Solutions to the noise problem on the IBM T40 laptop

[mocca]

Hi everyone,

Since the previous thread about the noise problem become very long, I decide to post the solutions to the noise problem of the IBM T40 here. Credit for the solutions goto me, OldSpooky, lothix, Kangaroo802, caltrinity, nicowju, and brandonl. I also post this solutions on the IBM forum as well. Anyway, there are two prominent noise source on the T40 and we are talking about static hissing or buzzing noise. The first is the GPU and the second I believe is the CPU power/charging system (which can be fixed by changing the AC Adapter). To reduce the noise (or eliminate it for some people), try the following step.

1) GPU Noise
-> Go to display setting and choose Advanced.
-> Select troubleshooting tab.
-> Reduce the hardware acceleration by a notch.

This will reduce the noise from the GPU when viewing flash or animated GIF or move the mouse over a link by 80-90%. And the good thing is that the GPU power is more or less the same. I tested this only on the 3DM2k1SE and get more or less the same scores (about 4980).

2) CPU power/charging system noise (source of the noise in this case is pure guess from me but the solution works)
-> You need to call IBM and request a replacement AC Adapter and power cord.
-> The default AC Adapter that shipped with the T40 or T40p is FRU 08K8205 either rev00, rev01, or rev02. The rev02 is the best for this FRU AC Adapter but still produce the noise.
-> When you speak to an IBM TS, tell him or her that you want a replacement AC Adapter to try to see if it help reduce/eliminate the noise or not.
-> IBM have a new FRU part for the field replacement of the default AC Adapter. It is 02K6753. IBM TS should be able to pull this FRU up right away since it is on their system and designated specially as a replacement part for 72W AC Adapter for T40 (or T40p).

Please note that combining these two solutions, the noise is still exist but is lower considerably (by at least 70-80% in my case) and barely audible under the "Always On" power setting or heavy cpu load only. You should change the power setting in Windows to be "laptop/portable" or "Wod processing/e-mail" to eliminate the noise completely under normal cpu load condition (i.e., you will not hear the noise at all under you stress the cpu). If you choose to use "Always On" power setting, you will still hear the noise by it is considerably less than using the old AC Adapter and without reducing the GPU setting.

With the solutions applied and use "Laptop/Portable" power setting, I cannot hear any noise under normal work load (well, except that static charging noise from the AC connection which is very very low). Under the "Always On" setting, the noise is audible within the range of 2-4 inches (compare to 6-12 inches before applied the solutions). Try this and let me know whether it help

Mocca

 

[sentinel2000]

I have been following this topic closely and I am impressed with how the forum has worked on finding workarounds.

I am bothered by the advice to run the T40 in Laptop mode rather than Always On mode and to reduce the HW acceleration settings. I hope that this is not what IBM will recommend. Buy a $3000 laptop and run in a "slower" mode to minimize noise which I do not believe should be present in the first place.

I had an earlier T series and did not experience noise problems and certainly not buzzing sounds when scrolling through a web page. On Ars Technica one poster stated that this was normal for many laptops.

Thoughts?

 

[mocca]

The buzzing noise is a problem for many laptops. The problem exists on the Dell I4xxx, I8xxx, Compaq Evo n610c, Evo n620c, Apple PB series, just to list the one that I know for sure that have this problem. I think the problem is hard to identify and even more so to solve because the noise is not very easy to hear and even harder to find the source. Most older people are not susceptible to the electrical interference noise. Internal space limitation on the thin and light laptops is another problem. I think the noise in the case of IBM T40 might be easy to eliminate by getting a high quality or higher wattage AC Adapter. Obviously the 02Ks is better than the 08Ks adapter and I believe the 02Ks supply higher quality current (pure guess here) than that of 08Ks.

Mocca

 

[OldSpooky]

I consulted with my neighbor concerning the noise from the Radeon 7500 GPU. He says that this is a problem that is frequent in many Radeon GPUs, and suggested that I download the latest Catalyst Driver.

