High Pitch (Whine) Noise Issue - Dell to fix by BIOS update

While getting my grainy screen replaced, I pointed out to the Dell technician that my Vostro 1500 was making a high pitched whining noise from the left side of the computer. This noise can also be heard though headphones when plugged in.

The Dell technician after hearing the noise for himself rang Dell who organised a motherboard replacement after looking up the problem on their database. The motherboard was replaced today but the noise was still present. The Dell technician then rang Dell again and here is what they said:

They have done more investigation and discovered that the noise is caused by the way the power is regulated by the Intel chipset (or something along those lines). They have been discussing this with Intel and there is a BIOS update which will be released in the next week or so via Dell Support.

 

So will this apply for all Dell Inspiron/XPS/Vostro lines? I don't understand how a BIOS firmware will re-direct how power is regulated.

 

I guess so.

I can only go by what I was told.

People have been claiming success with that RMClock software, so if that works an update to the BIOS will.

 

Using RMClock actually makes the processor not go into a low power state and hence the battery life runs out much quicker.... This cant be counted as a solution to the problem but merely a workaround at the sacrifice of battery life....

I do not know about how effective a BIOS update would be in fixing this problem but it might work and if so I m happy too

 

don't get your hopes up. I still think it is a hardware promblem (low quality motherboard parts and poor insulation) that picks up the interference from the intel chip. I do have my fingers crossed. Atleast someone at dell Admitted the problem.

 

this helped for me : go to control panel - system - device manager
under bluetooth radios (my xps doesnt have a built in radio but still the option was there, strange but true) go to dell truemobile 355 or whatever it might be called on your laptop - go to properties - power management and uncheck "allow the computer to turn off this device to save power" That made the noise disappear in my case

if you have any questions feel free to contact me
[email protected]

hope this helped


edit: rmclock helps aswell but that makes the CPU go full throttle all the time so this is better for your temperature etc

 

I can't believe dell is finally going to fix this issue. The whine is really annoying and I'm tired of using rmclock to fix it.

 

That's right, it is good they are finally about to fix it.

You shouldn't have to run any 3rd party software or deactivate some settings in Control Panel to fix the problem.

 

If this is true why do some intel systems have the noise and others do not

 

Some have it and some don't. It is experienced by all manufacturers and isnt specific to any component or CPU. Its just luck that you get a system without it.

There is no fix and I can state this having just got off the phone with Dell L3 techs.

I can lead you to documents that show that this actually goes back to 1993 and has been hit hard by some but all have got it at some point.

I have just submitted a possible simple fix to Dell which has yet to be tried and has no battery drainage effects.

We will see.

 

yea i just tried that herre and it seems to have stopped it, i might be paranoid however cause it seems like it might just be a higher pitch now but at least the annoying sound is basically gone. does unchecking that box affect the computer in any negative way?

 

Well thats got our hopes up

 

lol you submitted a possible fix to Dell without any negative effects. Are you a computer engineer? Computer scientist?

 

No and no... but I am the guy with the right connection to turn heads in Dell. Such was the example (if you go back in my posts) of all the Canadian cancellations because of incorrect skus...lil ole me tackled that and then was...thanked appropriately.

As far as the 'fix' if it is, its a thought and seems to be working on 10 plus machines right now. I have been working very closely on the squealing issue for almost a year now...made alot of good contacts in the mean time.

And why would you have to be a computer engineer or scientist to find a fix? Hmm.

Edit...I not bragging or boasting in any way...Im not here for that. Although my system doesnt have the problem, I am very interested still as I was so involved with my last system.

 

It will be interesting to see if the BIOS update actually fixes the problem...

 

Can you tell us this potential fix? or u waiting to see what happens?

 

I have put it all around... I had another today tell me it works. i have also been told it may have already been known but...

control panel/device manager/bluetooth radiios/'your' bluetooth (not enumerator)/power management and uncheck allow Vista to put device to sleep.

There is no battery change/decrease because of this and several say it works well.

No big thing...

 

Ah ok...didnt work for me unfortunately.

 

Yeah, it didn't work for me either... too bad. Hopefully this BIOS update will do the trick. It's pretty annoying...

 

Folks...please dont get your hopes up for any bios fix soon... This problem has been plaguing every manufacturer for too many years and none has yet to find a cure, including Dell from my latest discussions with them yesterday.

I would suggest we remind ourselves of the reliability rate and knowledge level of CSRs before we place any faith in this rumour; as true or false as it may be.

Dont get me wrong...I would love to see a fix. I just think we are getting our hopes up way too fast on third, no fourth party info.


http://support.dell.com/support/top...d=0A7D5CD2E17F5125E0401E0A55176204&doclang=en

 

So I don't even have bluetooth in my Vostro. Is there any other way I can prevent my computer from entering the C3 power state? I'm already aware of RM Clock and that seems only to be able to prevent the C4 stage anyways. I keep my laptop plugged in all the time, so I don't really care about power saving. This noise is driving me mad!

 

actually i have read other brands of systems that had the cpu whine fixed it as well via a bios update so i can fully believe this ..

 

I've noticed in comparison with my first M1330 that battery life has reduce by 30 mins? I think with my old M1330 I can get 5.5 hrs and now I can only get just about 5 with full battery saving mode. I think dell in A05 bios just auto disabled C4 state to fix the issue... I don't think that there's any other solution. I didn't notice any "functions" on enabling or disable C4 so I assume either I got lucky or dell simply just force C4 off on its bios.

