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MBP Hard Drive "moo"


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MBP Hard Drive "moo"
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davidfalling
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Join Date: Nov 2005
Location: San Francisco, Ca
 
2006-04-06, 00:02

My macbook pro keeps making a periodic moo! Its really annoying, and i dont think it is supposed to be doing that! its not horrible, but it does get annoying. anyone else having the same problem. i have the 2.0 ghz with the 7200 rpm hard drive.
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Wickers
is not a kind of basket
 
Join Date: May 2004
 
2006-04-06, 00:08

Damn, too bad it's not your milk moo'in, could have won some sweet stuff.

(in all seriousness, until you figure out what's wrong, keep an off drive backup of ANYTHING and EVERYTHING important that you otherwise don't want to lose.)

You might want to give AppleCare a call.

no sig, how's that for being a rebel!
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BlueRabbit
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Join Date: May 2004
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2006-04-06, 00:29

Too bad it's not a 'Moof'... That would be really awesome, rather than annoying.

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turbulentfurball
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2006-04-06, 03:49

The first proper Mac virus is actually Mad Cow Disease? I never expected that
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scratt
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2006-04-06, 04:53

Quote:
Originally Posted by davidfalling
My macbook pro keeps making a periodic moo! Its really annoying, and i dont think it is supposed to be doing that! its not horrible, but it does get annoying. anyone else having the same problem. i have the 2.0 ghz with the 7200 rpm hard drive.
How hot is it running?
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davidfalling
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Join Date: Nov 2005
Location: San Francisco, Ca
 
2006-04-06, 12:16

everything is running great. (it gets pretty hot) but its just a periodic little "moo" like sound. i guess nobody else is having the same experience. i was thinking its because of the 7200 rpm drive.
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Mac Donald
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Join Date: Dec 2005
 
2006-04-06, 12:19

Quote:
Originally Posted by davidfalling
everything is running great. (it gets pretty hot) but its just a periodic little "moo" like sound. i guess nobody else is having the same experience. i was thinking its because of the 7200 rpm drive.
I have a 1.83, 5400 rpm hd, and I have the same thing. Doesn't really bother me, but I could see why it would bother some. When I get around to it, I am going to take it in as I have the whine also -- my computer is one of the earliest ones so I may as well get it upgraded to the latest revision for resale value in a few years. None of this stuff really bothers me though.

Someone hacked my signature. I demand an investigation.
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davidfalling
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Join Date: Nov 2005
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2006-04-06, 12:22

the ony reason it might bother me is if it got picked up in a microphone i was recording with. thats not acceptable.
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Mac Donald
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Join Date: Dec 2005
 
2006-04-06, 12:42

Quote:
Originally Posted by davidfalling
the ony reason it might bother me is if it got picked up in a microphone i was recording with. thats not acceptable.
Frankly, given the price of these machines, I don't begrudge anyone who thinks it is unacceptable. I just think I have more tolerance for these things. Nevertheless, I am going to try to get it fixed when I can go without my lappie for a week or so.

Someone hacked my signature. I demand an investigation.
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Brad
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Join Date: May 2004
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2006-04-06, 13:18

Since it does get picked up by the microphone, post a recording of it here so we can better determine if this is something normal or so that those of us who have never experienced a "hard drive moo" can know how it sounds.

The quality of this board depends on the quality of the posts. The only way to guarantee thoughtful, informative discussion is to write thoughtful, informative posts. AppleNova is not a real-time chat forum. You have time to compose messages and edit them before and after posting.
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davidfalling
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Join Date: Nov 2005
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2006-04-10, 01:03

Okay, so i recorded the "moo" sound, and put it up on my .mac page. its kinda noisy, but you'll definately hear it.

http://web.mac.com/thedavidfalling

Let me know if anyone else is having this problem. I am going to call applecare tomorrow and see whats up with it. I think its something worth having fixed.
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Dave
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2006-04-10, 01:18

Almost sounds like a fan whose blades are hitting a wire.
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PowerDrift
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2006-04-10, 01:45


And yeah, it does sound like a fan hitting a wire
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Ominx
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2006-04-10, 19:05

Quote:
Originally Posted by davidfalling
Okay, so i recorded the "moo" sound, and put it up on my .mac page. its kinda noisy, but you'll definately hear it.

http://web.mac.com/thedavidfalling

Let me know if anyone else is having this problem. I am going to call applecare tomorrow and see whats up with it. I think its something worth having fixed.
Yea...I have the moo too. It wasn't until I saw this thread that I realized it was actually coming from my MBP. I thought it was coming from my co-workers office...no pun intended. But that's how it sounds to me...very distant. I'll try and see if I can get a recording as well.
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defaultmike
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Join Date: Nov 2004
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2006-04-10, 21:08

Sounds like you've got a MooBook Pro!

def.sounds like a fan hitting a wire.
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billybobsky
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2006-04-10, 21:43

Have you told apple?

It actually does sound like a fan hitting something periodically...
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scratt
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2006-04-10, 21:51

I think it's hitting the enclosure.
Perhaps the fan flexes when it spins up and that is enough to foul any clearance in it's enclosure.. It's gonna make a mess inside your Mac as it wears the fan down, and may damage the motor eventually.

Then again, it may go away by itself, once it's worn the tips of the fan off!

