m40 buzzing noise whats the verdict?

well i know this has been discussed before, but i can't seem to find a definite fix. i love evrything about my laptop, the m40-jm3, but the buzzing noise is annoying. it comes out of the left speaker, i think, and changes tone whenever the CPU is in action. as soon as the CPU slows down processing, the buzzing kicks in. so now when its silent, its VERY annoying.

i went through a lot of toruble to get this one, so i'd like to keep it an avoid exchanging it.


does this BIOS update work? i heard it makes the sound go away, but some people have said it only lowers the tone.

thanks people.

also would you get an extended warranty? its 169 CDN for me to make the total coverage 2 years instore dropoff.

 

I believe this is a similar problem that is in my and other user's HP nx8220 notebooks. It's been reported that it's a capacitor that is vibrating, possibly due to too much power flowing through it. There currently isn't any fix that I know of other than putting epoxy over the offending cap (a suggestion by HP to resolve the high-pitched squeeling noise in a different unit I had).

I don't think exchanging it will resolve the issue. You may want to try a few things to see if they help:

1. Insert a USB memory drive into one of the USB ports
2. Goto Device Manager and modify your USB Root Hubs under the Power Management tab, uncheck the 1st box (allow the computer to turn off this device to save power). Try one at a time
3. Update your BIOS
4. If you have Bluetooth, try enabling it (seems to be the cause of the noise on the HP's if it's off)

Regarding the extended warranty, is that 2 years total from date of purchase or 2 years above the manufacturer's warranty = 3 years total?

If it's only 2 years total from date of purchase, I'd forget about it. Some credit cards will automatically extend your warranty and extra year. Check with your CC's website and see if this is a feature on your card. If not, I'd go and get a Toshiba extended warranty rather than a store warranty. This will be honored by Toshiba anywhere around the world (where they have service centers), and you don't have to take the unit back to the store.

-Vb-

 

i have the same model as you do, and the same problem too. The buzzing was even louder than the fan, but after updating the bios i haven't noticed since. Eventhough, i must admit that the buzzing still exist, but only if you put your ear up really close to the left corner of the laptop and listen real hard. Otherwise, in a quiet environment it won't bother you at all. You wouldn't even hear it unless you were looking for it, and im sure this should be normal. Even my desktop makes faint buzzing noises. So my advice to you is Update your Bios. Its really easy, and is alot less fuss than returning it the machine. by any chance does your jm3 play battlefield 2? mine lags really bad, not sure if i have a faulty card or jm3's are just weaksauce.

 

hey i dunno man i didn't install any games yet. but doom 3 and half life 2 run fine on medium setting and i get like 30 -40 fps on my friends m40-jm3 so i dunno about battlefield.


also yeha its only 2 years including the 1 year of manufacturer's warranty.

um thanks i will go check the cc site now.

also where is this bios update and how do i install it? this isn't a reformat is it?

sorry i am a huge comp newb.

 

http://209.167.114.38/support/Download/ln_byModel.htm

go there choose notebook, satellite, m40 and then a window should open with the a list of files. Download the bios update (windows install) and follow the instructions. No, its not a reformat.