I downloaded the new 3.4 Catalyst, but to my surprise, Windows XP was reluctant to let me install it. It said that there was no better version of the Driver in the 3.4 package, so I basically forced Windows to install the driver. I checked the driver version (said 7.something, 5/14/03) and then rebooted my machine.

30 seconds later, I was horrified to discover that my ThinkPad was displaying garbage instead of the Windows XP login screen. I had to reboot into safe mode and do a system rollback. Everything is back to normal now.

 

[mocca]

The normal Cat driver from ATI doesn't support the mobility version of the GPU (only few cat allow you to install it on the mobility GPU). This is the same with nVidia mobile GPU too. The industry standard on this issue is that the laptop mfg will supply the driver for the mobile GPU themself because of differences in implementation of the mobile GPU. Therefore, we may need to wait for IBM to release a new M9 driver which can take months. If you don't want to wait, try download the mod version of the drivers. Rage3D (www.rage3d.com) is probably the best known source of everything ATI web site.

Mocc

 

[OldSpooky]

I posted this at Ars OpenForum, and I'm reposting here for everyone to read. It's unseasonably cold where I am right now and a large outdoor gathering basically fizzled out, so I decided to have some fun and take apart my T40. Don't worry, I was careful and ahve now reassembled everything

Here is hwat I wrote at Ars:

Fellow T40 owners, I took the bold step today of disassembling my T40 in order to attempt to isolate the noise problems. Here are my procedures and findings:

(1) Goal - Isolate source of 2 specific noises. First, a slight high pitched whine that appears to originate from the speakers. Second, a buzzing/chirping intermitantly audible.

(2) Method - I downloaded the IBM T40 maintenance manual and removed the keyboard and wrist pad as the manual instructed. I left the keyboard plugged into its data port so that I could operate the system. I used my ears and the help of my neighbor to attempt to isolate the noise source. I wish I had a decible meter - that would have helped generate concrete data. All of my listening was done in a closed room with all other devices and noise sources turned off.

I first listened to the system with the speakers plugged in. The high pitched whine seemed to come from the HDD (4200 RPM). I unplugged the speakers and listened again. No effect. The high pitched whine still came from the HDD. Since the HDD chamber is not sealed, I suspect noise from the HDD leaks into the speaker chamber and out through the vent holes. I played some Windows sounds to make sure. The speakers turn on when they play sounds and then turn off immediately after (I am certain of this because there is some static while playing sounds - my Altec Lansings have a bit of background static when on but not playing sound - similar with these). No static can be heard after the sound is done playing. I have tenatively concluded that the HDD is responsible for the more or less continous high pitched whine comming from the front of the T40

The second noise proved far more elusive. A user named Mocca at Anandtech claimed that the Pentium-M might be the cause of the noise. I was skeptical, but I did not rule it out. After listening closely to different parts of the motherboard, I narrowed the chirping noise to the part of the board containing the Pentium-M, 855PM MCH, Radeon 7.5K GPU, and ICH4-M. My ears seem to point to the Pentium-M as the source of chirping, but without a decible meter I cannot be sure. No conclusion can be drawn here.

If someone has access to a decible meter and is willing to dissasemble their T40 (it is pretty easy) and take some measurements, that would be great. Of course I plan to call IBM and tell them to do exactly this.

Sorry if this is incoherrent - I have been at this since 1030PM (it is now 2AM or so) and I am getting very tired. But I feel a lot better having done some detective work.

Ask questions or post your own conjectures based on the info I have posted and your experieces.

A few observations on T40 construction: The wrist rest plastic is really really thin. I was afraid I might break it if I mishandled it in any way. I tried to find out what makes this notebook relatively solid feeling. The internal structure seems to be made of a tan, gritty feeling substance (if you remove the battery pack, you can see it). There are also lots of screws holding things together. This appears to give the T40 more stiffness.

Hmm so you all probably think I'm crazy now

 

[caltrinity]

OS,

NICE... thank you.

I will post your obs in the official IBM Support forum.

-caltrinity