that has one outlet for your computer and several for peripherals. When the computer shuts down, it cuts off power to the other outlets to save power. That might do the trick, although I don’t know if sleeping the computer is enough to trigger the switch.
That said, I would try to get a new power supply. An old CRT I used had that problem and it drove me up the wall; it just kept getting worse. The MacBook power supplies are about $80 so the monitor ones are probably in that same range. Who knows, you might be able to talk Apple out of a new one ;-)
Have you tried hitting it? I’ve found that a solid whack does more good than anything else.
noise like that could be from a capacitor going bad. i worked as a tech at an apple specialist a while back and we used to hear that noise from airports with bad caps.
Ditto on the PowerBook power supply. Mine only buzzes when I’ve put the machine to sleep. The other odd thing, is the same noise come from the lower left hand corner of the screen when I move the mouse near that area and browse the Dock. I’ve never figured out why.
Good news is, my iMac Core Duo doesn’t give so much as a whisper when it’s asleep.
The PSU in my PC started making a high pitched whine about a week ago. It’s gone now though…
It’s only a few months old as well.
This is probably the closest thing I could find to what you’re hearing.
http://repairfaq.ece.drexel.edu/sam/smpsfaq.htm#smpsmcp
It’s the second last bullet point there. I presume the reason you only hear it when it’s asleep is because the voltage going through it is low.
Easiest thing to do is replace the power brick I’d imagine.
Unplug and save electricity?
Actually, the most likely cause of this is your hearing. I’m one of those people with extremely high-range hearing: I can hear when a television is on (muted) from outside my apartment. Audio engineers call this the “60hz hum”. Not all equipment produces it and not all of the time. Wikipidea has an article on a related phenomenon called Mains Hum
In film recording, televisions are often used to display the film as actors dub over lines, record sound effects, record music, etc. One of the hallmark signs of poor recording is this 60hz hum. Even the big boys fall prey to it. Lord of the Rings is full, and I mean FULL of 60hz hum that cuts in and out as dubbed-over lines are inserted into shots. The soundtrack to The Fountain also contains a lot of 60hz hum.
The only thing you might be able to do about it is to ground-lift the power (so that it no longer grounded). Likely, there is nothing you can do about it so think of that hum as a friendly reminder that you have excellent hearing.
Oliver, the Mains Hum is quite low frequency, so I doubt that’s it since what we’re hearing is extreme high frequency.
I’ve always been able to hear a CRT TV ‘whine’ when many other people have not. From what I understand, that high-pitch whine is the frequency of the left to right line scanning, which is in the range of 15-16khz, although I’m sure there’s also the hum from the vertical scan frequency.
In most cases, the whine on monitors comes from incorrect refresh rate settings. Go to your display properties, on the Settings tab, and click “Advanced”. Within one of the subsequent tabs (usually “Monitor”), you will be able to change the refresh rate, in Hertz. Play with the settings until the obnoxious whining ceases.
Rebutle on the 60 cycle hum…….I have many years in the industry and a 60 cycle hum is certainly not a high pitch. 60Hz is well within the hearing range of us humans. It is more of a midrange sound.
The problem I believe is caused by a leaky filter capacitor creating an oscilator with its surounding components. When you turn the power off it more than likely sounds like it is fading and going up slightly in pitch.
In short, the cost of PC ATX and microATX supplies is completely reasonable and well worth it to simply replace the supply. That of course is for those of you refering to PC towers and such. As for the monitors and display equipment, well……unfortunately the work to repair this (because the power supplies are usually not modular units within the chasis) would cost as much if not more than getting a new unit.
Chow for now and good luck
My desktop power supply emits a high pitched whine all the time.
i have a odd problem. my NEC 1700M+ works fine, then it goes black, and starts with some squealing sounds from the speakers…soi dont know if the problem is my video card or monitor……..the problem is intermittent. any ideas?
i dont have another monitor to test with…