strange noise from my satellite m50-mx5 driving me crazy!!!

I get a constant high-pitched chirping-like noise from the left side of my laptop, most likely from underneath the keyboard. It's driving me crazy!!!

anyone have any idea what it might be?

I would hate to take it in for repair because I'd have to format the HD which is the last thing I want to do.

 

Are you on battery power everytime you hear the noise?

Also, have you used either RM Clock or Notebook Hardware Control before?

Undervolting your CPU may help get rid of the sound you're describing.

 

i'm on AC all the time. switching to battery seems to have no effect


I don't think i've used them.

 

Can you describe the noise a little more? Is it constant or only when you do certain things? How loud is it?

You can get NHC here:
http://www.pbus-167.com/

 

it's....like a whining high-pitch noise.
it's constantly on, and when I scroll webpages or in a window up and down with the mouse, the noise stops for a second until the scrolling stops.

hmmm..

 

That's curious, sounds like the feedback i get when i have my amp plugged into my laptop sound card. Do you have an external sound system attatched to your machine?

 

^nope. In fact, the noise seems to be coming from the laptop itself, from the left side underneath the keyboard.

 

How loud is the noise? Can you liken it to something common?

Also, do you know if that's where the processor is (under the left side of your keyboard)?

 

Cpu fan? Is it buzzing like a bee? On all the time or does it start and stop? If you turn the laptop upside down does the noise stop?

 

when I'm in a quite room, I can hear it. very faint, but definitely audible.

I have no clue where the processor is, but it's definitely coming from the left side of the keyboard (and from inside the laptop itself). It seems to be related to the CPU because everytime I "do something" (such as scrolling web pages) the sound gets interrupted briefly until I finish doing it.

 

it's on all the time until I do something like scrolling web pages, it pauses for a split second until the the scrolling is finished. Hmm...I've never turned it upside down...do you think I should try?

 

From what you're saying, it sounds like it might be the voltage regulator for your processor.

Is it really bothering you? If so, I'd suggest you install NHC from the link I gave you above and undervolt your processor.

Another course of action would be to get in touch with the tech support section from the reseller you bought the laptop from or Toshiba themselves.

 

chrisyano, I downloaded NHC and fiddled around with the CPU voltage. My system is Centrino 750 and it was initally at 0.988 V. (whatever tha heck that means). I lowered that down to 0.860V. I noticed no change.

What should I do?

Taking it back to the dealer is the last thing I wanna do, because I don't want to take it back without formatting my HD which is a pain in the @$$

 

OK, go to the "CPU speed" tab and change the setting from "max performance" to "dynamic switching" or "max battery" and see if the sound goes away. That will automatically undervolt your CPU for you. You don't need to play with the other settings to test this.

 

nothing doing, and if anything made my computer more sluggish