Strange noise from my laptop when it is closed

Question

I am fan of powerfull PCs with huge wide screen monitors but I have bought an laptop as gift to my parents.

This is the description:

1. "second-handed"
2. lenovo (and there is a sign "ThinkPad"
3. Intel Core Duo CPU T6570 2.10 GHz
4. 64 bits
5. Windows 7 Ultimate

and the issue is that when the laptop is turn on and then closed, after a interval of time (I am not sure how much exactly but I believe it is several hours) a strange noise come from the laptop.

The noise is something like a "start-up" noise of old computers. I first thought this is some hardware issue but everything seems to work fine.

Has anyone an idea what can cause this type of noise or a what can I do in order to track the problem down?

I am not sure if this is a important thing, but the laptop is always connected to the power.

Note: I have just noticed that the sound is generated again when the laptop is closed and then opened.

Note: This is link to the audio - http://yourlisten.com/channel/content/16934332/WindowsStrangeNoise

Solution

The sound in the audio file you posted sounds very similar to the beep many computers emit when the boot process starts. This is completely normal.

You mentioned you hear this same sound when you close the laptop screen, several hours passes, and them you open it again. What could be happening here is the laptop enters in hibernation state, or shuts itself down during this period, and then when you open it again you hear the beep because technically it is booting itself up again.

To test this theory, you can see if there are signs of your computer entering standby state (such as a blinking power light), or see what happens if you close the screen, wait just a few seconds and reopen it again.

Comments

[jdh]

Can you record the sound using another laptop and post the mp3? In windows, open the sound recorder, place the working laptop's microphone closest to the non-working laptop. Otherwise, if you can describe the noise more objectively, like high pitched constant whine or on/off static beeps, etc.

[gotqn]

@jdh Ok, I will try to record it.

[Oldskool]

Is it like a "beep" from the speaker or maybe the fans slowing down?

[Ƭᴇcʜιᴇ007]

You're going to have to better describe the "Strange noise" and "Start-up noise". Also please include what you've tried already.

[gotqn]

@techie007 I have try the basic thing - remove the RAM, clear it a little bit with rubber and then put it back.

[gotqn]

@jdh I have share a link with the noise. Also, the noise appears when I close and then reopen the laptop.

[Ƭᴇcʜιᴇ007]

Is it doing this after a while, without opening the lid? Have you checked to ensure there are no Tasks (like Windows Update) set to wake the computer up at certain intervals?

[gotqn]

Well, as I've said, I've noticed any other problems, but I've bought this laptop from my work and we have a lot of other machines there like this and I've never hear something like this - that's why I started to think this is a problem. Anyway, so if you say this is a normal I am just going to leave it that way :-]

[That Brazilian Guy]

@gotqn do you mean you have other machines of the same exact model and not a single on except yours present this behaviour? This is a new fact that changes a lot. If you have other machines, same manufacturer, same model, and only yours is making this beeping sound, then you should call tech support. Is is still under warranty?

[gotqn]

Well, I've just talk with some guys from the office and they said this could be a BIOS settings that has enable some low level checks - when I come back home I will look through the BIOS settings and see what is going on.

[That Brazilian Guy]

@gotqn Sure, please do and if it's the case, let us know