Stop your whining!
March 2, 2006 7:08 AM Subscribe
My eMac is whining at me.
I've got a 1 GHz G4 eMac that has started to emit a high-pitched whine. Not incredibly loudly, but loud enough to be annoying. This has been happening for some time, but it used to be more intermittently. Now it's fairly steady.
The only thing that helps is to change the resolution of the monitor. I normally work in 1152 x 864 (80 Hz, Millions). If I lower the res to 1024 x 768 (89 Hz, Millions) it stops. If I switch it back to the higher res, it immediately starts up again.
I can't work in that lower resolution.
Help!
I've got a 1 GHz G4 eMac that has started to emit a high-pitched whine. Not incredibly loudly, but loud enough to be annoying. This has been happening for some time, but it used to be more intermittently. Now it's fairly steady.
The only thing that helps is to change the resolution of the monitor. I normally work in 1152 x 864 (80 Hz, Millions). If I lower the res to 1024 x 768 (89 Hz, Millions) it stops. If I switch it back to the higher res, it immediately starts up again.
I can't work in that lower resolution.
Help!
My first guess would be an aging fan in the video area, that ramps up at the higher resolution and squeals. But it's just a guess -- I don't even know if the eMac video stuff has a fan.
I did not realize that any eMacs had the cap problem, but I'd definitely check into that. My iMac needed a new logic board and PSU because of that, and the warranty was extended.
posted by teece at 9:35 AM on March 2, 2006
I did not realize that any eMacs had the cap problem, but I'd definitely check into that. My iMac needed a new logic board and PSU because of that, and the warranty was extended.
posted by teece at 9:35 AM on March 2, 2006
High-pitched whines in CRTs are almost always caused by the flyback transformer. Doesn't have anything to do with capacitors -- it's a mechanical problem. The windings of the transformer coil get slightly loose and vibrate enough to be audible.
Not that I recommend this or anything, but I used to have a cheap terminal that started whining, and I'd give it a sharp whack to make it shut up. That worked often enough to be satisfying, but it's not exactly a long-term reliable solution.
posted by xil at 11:49 AM on March 2, 2006
Not that I recommend this or anything, but I used to have a cheap terminal that started whining, and I'd give it a sharp whack to make it shut up. That worked often enough to be satisfying, but it's not exactly a long-term reliable solution.
posted by xil at 11:49 AM on March 2, 2006
Response by poster: I've done some whackin' and it's not helpin', unfortunately.
Thanks for the input, all.
posted by papercake at 4:34 PM on March 2, 2006
Thanks for the input, all.
posted by papercake at 4:34 PM on March 2, 2006
This thread is closed to new comments.
The symptoms described on Macintouch are different, but the cause could be the same.
posted by adamrice at 7:57 AM on March 2, 2006