Can this part be removed?

[fenjen]

Hello guys,

I've been bugged by this metallic tick sound coming out of my macbook for a long time now and recently I have found this: http://tenonedesign.com/blog/fix-your-macbook-pro-like-a-champ/

The guy from the blog says this part is a conductor, but only one of many so it isn't really essential to keep this one in.
My question to you guys is, is it really okay to just leave this part out? Or could this potentially damage my Mac over time?

Thanks in advance.

 

[maflynn]

If I don't know what the part is, then I'd not leave it out. Obviously apple put each component and part in for a particular reason, so it is needed.

 

[fenjen]

If I don't know what the part is, then I'd not leave it out. Obviously apple put each component and part in for a particular reason, so it is needed.

Well as I said it's a conductor and there are a lot more, there always has to be a buffer, I just don't know how crucial this part is. I'm looking for a response from someone with a little more technical knowledge though.

 

[maflynn]

My point is that Apple thought is was crucial enough to put it in there. With space being so constrained they're not about to add extra stuff just because. I'd not look to leave it out because the apple engineers though it was important enough to have it in there in the first place.

 

[fenjen]

My point is that Apple thought is was crucial enough to put it in there. With space being so constrained they're not about to add extra stuff just because. I'd not look to leave it out because the apple engineers though it was important enough to have it in there in the first place.

As I said it could be about having a buffer. I could easily remove a screw or two or some other little piece that the Apple engineers put there with so much thought, without ever noticing it.

I'm just asking for someone with actual tech knowledge if this particular part is really that important.

I'm willing to accept that it's not a good idea to take it out as long as someone gives me a good explanation.

Thanks for your reply anyway but it's just not what I was looking for.

 

[ValSalva]

That article you quoted is three years old. I'd try contacting the author of that blog to see if he's had any trouble during the intervening years since removing that part.

I doubt there would be any problem but don't have the technical experience or knowledge to say one way or the other. I'd be interested to hear what that blogger had to say.

 

[fenjen]

That article you quoted is three years old. I'd try contacting the author of that blog to see if he's had any trouble during the intervening years since removing that part.

I doubt there would be any problem but don't have the technical experience or knowledge to say one way or the other. I'd be interested to hear what that blogger had to say.

I've sent him an e-mail. He is involved in a business though so I'm not expecting an e-mail from him soon. I'll report back if I get an e-mail from him.

 

[Arran]

It looks like a spring loaded bonding conductor. It's important. You can read why here and here

Similarly, bonding is employed to protect persons from accidental electric shock. It is used mostly where several electrical devices with conductive surfaces are installed close to each other. Of course, these conductive surfaces will have to be grounded. In addition, however, all the conductive surfaces of all the equipment are connected together usually by cables. This is called bonding.

When electrical equipment with conductive surfaces are in close proximity, certain phenomena can cause the surfaces to be at different potential. If someone should touch the surfaces of two different equipment at the same time, that person could receive a shock. To prevent this, bonding is used to keep the conductive surfaces of various equipment at the same potential. With no potential difference between surfaces, there will be no shock risk.

It also looks like it might act as a spacer to prevent the thin aluminum base of the macbook pressing against the internal components and causing a short or other mechanical interference. The memory cards look particularly vulnerable to intrusion.

The guy at the blog has misdiagnosed the cause of the noise. I listened to his recording and it is clearly the faint sound of disk drive heads moving and parking intermittently. It's normal. Granted, the solid bonding conductor may be helping transmit this noise from the hard drive chassis to the MacBook's bottom casing (which then acts like a loudspeaker cone and amplifies the noise).

If the noise is really bothering you I'd suggest installing an SSD which has no moving parts. I've done that on three MacBooks and it's fairly easy.

You might also want to check out this Apple article about macbook hard drive noise.

 

[fenjen]

It looks like a spring loaded bonding conductor. It's important. You can read why here and here



It also looks like it might act as a spacer to prevent the thin aluminum base of the macbook pressing against the internal components and causing a short or other mechanical interference. The memory cards look particularly vulnerable to intrusion.

The guy at the blog has misdiagnosed the cause of the noise. I listened to his recording and it is clearly the faint sound of disk drive heads moving and parking intermittently. It's normal. Granted, the solid bonding conductor may be helping transmit this noise from the hard drive chassis to the MacBook's bottom casing (which then acts like a loudspeaker cone and amplifies the noise).

If the noise is really bothering you I'd suggest installing an SSD which has no moving parts. I've done that on three MacBooks and it's fairly easy.

You might also want to check out this Apple article about macbook hard drive noise.

I'm actually pretty sure it's this part.

 

[Astroboy907]

On your last thread you said the plastic broke... could it just be superglued together and reinserted into the computer? I assume no contacts are running lateral through the plastic.

 

[fenjen]

On your last thread you said the plastic broke... could it just be superglued together and reinserted into the computer? I assume no contacts are running lateral through the plastic.

Well the plastic broke but It's still inside my macbook atm (the screws still hold it in place but not that sturdy). In this state I would rather have it out but I'm still looking if I can find a whole new one on ebay or something.

 

[kh3khalid]

My MBP was making this sound from the same spot, but when I removed the back cover to upgrade the ram it stopped making the sound. I don't hear anything at all. This doesn't seem relevant but I don't know, it just stopped.