IMac making beeping noises. Not during start-up.

My iMac is a 20'' Intel based. I got it early 2007, it was the generation right before they released the 24''.
I am running all the latest updates that I can find/am aware of.
My iMac is making beeping noises. The kind that come from inside the computer, alerting me about something bad happening to my hardware. It is NOT beeping at me during start up. It beeps 3 different tones at me. Not all 3 every time, but overall it will beep 3 different tones at me. There is no order as to how many beeps or what tones. The noise seems to be coming from the bottom left hand corner of the computer, if you were facing it like you were using it.
While I understand that something in the computer is failing or flailing, I cannot find any documentation or even forum posts on this topic. Every single place I search always yields pages about the 3 beep RAM notification at start up. This is very frustrating and not helpful.
Can anyone give me any more info about what is failing in my computer? Or at least stop my search and assure me that its something I will have to send it in for?
It makes the beeps the whole time it is running. Anytime a new webpage is loading, anytime I bring up my dashboard, anytime I open up a new finder window. Pretty much anytime the computer has to do anything. It isn't beeping as I type this post, but as soon as I click 'Post Message' it will beep at me.
I just reset PRAM or whatever it is they suggest you reset. I have reseated my RAM.
I am going crazy and need some help.
Message was edited by: SubcutaneousPhat

Run Apple Hardware Test (AHT) on your machine, it is on the original DVD that came with your computer or you can access it by holding down the "D" key when starting your Mac.

Similar Messages

PLEASE HELP: iMac making strange noise

Hello guys, can you please tell me why my iMac is making this noise? And what I should do about it! My iMac has become quite slow since i started to notice the noice!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QliQFP9Ctw0

From the recording it sounds like the disk is on its last legs.
I am going say that your disk is going bad.
Back up your data now.
How old is your Mac?
Allan

2.8GHz 24" iMac Making Weird Noises

It started out sounding exactly like a cricket. When I first heard it, that's what I thought it was. It would start soft and grow louder, then softer again and fade out. Now the sound has the same pattern, but it's evolved into a full-fledged rattle/clicking sound and has a cyclical pulse to it. Hard to explain. It's fairly loud and VERY annoying. It happens every minute or two and lasts for about 20 seconds. Any ideas?
This is my 2nd Mac w/ problems immediately or very soon afterward...2 out of 2. Just lucky I guess, right?

Does the system run normally? Open up Disk Utility, select your drive on the left and look at the info listed at the bottom for SMART status. Also Verify the Disk.
It could be one of the fans making the noise. Possible rubbing up against something else inside. Either way you'll have to put a call in to Apple support to have it repaired.
George

Satellite A660 - Beeping noise stuttering during media player/CD drive use

I have an annoying beeping noise and stutter (the music is delayed momentarily every few seconds, electronic inteference type noise) when using the media player or the CD drive. I have taken the laptop back for a warranty repair in which they replaced the motherboard with no success, they then informed me they believed it was a software issue and a reinstall of Windows 7 was needed so I have done the following with the recovery media disks I created in this order, results in brackets;
- restored the factory software (no change still beeps and stutters)
- formatted the HD (initially I thought this fixed the issue but after beginning to dload and install about 80 Windows updates the issue came back)
- formatted the HD again (once again I thought the issue was fixed but I have heard the beeping/stutter only once or twice)
Considering that format of the HD takes 26 hours, I will not begin dload/install any updates including Windows 7 until I can try something else or have an answer.
Can anyone shed some light on this issue, the noise is terrible considering it was bought as an entertainment media playback unit.
Thanks for any help here in advance.
Message was edited by: vite11i

Hey I have the exact same problem as you but it affects my Toshiba Satellite L650.
The music will pause/hang and a distorted electronic noise will come through the speakers.
It used to happen all the time, and for whatever reason I simply ignored it, will admit it did become annoying at times though.
I then downloaded a Bios update for the laptop, and this reduced the frequency of the distortion noticeably. It now happens maybe once every three days or so, instead of several times each use.
So I think the problem is the BIOS, and maybe the way the soundcard works as using an external usb soundcard I think fixed the problem, or at least reduced the number of times it would occur.
It may also be helpful to disable any built in audio software that came with the laptop, such as "Smartaudio" which runs on mine. I think this also helps the problem.
Still, it is a very annoying fault if you bought the laptop for mostly media use and went through all the trouble of formatting the harddrive.
Please tell me if this helps, or if Toshiba does anything to improve the problem.

Why is my iMac making this noise?

Everytime that I do something, my iMac makes this noise. Its anoyying can I fix it? I have an imac with an intel core 2 duo 3.06 ghz processor with 2gb of ram a 500 gb hard drive and an nvidia geforce 8800 gs 512 mb graphics card and i have snow leopard 10.6.3. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-r80l0NQjz8
Message was edited by: Joann123

Hi Joann123
That sure sounds like the Hard Drive accessing data, some are noisier than others.
For example: the original 160GB Seagate Barracuda that came in my Early 2006 Core Duo sounded about the same. After using it in the iMac for 3 years I took it out and put it into an External drive, another year later it still sounds the same but works just fine as an extra backup drive for my music and photos.
I don't think that it is going to fail tomorrow, but if it really bothers you that much backup to be safe and by all means contact Apple as explained by those that have replied in your other thread.
Dennis

Imac making clicking noise that won't start

I have a 06 imac that will not start. When I turn it on it makes a clicking noise then the screen will turn white and a file with a question mark appears. Any ideas of what is wrong?