'Remember, measure life by the moments that take your breath away, not by how many breaths you take'
Extreme Sports Cafe | ESC's blog | scratt's blog | @thescratt
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Ominx
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Join Date: Feb 2006
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2006-04-11, 09:42

As I said, my MBP had the moo too. It makes sense that it's a fan hitting something. For me, it is most definitely the right side fan. If I put my ear up to the bottom right hand side of the keyboard I can hear it perfectly (haven't been able to get a good recording though). But now I also realized, only the left fan ever turns on...never the right side. I'm having a feeling this is because it is trying to spin up, but because it is being restricted, it spins down as a safety measure to protect the motor. There has to me some sort of resistance limit set on the fan motor right.

I really never though anything of the moo...but now I'm a bit more concerned.

Edit:

After reading some more posts and studying this picture (http://eshop.macsales.com/Reviews/ha.../Image14.html), it seems there are two possibilities.

1.) The fan is hitting a wire (it doesn't look like it could be hitting the case)

2.) Because the right fan is located so closely to the thermostat, it is possible it is cooling it quickly...really quickly, causing the fan to only spin up for less than a second and the shutting down. This repeats until it is actually cooled down.

If #2 is indeed the problem, I'm guessing a firmware update could fix this.

Last edited by Ominx : 2006-04-11 at 10:03.
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tannenhauser
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Join Date: Aug 2005
 
2006-04-11, 10:04

i had this sound on my powerbook 17"... it bothered me for some time but i never called apple. then one day my logic board died and i had to send in my book. when it came back the moo was gone and has not returned, i would definitly call.
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Ominx
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Join Date: Feb 2006
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2006-04-11, 19:42

So I think I may have fixed the moo. I don't recommend this to the faint of heart, or those with a brain , but I decided to pop off the top case and take a look at the right fan. Getting the case apart really sucked. The sides were cake, but the front by the trackpad was a real PITA. Patience and steady prying hands. Anyway, there really wasn't much to see, there weren't any obvious obstructions or anything like that, so I screwed it all back together.

What happened next...I booted up and low and behold, I heard the right fan for the first time. As I said in a previous post, I have never heard my right fan on...and now both left and right fans are spinning at what I believe is normal speeds. Typically, my left fan would spin furiously, while the right would just sit there and moo.

So I'll wait and see how long it stays "fixed" and report back. I'm trying to really stress the machine out, and so far so good, both fans spinning nicely.
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Mugge
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Join Date: Jan 2005
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2006-04-12, 03:49

Quote:
Originally Posted by davidfalling
Okay, so i recorded the "moo" sound, and put it up on my .mac page. its kinda noisy, but you'll definately hear it.

http://web.mac.com/thedavidfalling

Let me know if anyone else is having this problem. I am going to call applecare tomorrow and see what's up with it. I think its something worth having fixed.
I counted eight "moo" sounds in that audio clip. It does sound a lot like a cow, but the amount of static noises makes me think it's amplified a lot. Still kinda scary since you have exactly the same specs as me. Is this something that could develop over time? I'm not very keen on taking mine apart before the warranty have expired.

Besides from all the seriousness, MacBook Moo does make a good pun.
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Ominx
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Join Date: Feb 2006
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2006-04-12, 09:32

Update:

Last night both fans were running fine and I did not experience the moo. However, this morning I had been running for well over an hour and the right fan nerver kicked on and then about 5 minutes ago...the moo. So I'm not really sure what is going on. It would definitely be a very weird coincidence if I opened the case and then all of a sudden the moo stopped and my right fan started working and yet the case had nothing to do with it in the first place. So my story probably sounds like a bunch of BS, but that's how it happened and for those with the moo, I just wanted to update.

I might try to open the case again tonight. A question to the techs out there...how dangerous is it to power up with the top case open? I'm sure opening it up isn't the smartest idea to begin with, but I really want to peak at that right fan on boot.
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Dave
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Location: Bay Area, CA
 
2006-04-12, 09:55

Sounds like the right fan is messed up. I'd take it to your local Apple store.
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copland
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Join Date: Nov 2005
 
2006-04-13, 01:27

As you are talking about the MacBook you still have warrenty on it. You shouldn't have it open up (I know that you know) - but you shouldn't have it open up!!
I control my technically geek mind until there is no warrenty left to void until I take warrenty offending insights! :smokey:
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lectro
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Join Date: Jan 2006
Location: San Francisco
 
2006-04-13, 17:06

Anyone tried using the istatpro widget http://www.apple.com/downloads/dashb.../istatpro.html to see if the fans are trying to spin when you hear the moo? If one fan is significantly slower than the other, you can take it to the Apple store...
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Ominx
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Join Date: Feb 2006
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2006-04-13, 20:29

Thanks for that link, I'm going to monitor it for a couple of hours.
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drewprops
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2006-04-13, 20:40

I don't hear any fans or wires.
I hear a holstein.

Don't have a cow man.
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Ominx
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Join Date: Feb 2006
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2006-04-13, 20:46

"Temps" and "Fans" are blank on my system. Has anyone else tried this widget on a MBP? Are you getting readings for either the temperature or fans?
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colivigan
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2006-04-13, 21:33

Somebody had to do this.

You're in big trouble, dude.

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davidfalling
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Join Date: Nov 2005
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2006-04-14, 13:34

Yeah, i have that widget on my MBP and temps and fans are blank for me too. Any ideas anyone? Im definately not opening my case up, i'll take in into the apple store, thats why i payed $239 for applecare! I've been too busy finishing up finals at school this week to take it in and/or call applecare. I'll let you guys know why apple says about this whole fiasco once i get a chance.
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