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Computer is open, foil is torn.. any possible problems?

A

athraen

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Sep 17, 2007
25
0
I just opened up my MB. One thing I noticed is that the piece of foil connecting the optical drive to the fan has a tear in it. The tear is about 3/4 inch and runs parallel to the wires that appear to connect the hard drive to the optical drive. What is the likely hood that that could cause a problem? What kind of problems might it cause (if any)?

I'm trying to figure out why my internet isn't working. I ran the hardware tests, reformatted, tried the SMC reset and still nothing. I can connect to some wireless networks, but a lot won't connect. I can't connect to the internet wirelessly or wired. Any suggestions of what to look for inside? I'll post pictures if anyone wants to see.
 
Nope, not under warranty or it'd be fixed already.
I've been following the guides at ifixit for the disassembly.
So what exactly does the EMI foil do?

Is there anything I should look for that might be causing my internet problems?

Yeah, I don't know a whole lot about the insides of computers, but I'm trying to learn. I don't really have much to lose if I mess something up. Everything's backed up and the computer is useless to me without internet. And I can't really afford to have someone repair it for at least 2 more months.
 
So is there any possibility that the tear has affected my internet?
 
So would that require new parts? From everyone I've talked to, it sounds like it may be a problem in the logic board. And I would assume that electrostatic issues could screw it up somehow.
The airport card looks fine (and it shouldn't affect the wired connection anyway, correct?)
 
athraen said:
So would that require new parts? From everyone I've talked to, it sounds like it may be a problem in the logic board. And I would assume that electrostatic issues could screw it up somehow.
The airport card looks fine (and it shouldn't affect the wired connection anyway, correct?)
Click to expand...
Your wired connection would be unaffected. Have you checked the entire antenna as well?
 
I'm not exactly sure what the antenna looks like. I see 2 wires running from the Airport card up into the monitor area (which I haven't opened). They appear to be well connected to the card. and the part I see looks good (no tears or anything in the outer plastic).

I don't know if it makes any difference, but the Network Diagnostic tool doesn't recognize the ethernet cable at all.
 
Is there anything else I should look for?
I'll probably be sending it in as soon as I can. The guy at the Apple store said Apple offers a flat rate repair for about $300. And a new logic board is about $600 right? Well, this was truely fun for me. Thanks for your help. It's really appreciated.
 
Oh, I know, but if Apple will do the $300 flat rate repair, I'd rather do that. Anyways, if I get a new computer it will have Vista, which I will replace with XP most likely.
 
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