 

zfactor...can you provide any documentation of the other brands?? articles?

If you look through the threads...other brands are inundated with the same problem...

http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=85477&highlight=squeal

http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=169194&highlight=high+pitch

http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=103747&highlight=high+pitch

http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=166554&highlight=high+pitch

http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=146261&highlight=high+pitch

http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=135890&highlight=high+pitch



http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=7557&highlight=squeal

http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=146173&highlight=squeal

http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=95642&highlight=squeal

http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=93548&highlight=squeal

http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=70440&highlight=squeal

There are so many of EVERY manufacturer...I cant keep up.

 

If some computers get it and some dont..wouldnt it just mean that there is a single cure?
Cause then it would be hard to believe its been going for this long cause they couldve tried everything

 

I'm usually on the computer late at night before I go to bed. After I shut down my laptop and lay down in bed I STILL HEAR THE WHINING NOISE. I think this high-pitched noise is damaging my ears.

 

Flamenko I'm just curious which systems had this kind of squeal (you said it goes back to '99)... I've never heard of any squeal from processors before. I had two laptops in my family and two desktops. Never heard of any squeal... In fact, before visiting NBR I've never even heard of this sort of incident.

 

i hear a whine from my battery when it is charging. maybe this is what some people are hearing too.

 

In my case, my battery is tucked away. All I use is AC power, baby!

 

Some casual research has made it clear to me that the MacBook Pro had some problems CPU whining.

http://www.engadget.com/2006/03/14/whining-macbook-pro-youre-not-alone

Edit: ROFL -- http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=303365

 

Ugh.. the more I delve into this issue the more pissed I'm getting. This was written four months ago on another forum:

http://forum.tabletpcreview.com/showthread.php?t=3516&page=8

Edit: Here is an online petition that was started before Apple acknowledged there was a problem. It got 1,899 signatures. -- http://www.petitiononline.com/whinefix/petition.html

 

I got both CPU whine and AC whine while charging. It is the same for both first and replacement laptop. Some people are right and not crazy. I can also hear the high pitch noise after I shut down the laptop and walked away for few minutes. It is definitely doing some human body damage.

 

The more I think about it the more I believe that Dell is going to respond to this issue exactly the same way that HP did. That is to add an option in an "updated" BIOS to disable the C4 function.

HP Support

 

hey guys, i have the same problem. i am using rmclock but haven't disabled the c4 or run HLT command(i know that both of these options will remove the noise completely) since i want more bat life. I still get the whine noise but it is minimal when using the program under my settings. anyways, i was wondering if intel can do some form of update via inf or cpu update? i don't have hopes for Bios updates. Also, has anyone confirmed the exact location of the noise i.e the part(cpu,chipset, or capasitor etc....?)

 

I don't even have that "bluetooth radio" option in the device manager. I do have bluetooth on my laptop...

 

yea, I have XP no radio button either.

 

I've just tried that Bluetooth tweak and amazingly, the CPU whine has stopped!

 

Slight problem with it though.

I've set the wifi button to switch off the bluetooth and wireless adapter so that when I'm on the battery, I can squeeze a bit from the battery.

When I flick it to off, the noise returns again.

The other thing that seems to make it vanish for me is switching the Power Plan to Power Saver.

 

In the Dell XPS M1330, the C4 state seems to have been disabled altogether with the A06 BIOS. I use Ubuntu, and I did a cat /proc/acpi/processor/*/power and C4 was not there. More information is available at http://www.lesswatts.org/documentation/silicon-power-mgmnt/#cpupower

 

I'm so glad and can't wait until the update.

 

Hmmm.... If A06 disabled C4, it must not be the problem because I am running A06 and I still have it (when not using the USB Root Hub fix).

 

i've updated three xps m1330 laptops to A06, and they all still whine... sigh

too bad.

 

Same here, A06 with the all the whines...

 

I still have the whine using A06. Using RMClock and when ticking the box "disable C4" the whine does stop - suggesting to me that A06 has not already disabled C4.

Hope that a Dell solution is found to this sharpish.

 

By the way: it can not be fixed with any software without suffering penalties for battery time. I have the noise in the headphone jack in my d610 and it won't go away no matter what Dell says or does. There are 2 permanent solutions:

1. Changing the motherboard (if Dell designs a new revision of the motherboard which has better components and more important better arrangement.

2. Plug in a PCMCIA or Express Card Soundcard.

3. There is also solution which is quasi permanent: use a USB headphone.

 

What settings should I use in RMClock to get rid of the CPU whine? There are a lot of options in here...

 

Go to Advanced CPU Settings on the left. Then select the "Platform #1" button at the top on the right side. Then click the box that says disable C4.

 

Thank you, I had basically figured it out but wanted to make sure I wasn't doing anything wrong.

Obviously the downsides of RMClock is decreased battery life, but how much battery life would I be losing? Also, will this cause any other negatives with the machine? Do you have RMClock run at startup?

 

Well Vista just froze, not sure if it's related to RMClock but I do remember people complaining that RMClock caused their systems to freeze... Hmmm...

 

Ok, just froze again, I don't think RMClock is going to work for me. Guess I'm going to have to get use to high pitched whines now...