# High pitched ringing noise on Toshiba Laptop



## njwphilpott (Nov 10, 2010)

I have a problem with my laptop. There is a permanent high pitched ringing noise through the speakers on the laptop.
My laptop is Toshiba Equium A210 17I. It has also slowed down since this started happening.
Any one got any ideas on how to fix this?


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## GZ (Jan 31, 2010)

Hello njwphilpott and welcome to TSF,

When did you start having your issue?
Does it occur outside of Windows?


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## njwphilpott (Nov 10, 2010)

Hi thanks for the reply.

I havent got any other OS installed on it and its been happening for about a month now.


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## GZ (Jan 31, 2010)

I am sorry.

For clarification, when I say "outside of Windows", I mean before Windows loads.

This includes during the Toshiba splash-screen, and when Windows is initially loading.


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## njwphilpott (Nov 10, 2010)

Yeah it happens straight away when you turn the power on.


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## GZ (Jan 31, 2010)

Okay.

Are you sure it's coming from the speakers?
High pitched noises can be made by other components too.

The system fan, the hdd, the inverter (in rare instances).

What I want you to do is pick your laptop up and listen closely and try to approximate where the noise may be coming from. Does it sound louder in certain areas? When you post back, just give your best description of the area where you hear it loudest.


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## njwphilpott (Nov 10, 2010)

Thanks for the detailed help. I believe it is coming through the speakers as when i disabled the sound driver the sound stopped happening. It also sounds like it is coming through the speakers.


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## GZ (Jan 31, 2010)

Okay, the sound starts right away, but disabling the sound driver makes it stop?

Try removing the drivers (right click and uninstall in Device Manager) and restarting the computer.

Also, check your update history to see if your sound drivers were updated within the last month or so.


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## njwphilpott (Nov 10, 2010)

It stops it when I remove the driver but the computer is still slower than usual. reinstalling didn't work. Doesn't look like there are any update history for sound drivers.
Any other ideas?


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## njwphilpott (Nov 10, 2010)

I believe it is the 'High Definition Audio Controller' in system devices


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## njwphilpott (Nov 10, 2010)

Any ideas anyone?


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## GZ (Jan 31, 2010)

Hello again,

Try downloading the updated sound drivers from the Toshiba support site and installing them.


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## njwphilpott (Nov 10, 2010)

Still no luck.


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## GZ (Jan 31, 2010)

Go to Start>Programs>Accessories>System Tools>System Restore and see if there is a restore point prior to your issue ocurring. If so, you can attempt a restore and see if that takes care of the issue.


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## njwphilpott (Nov 10, 2010)

That didnt work either.


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## jaythorpe522 (Sep 7, 2010)

A little confused here -- is the ringing still happening, or are you now without working audio drivers?

I had a similar problem happen w/my Lenovo when I was using a mic with a slightly odd-sized miniplug. After I removed the plug, there was pretty much constant feedback. I 'solved' it by muting the microphone input in the windows volume control. There was no sensible audio/routing reason for the feedback, I decided that the sound card musta just gotten spooked by an oversized, unbalanced plug...

After a few weeks I remembered about it, unmuted the mic input, and everything was OK. I know, very helpful advice...

At any rate, I think this could be completely unrelated to your slowing issues. What performance tests have you run?

jw


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## njwphilpott (Nov 10, 2010)

It doesnt ring when I have disabled sound drivers.. but it is still slower. My computer doesn't actually have a microphone input so I guess that can't be the problem. Do you mean you bent the connectors inside the microphone input?
I haven't really run any performance tests. have done a registry mechanic, anti virus and anti spyware. what do you recommend?


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## GZ (Jan 31, 2010)

Hello again njwphilpott,

Sorry I lost track of your thread, I would like you to try one last thing before you give up completely (i.e. spend your money on a new laptop)

Back-up all your personal information on DVD or an external hard drive.

Restore your computer to it's factory state using the following instructions.


Shut your computer down.
Remove the battery and the power adapter and hold the power button for 30sec.
Reinstall the battery and connect your power adapter, make sure it is plugged in.
Press and hold the zero key and as you are holding it, power the computer on. 
When the machine Starts beeping, release the 0 key. 
When prompted by the warning screen, select Yes to continue with the system recovery. 
Select Recovery of Factory Default Software, click Next. 
Select Recover to out-of-box state, Click Next again. 
Click Next to Start recovery.


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## njwphilpott (Nov 10, 2010)

I did that and the ringing went away but on board keyboard and mouse stopped functioning. Restarted the computer and ringing came back


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## GZ (Jan 31, 2010)

You completed the recovery?


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## njwphilpott (Nov 10, 2010)

Yeah got to the log in page


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## GZ (Jan 31, 2010)

If you completed the system recovery (restore to factory settings) and are still having the same issue, I will have to chalk this one up to a hardware failure. 

The problem is, the sound hardware is integrated into the motherboard.

Are you willing to disassemble your laptop?


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## free404 (Apr 19, 2011)

If using Windows 7, the problem could be feedback from the mic.

Click on: Start / Settings / Control Panel / Sound 
Click on: the Speakers Icon 
Click on: Properties 
Click on: the Levels tab 
Slide the Microphone & Line In levels to ZERO 
Click the little speaker icon button on the right of the sliders - a red addition will show it is muted. 

As a note - this is NOT the sound level of the microphone when used normally - so it will NOT stop you from using your mic for recording.


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## free404 (Apr 19, 2011)

Well Sorry about that - the Equium A210-17I does not have a built in mic 
So, according to most of the discussions around, it is more likely a general Intel problem - the C-state of the processor - with the noise being caused by the CPU going into a lower power state to conserve battery power, thereby causing a piezoelectric effect. Apparently phoning (not emailing) Toshiba support may get you an email of special firmware for deactivation of the Intel Chipset setting that puts it into the C3 or C4 state (for power saving).


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