speak now or forever hold my peace?

savemejebus

I'm in the midst of a total non-emergency and would like to get some opinions.

Basically i've a two and a half year old macbook pro that i'm ashamed to say has been used awfully sparingly (due to mac mini and various pc's). I picked it up in the US and as i made a killing on the exchange rate I picked up apple care with it. Now, the applecare will run out in about 6 months and i'm wondering if i should contact apple before it does about a niggly little nuisance; an electrical 'buzz' coming through the left hand side of the chassis, around the palm rest area.

I've read tonnes of threads about this and they either peter out with no answer or say it's a grounding issue and that using a 3 prong plug fixes it. Well the plug thing doesn't work, so i'm just wondering if it's worth contacting apple while i still have applecare/

Any thoughts?

NUTZZ

Definitely contact Apple before it runs out, the problem could get worse and could be very pricey to fix once the AppleCare ends. It's what you've paid for so call them.

nialler

Ring applecare, you've paid for an extended warranty that warranty is global, phone them now, buzzes in computers are not good, it could be electrical, it could be the superdrive, it could be your hd, back it up, contact apple.

savemejebus

Cool, just to clarify though, it's not a noise, rather a feeling of current going through the chassis.

Talisman

It sounds like a grounding issue but it you are using a three pin plug it shouldn't occur unless there is an issue with the wiring where you are using the computer. As a matter of interest does the vibration, disappear if you connect the computer to a network through an ethernet connection? The additional grounding of the ethernet cable may resolve the issue.

I would contact Apple in any case.

savemejebus

Well i think that i can rule out wiring as it's happened in multiple locations. I actually have not used an ethernet cable on the machine for years but might give it a go this evening.

In the meantime I'll give applecare a buzz and fire up time machine

Talisman

If it happens at multiple locations and you don't use the ethernet connection then it could be the wireless card - Try turning off AirPort and see if the vibration is still present.

Stainless_Steel

Isint the hard drive under the palm rest? If I were you I'd make sure to keep regular back ups in case the drive is on the way out.

Deffo contact apple to get it fixed.