Clicking Macbook Pro, and dust...

[jpcho83]

So, I recieved my New Macbook Pro less than a week ago, and have noticed dust beginning to creep in under the glass... yeah I don't like the idea of settling for dust under the glass, but I also don't like the idea of sending in a BTO computer for repair and waiting for a new replacement, when it is quite possible that the new computer they ship me will have the same problem and not the LCD version I want... (which, BTW, this LCD is great... the colors are awesome and there are no dead pixels...)

So, besides just waiting for about a year to deal with this dust issue (and to see if it gets any worse), there are two other issues I have with it...

There is a click coming from the harddrive every time I lift the computer up. Is this normal? I will have a video posted soon but the drive I have is the 7200 250 gig... Hitachi HTS723225L9SA62... I am letting my camera battery charge so I can post on youtube and post up a link here later...

If i lift the computer up to move around it goes "Click" a single time.

This has be sweating bullets... lol

oh, and there is a raised imperfection on the aluminum part of the body, right above the F3 and F4 keys that seems to get the hottest out of all the spots on the computer (besides the back)... should I be worried about it? It is so slight its barely noticeable visually, but if you run your finger across it, you can feel it...

blah

early adoption woes...

lmk if you guys have any ideas
or suggestions...

 

[stevemiller]

the drive clicking is apparently actually a safety feature where its locking itself down when it senses motion (in case its being dropped). mine and others have reported the same clicking noise so i wouldn't worry, although having heard a hard drive in its death rattles before, the noise is eerily similar!

i don't have the screen dust issues so i can't help you there. out of curiosity, you mentioned you really like your current screen, do you have the 9c84 or 9c85? (display preferences > colour > open profile > property #13 > model#) i don't have any defects in my 9c85, but the viewing angle seems REALLY shallow (although this is coming from a guy who normally works with a 23" cinema display, so maybe i'm just spoiled)

 

[jpcho83]

the drive clicking is apparently actually a safety feature where its locking itself down when it senses motion (in case its being dropped). mine and others have reported the same clicking noise so i wouldn't worry, although having heard a hard drive in its death rattles before, the noise is eerily similar!

i don't have the screen dust issues so i can't help you there. out of curiosity, you mentioned you really like your current screen, do you have the 9c84 or 9c85? (display preferences > colour > open profile > property #13 > model#) i don't have any defects in my 9c85, but the viewing angle seems REALLY shallow (although this is coming from a guy who normally works with a 23" cinema display, so maybe i'm just spoiled)

Indeed I have the 9c84... I believe it is an LG... I really don't want to swap, but I am starting to really worry about this dust... it keeps increasing, and with a blacklight, I can see additional dust building up besides the large piece. Again, I can't really notice it while I'm working on stuff, but really, 3k later and I have dust building up behind the screen in 2 days? =/ I'm at the apple store right now getting ready to take a workshop (don't know os x at all) and possible talk with someone about it...

 

[MVApple]

Most laptops that have a a screen in front of the lcd have these types of problems. My gf has a tablet pc and it has dust behind the sceen too. Honestly, I expect to get dust behind my screen eventually as well. The only thing is what will Apple do? Can a genius open it at the store and clean it out? Will it even be considered a warranty issue?

I saw ifixit's tear down of the mbp but they didn't take apart the top portion of the laptop with the screen.

 

[jpcho83]

Most laptops that have a a screen in front of the lcd have these types of problems. My gf has a tablet pc and it has dust behind the sceen too. Honestly, I expect to get dust behind my screen eventually as well. The only thing is what will Apple do? Can a genius open it at the store and clean it out? Will it even be considered a warranty issue?

I saw ifixit's tear down of the mbp but they didn't take apart the top portion of the laptop with the screen.

well since it's a CTO build, there is no recourse through the geniuses at a store... all they can do is nod, listen to you b*^ch and then tell you to call applecare... =) I did it anyway just to feel better, but I was really there to pick up a wireless keyboard and VMWare Fusion. I decided to keep this one despite the dust. It's sealed, and that is why ifixit has not shown the removal. The glass, I am assuming, is stuck to the frame of the single piece pane... Trying to remove it would probably result in cracking the glass without some kind of special tool, not to mention whatever adhesive might have been affixing the screen to the top will be ruined. I also took a look with the Genius at the display laptops and pretty much every single one had some amount of dust (cleaned the screen with spray and a cloth, then shone my nifty blacklight into it... tada! dust everywhere but not really visible). I suspect wherever the cabling is coming into the screen area is a possible source for dust entry, although this stuff is most obviously a remnant from manufacture as I have only had this gem since tuesday.

No dead pixels, nice screen, I'm gonna stick it out. If it get's worse later, I guess I'll have to ship it off for a while and have someone replace it later =) well gotta go... =)

 

[MowingDevil]

I also took a look with the Genius at the display laptops and pretty much every single one had some amount of dust (cleaned the screen with spray and a cloth, then shone my nifty blacklight into it... tada! dust everywhere but not really visible). I suspect wherever the cabling is coming into the screen area is a possible source for dust entry, although this stuff is most obviously a remnant from manufacture as I have only had this gem since tuesday.

No dead pixels, nice screen, I'm gonna stick it out. If it get's worse later, I guess I'll have to ship it off for a while and have someone replace it later =) well gotta go... =)

Are you telling us the dust is only visible when shining a black light onto the screen?!? Holy smokes man, you had me worried there. I could care less if there's something wrong that is only visible w/ black light. If it was visible in the viewing area under normal lighting conditions then I'd be very concerned and probably return it. If it was along the bezel only I'd probably just ignore it since I try my best to avoid looking at that area anyways.

 

[nitewolfgtr]

The clicking noise is normal. It's there for safety precaution. Whenever you lift your macbook, the harddrive seizes your drive from spinning thus makes the clicking noise. This is there to avoid harddrive crashes. I have the same noise.

 

[jpcho83]

Are you telling us the dust is only visible when shining a black light onto the screen?!? Holy smokes man, you had me worried there. I could care less if there's something wrong that is only visible w/ black light. If it was visible in the viewing area under normal lighting conditions then I'd be very concerned and probably return it. If it was along the bezel only I'd probably just ignore it since I try my best to avoid looking at that area anyways.

Lol, well what first brought all the additional dust to my attention was a double white spot right along the bezel of the screen. Yeah, it's noticeable. Yeah, it doesn't actually go into the viewing area. Yeah, its hardly visible until in sunlight... but yeah it sucks... I noticed more shiny metallic like dust particles when I shone the blacklight on it. As for the screens in the stores... yeah, they had shiny metallic dust in it too, but since the led shines through, you can't notice it while the screen is on. This is right along the bezel so you can see it even when the screen is on... blegh, not a big deal. That's why I'm leaving it alone hehehe

oh well... c'est la vie?

 

[jpcho83]

The clicking noise is normal. It's there for safety precaution. Whenever you lift your macbook, the harddrive seizes your drive from spinning thus makes the clicking noise. This is there to avoid harddrive crashes. I have the same noise.

Thanks =)

At least one thing less to worry about...
and one thing that is actually working correctly... (well, that's kinda unfair since the computer has worked pretty much flawlessly since I got it. One time it crashed while I was playing Spore... hmmm)