Hi all,

My beloved 15" Powerbook which I brought as a Switcher in July '04, has developed what can only be described as an interference-based buzzing sound through the right internal speaker. It is annoying the shit out of me!

As the Topic Description suggests, it sounds as if there is a fly or small insect stuck beneath the grill just around the Power Button and it just cannot get out!! (and before you post a smart comment Ozi, no, there is not! :P)

From what i've noticed, it seems to correspond to hard drive activity, i.e. only happens when it is spinning or operating actively, because when the machine is sitting idle, with no mouse movement or system action, it is a quiet as a mouse - like it damn well should be! It is so noticeable, that you can still just hear it above the loudest fan when that kicks in at high temps (remember i'm in a heated apartment over here!)

There is no interference coming from the left side speaker. It is operating normally.

The start of the noise is not incident related - the machine has never been dropped of bumped, and no mods or repairs have ever occured since it was ordered and received as a custom-build. I have tested it by detaching/reconnecting all peripherals (iPod dock, laser mouse, turned off bluetooth/Airport etc.) but no change.

Has anyone else ever had the same problem with static etc. through their Apple laptop internal speakers?

I'm pretty dissapointed with this apparent fault, considering i'll now be facing having to send it away for weeks to have it checked out -

any advice or personal experience with a similar issue would be appreciated..

cheers, thanks in advance.

Is this the notorious chirping that many powerbooks do? If so, mine does it sometimes, it comes and goes...

Thanks for the reply Disko and chat last night via the IRC Channel #Apple..

I think it is as you described, the 'chirping cricket' effect, that is happening to my PowerBook. Although in your case it comes and goes - mine is always there as long as the hard drive is active and appears to be causing the interference..

Is there anyone else out there who experienced this problem? - I still stand firm that it is a problem that I am not happy with and that I want looked at, but if it is simply something that cannot be rectified and people are forced to put up with it, it'll be disapointing and I guess i'm stuck with it.