high pitched noise near cpu/motherboard area

Hello everyone. I'm new to the forum, and was hoping that I may find some answers pertaining to my computer's noise problem. Any information, or direction towards someone with information, would be greatly appreciated.

Primary concern: There is a noticeable high pitched noise that sometimes emits itself from the motherboard/processor area. There are no visible problems, as the unit has run flawlessly since purchased (1/12/06). Well, flawlessly, after I removed all of the crap that Toshiba preinstalled. Even considered using Linux, pending

Setup: Satellite A105-S361, Pentium M 760 (2.0ghz), 1024 RAM, 120GB, Intel Shared Video RAM (boooo!). This laptop would be awesome if it had a discrete graphics solution. Wouldn't they all though?

I am posting this because I have recently read some horror stories pertaining to motherboard, and to a lesser extent, CPU failure. The noise is not a BIOS warning beep, but rather a sometimes prolonged high pitched whine. I'm unsure if it's an overheating problem or possibly a fan noise. The sound is definitely electrical though, so fan squeaking noise is out of the question. Mobile Meter reports that all my components are running well within normal temp ranges, as Pentium M's can withstand some serious heat if necessary. Unfortunately, Intel's motherboards coupled with Toshiba's design, cannot! This laptop feels extremely hot at times, but seems to magically cool itself almost instantaneously. (processor 47-55 Celsius, HDD at 37 Celsius, motherboard/video? at 47 Celsius?). Mobile meter's data becomes sort of spurious after the CPU and HDD data. Also, my sysinternals programs (system xp and autoruns) tell me that there are no software malfunctions either. Obviously this is more than likely a hardware issue, but all avenues are fair game, so I had to check all software. I have heard of adware and viruses that cause noise, but usually through the external speaker system. Tracking cookies are the closest thing to a virus that this machine has ever seen.

This may be normal operation, as it is not extremely loud. However it is loud enough to tell me there might be a problem, or the beginning of one. I didn't purchase an extended warranty on this laptop, as Toshiba's customer service and technical support might as well not even exist, but I do have a warranty until next January. My point being: I do not want to send this computer away if there is no problem (it might never come back!), but on the other hand, I have to act soon if there is indeed something seriously wrong.

I haven't taken the model apart yet, but I have had no reason to up until this point. From here, I think I may check the heatsink, as well as some of the fans, and motherboard capacitors.

I tried to be as descriptive as possible, however, my technical laptop knowledge is sub-par compared to my desktop knowledge, due to the accessibility of a desktop. I would most humbly appreciate any info or suggestions. Even though this is not a core duo model, it still kicks butt for what I use it for. I would really hate to see it fry on me. Thanks in advance!

 

Sound like a motherboard power supply problem, probably a coil or ceramic cap that's making all the noise.

If it's still under warranty: turn it in. If not: open her up and 'tap' ceramic caps and coils with an isolated little stick. When the sound changes, you've found the culprit.

 

Ice-Tea

Thank you. What you are saying makes perfect sense, as I have heard of similar issues with Toshiba computers in recent forums. I will more than likely contact Toshiba's Customer Service Department (if it exists). If not, I will be sure to check it manually. Thanks again.

 

This is definitely a power issue. It appears that there are a number of laptop users on the internet with this exact problem (funny, most of them are mac users for once). The noise is only prevalent during battery operation, and ceases as soon as AC power is restored. I would almost think that the noise would be more likely to occur during high power usage, but apparently not. The noise seems to appear when a) on battery, and b) as soon as (but not limited to) the processor finishes executing a program. This may very well be a coil or cap problem in the motherboard. Could this problem be caused by an improper battery discharge rate as well? thanks again.