Regarding the "humming" or "crashing waves" noise from Santa Rosa notebooks...

Apparently Sony has at least acknowledged the problem, as stated from a Knowledge Base link on the eSupport site (which I can't paste in for some reason). However, I was not able to get a time frame from tech support on when the solution will be posted.

I'm assuming the solution will involve a BIOS update, but I'm crossing my fingers that it won't be the simple "C4 function disable" like HP's solution. This solution basically disables the power saving feature of the Core 2 Duo and worsens battery life and makes the laptop run hotter. That kind of defeats the purpose of having a Santa Rosa based processor, which is supposed to be more efficient and generate less heat.

If you're unsure about the type of sound this is, here are some examples from Youtube:

http://youtube.com/watch?v=Mn798xmKBB8

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MuTRp2F0zRI

For more info about this topic, check out this link:

http://www.silentpcreview.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=40260

 

I think I'd rather my laptop make a little humming noise rather than heat up and waste battery life...

 

Surprised there's not more interest in this.

 

So the humming noise is a global issue, not just the Inspiron and Vostro lines from Dell?

 

Last night for the very first time I noticed the "crashing waves" syndrome and immediately realized the root cause, at least for me.

Ever since I first got my FZ190 (two months ago) and actually for the life of my last two Sony laptops I always use them either sitting on a desk top or on a small sheet of MDO board on my lap, for no other reason than it was more comfortable). In the case of the FZ190 for the very first time last night I used it directly on my lap. After about a half an hour the fan kicked in and did what I believe folks have been calling the crashing wave sound. I picked it up and sat it on a table and within 30 seconds it went back to it's normal quite mode. Just to be sure I put it back on my lap and within a few minutes the sound came back. I noticed there are several sets of vents on the bottom of the FZ190. It appearers that blocking some of thees might be the source of this problem. It sure was for me.

Gary

 

I don't think you're experiencing this problem Gary. This sound is electrical in nature and doesn't sound like an obstruction of the fan.

 

Yes, Hartman. I am NOT hearing the "humming" sound. But wasn't the "crashing waves" sound totally different and folks described it as the fan constantly cycling up and down in speed??? I'll try to find another reference specifically to that sound.

FZ Crashing waves thread

Gary

 

Listen to the second youtube video above for a sample of the crashing waves. It is definately NOT fan related.

 

I listened to both of them again. They both sound like the "whine" problem. The reports here of the crashing waves were regarding the fan noise. I just did a quick search of the entire forum for "crashing waves" and found references to the fan. Now I am confused. Which issue did you hear?

Gary

 

i get the instant speed up of the fans also, not sure why it happens, but recently its been happening a lot.

 

See mesage #5 above. Does this apply yo you?

Gary

 

See this thread for an accurate description and ways around it:

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