Squeak noise on a brand new T400!

I posted this on the official Lenovo forum. I decided to post it here too in hope of finding someone with experience of a similar problem.

I've recently bought a T400 and I'm experiencing weird noises from it. It's a constant sound that comes on now and then for some time and then goes off. I can't really describe the sound, it's like a whine or a squeak. I tried catching this sound on my camera, you can check it out and see if you can hear it.

Youtube video 1

Youtube video 2

You can hear the squeak sound constantly in the beginning of video 1, then it stops. It's constantly on throughout video number 2. I'm not quite sure where the sound is coming from. The computer is not under any stress when this happens. Could this be from the SSD?

Here are my computer specifications:

Intel Core 2 Duo processor P8700 (2.53GHz 1066MHz 3MBL2)
Win 7 Professional 64bit
ATI Mobility Radeon 3470 with 256MB
14.1 WXGA+ TFT, w/ LED Backlight
4 GB PC3-8500 DDR3 SDRAM 1067MHz SODIMM Memory (2 DIMM)
128 GB Solid State Drive, Serial ATA
CD-RW/DVD-ROM Combo 24X/24X/24X/8X Max, Ultrabay Slim (Serial ATA)
Express Card Slot
ThinkPad WiFi (BGN)
Integrated Mobile Broadband upgradable


All ideas and suggestions on this matter are appreciated.

 

to identify the problem, take the hdd out and the cd drive out. It sounds like the fan is squeaking for some reason. I am not sure.

 

I would have suspected the HDD but I have a SSD, aren't they completely silent? Next time the sound comes on I'll pop the DVD drive out, since I can do that without hardly any effort.

 

It's the fan that is squeaking, I had the same problem but it wasn't as loud. It only started happening a few months after I got the laptop. Try using compressed air to blow in the side/back vents. It worked for me

 

that is what i wanted to confirm with Hargo, this sound usually means the fan is either touching something or the spindle or the blades of the fan in the heatsink has foreign objects touching it.

 

that is what i wanted to confirm with Hargo, this sound usually means the fan is either touching something or the spindle or the blades of the fan in the heatsink has foreign objects touching it.

You may try to take the keyboard and palmrest off, and take a look at the fan and whether anything is touching it.

 

Download tpfancontrol and run the machine without the fan and see if the noise is still there.

 

yeh thats definitely the fan and i say that because it sounds like a ceiling fan that whobbles because its not mounted correctly.

 

yeah, that sounds like a faulty fan, may be you could contact lenovo for further support.

 

Well, I'm in Iceland. Now the international warranty will be put to test since I ordered the laptop from Lenovo USA...yikes!

However, it's hard to show the technician what the problem is since this isn't a constant thing. I can always show him the youtube videos though.

I'll try downloading the fan control software (tpfancontrol) and run it when the squeaking starts to shut the fan down and see what happens.

This is the second setback I encounter with my new Thinkpad T400, I also didn't get the 7 in 1 media card reader like I ordered

 

Good thread.
I have the same issue.
Sometimes it would squeek and sometimes it won't.
Let us know what is the cause hargo.
Thanks.

 

if it is a fan problem, then they should know what you are talking about.

 

Give them a call; let them know what is going on. They will most likely send you a new heat sink and fan assembly. This is very easy to install but if you aren’t confident any pc repair shop can help you. Even if the status of your warranty is "iffy" they are really good about getting your computer back in proper shape. Just keep reminding them how important the computer is to you, such as a business laptop... you get the idea. They don’t want to dissatisfy a customer. Since your warranty is USA you will most likely talk to someone in Atlanta Georgia. They are very helpful and understanding, above all they really don’t worry much about "policy"

Take care

Dean

 

I'm not so sure anymore that this is a fan problem.

The squeaking started again, I ran tpfancontrol right away and shut the fan down. The squeaking stopped and I thought to myself "alright, this is clearly the fan". But then shortly after, the squeaking started again even though tpfancontrol was set to 0RPM. Weird...what could it be? The SSD?

I also tried removing the DVD drive when the squeaking was going on, no change.

 

but ssd's shouldn't make a sound.........

 

I am also positive it's not the fan as well.
When the hard drive is in load the squeek is pretty much non-existant.

Time to give customer service a call I suppose.

 

If you could tell us what customer service said about this issue it would be much appreciated.

 

Put your ear right at the top of the touchpad, Do you hear the whine there?
My T61 memory RAM whines like crazy it is so annoying, I might replace it in the future, or maybe is normal, I'm used to a silent Thinkpad.

 

I think the sound is coming from somewhere around the red trackpad button. It isn't consistent and therefor hard to locate. Could it be the RAM?
The sound is annoying as you can hear in the videos I posted. I find it so strange that Lenovo isn't doing anything about this since there seem to be so many of us having this problem.