Eric Mack On-Line

Toshiba Tecra M4 Fan Noise Problems continue

Sunday, February 19th, 2006

I can't stand it. My Tecra M4 Tablet PC is so loud that it is unusable in a conference room or classroom. And, it's getting progressively worse. I don't dare turn it on in public places. My only option is to set the CPU to the lowest setting so that the fan will come on less frequently. Unfortunately, when the fan does come on, everyone in the room knows.

For the record, here are links to two recordings to document show just how loud my Tecra M4 Tablet is:

December 22, 2005 - Tecra M4 Fan Noise Demonstration

February 19, 2006 - Tecra M4 Fan Noise Demonstration

As I've stated before, I like the M4 for its wide-screen and computing power. There are just a few problems that prevent me from loving it: (Fan Noise, Dust under screen, High pitch squeal, and a problem with my SD Card reader.) Again, I'm sure that these could all be fixed in just a few days, however, given the reports from other Toshiba Tablet PC users who've sent their units in for repair, it could be a very long and frustrating time before I see my tablet again. For that reason, I will try to wait a while longer.

I know, from experience, that if this were an IBM ThinkPad, I could get the problem resolved in 72 hours or less. I would call IBM, they would ship a box and pick up the unit the next day, two days later I would have a working laptop back. Apparently, according to my colleagues, this is not the way it works with Toshiba.

As you know, I like to blog about my "challenges," but this is not a challenge I'm up to.

Posted at 23:55:00, PST in Tablet PC DeProductivity

Discussion/Comments (10):

Toshiba Tecra M4 Fan Noise Problems continue

I've had the M4 since last June/July. The fan noise problems started around December or January. It sounds like the fan is grinding against something; trying to squeeze the casing near the fan sometimes solves the problem.

I haven't tried contacting Toshiba about the problem yet for the same reasons.

Posted at 06/15/2006 23:28:13 by Rahul Sengupta

Solution

I think I have a fix for the buzzing noise. On my M4, pressing the rear left corner (while looking at the M4 in the standard laptop position) of the memory (RAM) panel removes the noise. When i opened the memory panel, i noticed that the buzzing was caused by the vibration of the wires connected to the fan. If you hold down the wires, the buzzing/grinding fan noise stops. After using a small piece of tape to damp the vibrations, the annoying grinding noise has disappeared.

Posted at 06/17/2006 1:48:50 by Rahul Sengupta

re: Solution to M4 Fan Noise

Thanks Rahul. a sounds like a valuable tip. I send me M4 for repair. We'll see if your fix is needed when it is returned.

Posted at 06/21/2006 22:46:07 by Eric Mack

Toshiba Tecra M4 Fan Noise Problems continue

i have a toshiba m4 tablet pc and i have a buzzing noise coming from the fan panel..it sounds like there is an open or a fricting wire inside... what can i do for that? please send me an e mail about it.. singingjazzer@aim.com

Posted at 09/29/2006 13:53:56 by evren

Toshiba Tecra M4 Fan Noise Problems continue

I have the same frustrating problem...

Posted at 05/31/2007 11:24:59 by Steven

Toshiba Tecra M4 Fan Noise Problems continue

...I know how u guy's fell ! my professor pleased me to take a place far away from the front row's, in smaller rooms it is imposible to use the tablet !

battery capacity is near one hour.

With a new second battery about one and a half hour

dirt behind the display protection is a new advantage since a few weeks

i give it up !

never would buy a toshiba again !

Posted at 11/25/2007 15:09:45 by Pierre Kottmann

Toshiba Tecra M4 Fan Noise Problems continue

My M4 certainly was noisy when I first purchased it, especially when on full power mode. However, things got much, much worse after a dead motherboard prompted me to send the tablet to our nearest Toshiba support folks.

When the machine was returned, it made the most awful grinding noise that those of you in this forum have described. The techs must not have paid too much attention while closing up the box….

Thanks to Rahul for his tip. I was almost certain that leads/some obstruction was causing the problem, but his workaround has given me the confidence I needed to unscrew the 100s of needle-like Phillips heads and apply some electrical tape to fix this mess. The other option I was contemplating was identifying a similarly sized fan known to be quiet and replace the current one. I simply hadn’t looked into it yet.

Posted at 02/08/2009 8:59:27 by Tecra M4 User

Toshiba Tecra M4 Fan Noise Problems continue

For those of you who are interested. I had the same problem with my Toshiba Satellite. Read on another forum that someone tried adding oil to the fan and it stopped the noise. Tried that with my fan today and it is so much quieter with only noises when the fan starts up and shuts down. When it's running at speed, no noticeable noise.

Here's what I did:

1. Took off the plate covering the fan and the CPU. Apparently this is fairly easy to do for the Toshiba.

2. Unplug the connection for the fan to the board. (Optional)

3. Unscrew and remove the fan assembly.

4. Flip the fan over and remove the metal/bottom plate.

5. Pull the fan blade off. This should be easy to do. You should now have two pieces, the fan part and the top part with the copper wires, magnet, and circuit board. The part with the copper wires and magnet should have a hole to which a stem from the fan is inserted.

6. Put a little oil into the hole. One very tiny drop into the hole should be fine.

7. Put everything back together. (You can also clean the pieces to make sure there are no dirt before putting it back together.)

What I noticed with my fan when it was making noises was that the blade would scrape on top part. I think when the oil was used, the blade slid down so it didn't scrape the top part. We'll see how long it last. If this works out for you, pass it on as I've seen many other people having the same problems.

Posted at 02/21/2009 16:09:58 by T. Ung

Toshiba Tecra M4 Fan Noise Problems continue

Hm, in my M4 the fan is just steadily noisy - no grinding, just the sound of a hard working fan (like a tiny hairdryer), wich makes it unusable in classrooms and w/o music in your ears...

Is there anyone who knows af a way to mod this thing into a cooler state so that the fan speed can be reduced?

Posted at 05/17/2009 7:39:14 by Johan Berander

Toshiba Tecra M4 Fan Noise Problems continue

you need tu use the program called Notebook hardware Control by NHC. Set down your cpu voltage at 0.732 with a multiplier of 6 only. You will never hear your laptop again. I have the same one and it annoyed everyone in my classroom. Now, I do not have problems annymore.

Posted at 01/13/2010 18:50:50 by Dr.ak

Discussion for this entry is now closed.