Your hard drive has broken. I really hope you have some backups done by Time machine or something else.
You can try to get the hard drive back to working oder by inserting your osx install disc and restart computer by pressing alt key at the same time.. Then choose intall disc and from there choose disc utility and fix macintosh hd permissions.
But im pretty sure that your hard drive is dead. You can find instructions to change the drive by yourself but you need few tools and steady hands for that.

IMac Making Strange Noise

Over the past few weeks, my year and a half old iMac9,1 has been making a strange sound. It's kind of like a clicking/buzzing/whirling noise. It's coming from the lower right corner of the computer. I can't tell if it's the fan or something else. It doesn't sound much like a fan. I've tried resetting the SMC, but that hasn't worked. It hasn't affected my computer speed...yet. The sound starts the second i wake it up and stops the second i put it in sleep mode. It gets louder and softer as I use the computer, and sometimes will stop for a little while. I'm just trying to figure out of this is something serious or not. I'm hoping this is something that can be fixed at my house, so i don't have to lug the thing to a Genius bar. Any help would be greatly appreciated.
According to iStat the fans are running at:
Optical Drive 1348 rpm
Hard Drive 1599 rpm
CPU Fan 1198 rpm

I have exactly the same problem, - this seems to be an issue of the first revision of these early 2009 iMac9,1 series.
Reseting SMC and every other doesn't help anything. Fortunately my iMac is under Apple-Care warranty.
It was now for three times in repair, - at last they changed the mainboard / logicboard. This has worked for a while (4 weeks). But now it started to make heavy noise again.
All very frustrating... Seems to be the harder issue than the infamous "iMac vertical line" symptom at the 17" iMac. If you have no Apple-Care you can throw the iMac away, - the repair cost will be more than $1000.-
Well, will bring the iMac a fourth time to repair, - will see what's happen...

Fan borked? Making funny noises when it starts spinning up

All -
I'm fairly certain I have to take my PB in for service, but I'd like to verify that first, since my warranty expired two months ago.
For the past two weeks or so, every time I start up a video-intensive application (such as world of warcraft), the fan quickly spins up to high power. That's normal - but it's been making a high pitched buzzing sound that is definitely not normal. It originates in the upper left corner, at about the top of the speaker (which I disabled to verify it). Further, I run multiple desktops, and if I leave the game open but switch to another desktop (using Desktop Manager .5.3), the noise generally subsides in 10-20 seconds. This makes me think it's some sort of fan attached to the video card...? Comments? Thoughts?
Thanks,
Lance

I'm having the same issue, also due to World of Warcraft. I'm used to the fan being loud, but the high pitch sound you mention is definitely not normal. Honestly, it scared me so badly the first time I heard it, I think I actually jumped in my seat a bit. This was about a week ago.
I'm away at college, so with no means of fixing the problem at the moment, I started playing the game at the lowest settings possible (800x600 res, colors at 16-bit instead of 24, etc) That seemed to tame the beast, but only for a short time. In the past two days, I've attempted to start up, low settings as usual, but within a literal minute or two, the fan powers up and the strange sound begins.
I'm still trying to determine how I should go about solving this, (or if the problem is even rooted in the fan itself) whether it be via apple, or on my own, since my warranty also ended about 2 months ago, and I don't have Applecare.
It looks like you posted this a few weeks ago, Corbets... if you see this topic again, I'd appreciate it if you could reply with any information you gathered and/or how you went about fixing the problem... if you have yet.
Thanks,
Pam
Also, if anyone else happens across this topic, how much free advice and/or help can I get if I walk in to my local Mac store with my above problem... before they decide I need to start forking over some cash? I'm a bit nervous in that respect. As I mentioned, I'm currently away at college, and I try to save where I can.
PowerBook G4 15" Mac OS X (10.4.8)

Iphone making weird noise (not from speakers)?

It sounds like it's steaming. I've had problems with charging it, and the volume would go up randomly. I took it to get it looked at and they said it was a problem with the board. So basically I'd just have to buy a new phone. Today I was playing on an app and it randomly started making this weird steaming noise, and I think it was coming from the charging dock. I turned it off and the noise stopped. I haven't tried plugging it in yet. I don't know what to do. Help?

Ok, final update for anyone who comes across this thread with the same issue.
I sent it to the apple for a service who, unexpectedly, repaired it and sent it back the day it arrived!
It turns out it was a faulty camera, as that got replaced and I have had no problem since.
- Ozzy

After updating osx 10.9.2, I cannot type without curser leaving my field and making beeping noises. How can I fix this? After updating osx 10.9.2, I cannot type without curser leaving my field and making beeping noises. How can I fix this?

