Apple users face flawed Mac OSX update with cracking, popping sounds
Apple can’t catch a break these days from CPU whining sounds, flickering displays and cracking computer cases it seems they aren’t used to all this negative attention. Apple just released the 10.4.10 update for OSX Tiger which is causing headaches for some users.
The noise has been described as “maddening” and “would slowly drive me to insanity” by two users who experienced the worst of it. It seems the problem rears its ugly head on Intel Macs only and is present across all products.
ComputerWorld notes the problem with the MacBook line is due to a power saving feature that powers the audio system on and off to save power. The cracking or popping sounds came from the audio system rapidly turning itself on and off.
An intrepid user created a silent audio file to play in the background which works around the issue. Since the “audio” file is always playing, the audio system can’t power down and therefore solves the problem.
Not to toss Apple into the frying pan, it had some defenders with one person saying “It is incredibly implausible that Apple would somehow miss such an obvious issue that affected so many of its current products.” It wouldn’t be the first time Apple released a faulty update and it probably won’t be the last.
Users seeking to permanently correct the problem downgraded their systems to 10.4.9 to have the problem disappear while updating again brought it right back. For now, it appears to be safer to stick with 10.4.9 unless you want the workaround constantly taking 2% of your processor time.
In typical Apple style, its PR department was unwilling to comment on the matter.
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