Noises in my audio caused by mouse movement

[Richard Smith]

Hi there. First off, I'm using a Mac G5 / 10.4.11. Running DP5.11 and I'm using a MOTU Fastlane. The problem I'm having isn't restricted to DP5, it's constant so I think it's a Mac problem. Everytime I move the mouse a noise follows it. When I move the cursor across any icon the noise swells and then softens when I pass the icon. It sounds like some type of interference between the mac's audio wiring and mouse activity. This is my second G5 and I didn't have the problem on my earlier mac. Any suggestions on what's causing this and how to cure (silence) it? Thanks in advance!
RS

[bayswater]

I've noticed something similar with some Macs when holding a mouse button down. Barely noticeable and not always there but annoying once you know its there. It doesn't seem to find its way into recorded tracks or bounces. It could conceivably come from any electro-mechanical device in or near your setup including (as you suggested) a mouse, or could be a ground loop.

[nk_e]

When I had this problem it was due (oddly enough) to the fact that my video card's heat sink was full of dust. It caused my video card to run hot all of the time. Movement on the screen -- the mouse, windows, just about anything -- would introduce crackles in the audio as the card worked to calculate the video output.

Is your card's fan running all the time or a lot more than it used to also?

Sounds bizarre I know, but every so often (about once a year) when this starts to happen, I pull out the card, clean off the fuzz, pop it back in, and I'm good to go.

I have a macpro with a Radeon X1900 btw. Give it a go and see if it helps.

Good luck.

[Richard Smith]

Thanks for your suggestions! I will check out my video card when I log off here and let you know the results. In the event this is a ground loop, how do I get rid of that? I've read all kinds of documentation on this and there doesn't seem to be a clear answer. One thing I did notice that was different from my current G5 and my old one (actually, the older one is newer by manufacturer date): when I opened it up I found a set of wires that run from the area where the airport card is located around the mother board to a destination near the AC connection. On the quiet G5 this set of wires are fed behind the motherboard to their destination. On the noisy G5 these wires are routed in front of the motherboard and are easily visible. Is it possible they come too close to electronics on the front side which may cause this noise or possible ground loop? I considered pulling out the motherboard to re route these wires but haven't yet since I don't know for sure. Last thing I need is to make it worse! Thanks again,
RS

[MIDI Life Crisis]

Interesting the word USB hasn't come up yet. Is your mouse USB or wireless? If USB, I'd suspect that as the cause. If not, I've no suggestions.

USB input can introduce noise into the signal (audio out) and probably won't be recorded. Still, it's annoying. I get it from my USB controller (PCR-800) when I run the fader or input MIDI notes.

This is not a symptom of a ground loop. Dust? Could be I suppose. If you removed the video card or other cards in the dust removal process, you may also have reseated the card in the reinstallation process. This could have also solved the problem if it was a poor contact.

Anyway, try a wireless mouse if you can. Also, you might try some USB input from other sources and see if noise is present.

[Richard Smith]

Thanks MIDILIFE! I actually use a wireless mouse but keep a wired trackball connected at all times (in the event the bluetooth connection goes out or batteries die...). I'll try the video card / dust idea, that may be the problem! I appreciate your help.
RS

[James Steele]

I'll chime in here to say that I have a few apps that I will observer noise coming from the Mac when I do certain mouse actions. For example, I have an app that has resizable columns in a data list view. If I click the column line and hold the mouse down to change the width of a column, my Mac emits a very faint high pitch sound until I release the mouse button. The odd thing is this happened with both my current Mac Pro and my previous G5. It has made me wonder if it's not actually something in the code? Perhaps there's some sort of odd disc accessing going on because of how the programmer wrote that function of the program?

[Richard Smith]

Thanks for your input James. I'm finding out that this noise doesn't transmit into the recording process which is a huge relief! It is very annoying though and I'm sure it wasn't noticeable on my previous G5. I think you may be right about the programming aspect because it really seems to react to mouse movement and icon genie effects. The problem for me is that when I'm working with headphones (which is almost always when it comes to laying down tracks or listening to details...) I can't focus on the music through the scratching sounds of the mouse... thoughts of chalkboards and fingernails come to mind...sorry! This noise isn't just when I'm working in DP either. I use Garage Band a lot and the same scratching sounds are very noticeable there. Alas, is it possible that Mac has a cure for this? Do you know anyone in the Macintosh programming or design world that might be able to answer this question? Thank you for your help!
RS