I did the update and now my curser seems to leave my typing field and makes a beeping sound. I then have to place my curser back to type some more. I can no longer work in my excel spreadsheet because of this. Is there a fix that I can install? Please help! I also have to double click everything

If it's slow on startup it would be extensions loading or LaunchDaemons starting up.
You should have a look in:
/Library/LaunchDaemons
/Library/Extensions
You can count out anything in your home folder and it shouldn't put anything in /System as that's reserved for Apple.

Desktop PC making beeping noises

When I turned on my PC today there was a sequence of beeps. I looked it up and thought it might be the fan so I opened it up and cleaned the fan as it was clogged with dust. I then plugged it back in and it worked perfectly. However I turned it off when I was not using it and when I wanted to use it again I turned it back on,only for the beeping to return! Anybody have any help for this?
This question was solved.
View Solution.

The beep pattern you describe is a puzzle. One or two beeps at boot is basically normal but 8 beeps usually points to video memory problems.
Remove all external devices.
Reseat your memory cards and video card or adapter if any.
If you are still having problems you may have to take it to the repair shop for advanced diagnostics.
Please mark my post as SOLVED if it has resolved your problem. It helps others with similar situations.

Broadcast Note during start of Cube Load/Refresh

Is there a way to broadcast a message to the user in Analyzer to inform them that the cube is being refreshed?This so that they know that the data may not be in flux until the calculation has completed.

We do this by putting a note on our view group index page. The first view in each of our view groups is an index of the reports available in that group. We have a large text box that says, "Warning: Maintenance is being performed...etc." We turn the text white when we don't need the note, and red when we do. This works well because the index page is the first one users see when they enter a group. Hope this helps.

My iMac makes a continuous beeping noise and a blank screen.

My 2007 iMac is making beeping noises and it's just a grey screen. Nothing is happening. I've tried to restart and unplugged it and still does it. Does anyone know what is wrong and can I fix it myself? Thanks

Beeps on startup:
1 beep = no RAM installed
2 beeps = incompatible RAM types
3 beeps = no good banks
4 beeps = no good boot images.
5 beeps = processor is not usable
http://support.apple.com/kb/HT2538

Hi. There is a ghost search bar on my iMac screen which flashes constantly, even during start up and shut down. How can i make this go away? Please help. x

Hi There is a ghost search bar on my iMac that flashes continually, even during start up and shut down. How can i make this go away? Please help. x

Please read this whole message before doing anything.
This procedure is a test, not a solution. Don’t be disappointed when you find that nothing has changed after you complete it.
Step 1
The purpose of this step is to determine whether the problem is localized to your user account.
Enable guest logins* and log in as Guest. Don't use the Safari-only “Guest User” login created by “Find My Mac.”
While logged in as Guest, you won’t have access to any of your documents or settings. Applications will behave as if you were running them for the first time. Don’t be alarmed by this behavior; it’s normal. If you need any passwords or other personal data in order to complete the test, memorize, print, or write them down before you begin.
Test while logged in as Guest. Same problem?
After testing, log out of the guest account and, in your own account, disable it if you wish. Any files you created in the guest account will be deleted automatically when you log out of it.
*Note: If you’ve activated “Find My Mac” or FileVault, then you can’t enable the Guest account. The “Guest User” login created by “Find My Mac” is not the same. Create a new account in which to test, and delete it, including its home folder, after testing.
Step 2
The purpose of this step is to determine whether the problem is caused by third-party system modifications that load automatically at startup or login, by a peripheral device, by a font conflict, or by corruption of the file system or of certain system caches.
Please take this step regardless of the results of Step 1.
Disconnect all wired peripherals except those needed for the test, and remove all aftermarket expansion cards, if applicable. Start up in safe mode and log in to the account with the problem. You must hold down the shift key twice: once when you turn on the computer, and again when you log in.
Note: If FileVault is enabled, or if a firmware password is set, or if the startup volume is a software RAID, you can’t do this. Ask for further instructions.
Safe mode is much slower to start up and run than normal, with limited graphics performance, and some things won’t work at all, including sound output and Wi-Fi on certain models. The next normal startup may also be somewhat slow.
The login screen appears even if you usually log in automatically. You must know your login password in order to log in. If you’ve forgotten the password, you will need to reset it before you begin.
Test while in safe mode. Same problem?
After testing, restart as usual (not in safe mode) and verify that you still have the problem. Post the results of Steps 1 and 2.

IMac Beeping noise...

Every couple minutes i hear a beeping noise (not exactly a beep, a funny chime) and i can't figure out why this noise is happening. Help please.

That feature was added in Mountain Lion, so you won't have it....
Another thought: do you have any kind of notification alert enabled? Such as Growl or anything like that?
If that's not it, then there is a hardware issue; one possibility is faulty RAM. You can try to test this yourself by first making sure the modules are seated correctly, removing one module, and/or the other(s), to see if the beeps stop. The RAM could be either defective or not seated properly. If the beeps persist, it is most likely another hardware problem and a call to Apple or a trip to the Genius Bar is in order.
Do the beeps happen at startup?
http://support.apple.com/kb/PH11215

IMac making beeping noises. Not during start-up.

Similar Messages

Maybe you are looking for