VIDEO INCLUDED: Inspiron 6400/e1505 High Pitch Whining Sound

Question

Hi all I have a e1505 and the other day I plugged in some headphones and noticed I could hear this high pitch whining sound whenever the cpu was under load. I had noticed this sound before without the earphones being plugged in and is VERY annoying. I have read various threads and was wondering what the fix was. I shot a video of mine. In the video i started up HDtune to scan the hard drive (Which creates a load and the sound) Sound seems to be coming from the center of the board when I try to pin point it. http://youtube.com/watch?v=KK4o7jA6KvQ

bretg · Answer

Have you found a resolution to this?  I have the same issue with a Vostro 1500.  Support was no help what so ever.

fcastro75 · Answer

hey bret, no solution. Dell sent me a new motherboard and this one also makes the same sounds. Actually this one also makes a humming sound near the middle part of the keyboard. This is not my first Dell laptop btw. You get good deals with Dell's but the quality isn't the best unfortunately. I have read that vostro also suffer from the same sounds and have even seen videos on youtube as well.

Julzie · Answer

I have an Inspiron 1300 that makes a similar noise... I always figured it was the fan.

fcastro75 · Answer

Sound in the video I posted in not the fan. The fan on my laptop is on the left/rear. The sound itself does not sound like a bearing. It sounds like an electrocial component on the board itself. Again Dell has very poor quality control and rather its concentration on price point for the inspiron line.

bretg · Answer

Hi, The issue is not the fan.  The issue is the duo core cpu.  When it enters a low power mode, it makes the noise.  I found this in another forum on this site.  You need to keep your CPU busy to prevent the noise.  Dell said turn on the blue tooth , and there is an article posted in this forum to that effect.  It doesn't work however.  So, try this:  http://folding.stanford.edu   Someone posted that link; it's for a good cause and will keep your CPU busy when you are not using it.  It worked for me and I notice no performance degradation.   I hate Dell's tech support.  As HP's and all the others.  I had this problem with a Compaq I bought from HP and ended up returning it when their tech support (not even located here in the US) proved their ignorance to me.  Dell's was no better, but I'm keeping my laptop 'cause all of 'em have this issue.  Search Dell's tech forums for 'whining'.  You'll find the arcticles and links I'm referring to.   I hope one day the CEO's of companies like Dell and HP and all the others get a taste of their own medicine and have their jobs outsourced to some other country.   good luck -bg

fcastro75 · Answer

hey bretg, I read the same thing on a forum awhile back but its better to just live with the sound then download an application that constantly keeps the cpu running a load. Why? It will wear your laptop down quicker...heat components etc. If you want an application that is built just for laptops check out Notebook Hardware Control. It monitors your notebook and additionally allows u to keep it underload. Honestly I found that the noise was still there especially when both cores are running. Cheap Dell components bottom line MHC is free btw, good app http://www.pbus-167.com/nhc/nhc_faq.htm#anchor_cpu_speed

bretg · Answer

Thanks, I'll check out those apps/sites.   Living with this sound is not an option for me.  It will drive me to jump off a bridge if I need to listen to it day-in day-out while trying to work.  I'm a programmer and on my PC all day long.   I only run the folding app while I'm using my PC during the day 8-9 hours.  I don't leave my PC on all the time, like at night.  I have noticed no performance degradation while running it.   I plan to contact intel and voice my concerns/dissappointment in their chip interaction with other hardware components.  I do not feel this is a Dell issue per say as other vendors laptops have the same issue; one of which I all ready returned for full refund because HP was not aware of the real cause of the issue.   Thanks again.

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