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Has anyone with a noisy HDD opened it up to see what the issue is? (2011 MBP)

Adidas Addict

Adidas Addict

macrumors 65816
Original poster
Sep 9, 2008
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England
As plenty of people with the new 2011 MBP have reported to noisy HDD (both 5400 & 7200) in all sizes I wondered if anyone had opened it up to see if it's just poorly mounted or lose screws etc? I'm not talking of the SMS noise or parking, just the constant spinning noise that can be heard at the right of the trackpad. Many have noticed that the noise stops when you apply pressure to the right palmrest, which makes me think the drives are not screwed in securely.

I don't have the tools to take the back off mine currently, but would be interested to know if anyone has had a look, or solved this.

Thanks in advance.
 
Well I'll be watching this thread. I have a 2010 (although December 2010 build) and the hard drive is ridiculously noisy/vibratey (not clicks though - just a hum). I've had many Mac laptops and none like this. I will say it does not really change when I press on the palm rest (i.e. does not go away).

I just had the back cover off but that was before I realized the hard drive was going to be noisy so I did not check it out.

I will probably buy another one and relegate this one to backup drive status. I'm reluctant to take my computer to Apple for this repair since I can easily do it myself with no further risk of cosmetic damage (unless I am sloppy, which I try not to be).

Anyway, will be reading with interest.

Mine is a 250gb 5400rpm Toshiba, btw. 2010 MBP 13"

Miss Terri
 
Miss Terri said:
Well I'll be watching this thread. I have a 2010 (although December 2010 build) and the hard drive is ridiculously noisy/vibratey (not clicks though - just a hum). I've had many Mac laptops and none like this. I will say it does not really change when I press on the palm rest (i.e. does not go away).

I just had the back cover off but that was before I realized the hard drive was going to be noisy so I did not check it out.

I will probably buy another one and relegate this one to backup drive status. I'm reluctant to take my computer to Apple for this repair since I can easily do it myself with no further risk of cosmetic damage (unless I am sloppy, which I try not to be).

Anyway, will be reading with interest.

Mine is a 250gb 5400rpm Toshiba, btw. 2010 MBP 13"

Miss Terri
Click to expand...

I've got the small philips and T6 drivers coming in the post in the next few days, so I'll report back when I have had a look. I'm wondering if it is vibrating against the palmrest whether a small peice of packing (cardboard/rubber etc) would stop this.
 
I've got a 2010 mbp, and its equally as noisy. I recentlys upgraded from my stock 5400 to a 7200, both Hitachi drives. I am still hearing the same hum/whirl, although it does stop when I put my palm over the right side of the casing.
 
Mine is REALLy quiet, i was quite surprised. It was just as quite as the stock 5400RPM drive in my late 08 MBP and there is next no vibration.
 
Christ Im getting worried, I ordered a Mac coz I thought they were fairly solid silent machines! :p

Obviously I knew they would come with a hum (no sexual pun intended) but not as many complaints as Im seeing. Lets hope it wont be as bad compared to my pc noise!
 
Apple Corps said:
The 2011 15"MBP I purchased was returned due to the hard drive causing a resonant hum in the case. The 2011 17" is perfect :)
Click to expand...

That's what mine is doing.

Now, for those of us who are past the return period, I wonder if it would have gone away if a different hard drive had been put in that case? I would guess the answer is yes, since hard drives seem to vary a lot in noise/vibration. (vs. there being case flaws).

And actually, I would be reluctant to exchange mine right now even if I could, because it took me a few tries to get one I am happy with in terms of nice smooth case/edges (within reason given the overall sharp design).

Now if I could just figure out which drive to get! (and then I'll use this one for backup).
 
mattyuk said:
Christ Im getting worried, I ordered a Mac coz I thought they were fairly solid silent machines! :p

Obviously I knew they would come with a hum (no sexual pun intended) but not as many complaints as Im seeing. Lets hope it wont be as bad compared to my pc noise!
Click to expand...

LOL, don't worry man, it's a very quiet noise, it's just being used to numerous apple laptops I am used to total silence unless pushing it. It can be compared to a fan running at the lowest speed, only noticed in a silent room. Not every machine is doing this, but more than usual.

Cumbria eh? Small world......
 
Adidas Addict said:
LOL, don't worry man, it's a very quiet noise, it's just being used to numerous apple laptops I am used to total silence unless pushing it. It can be compared to a fan running at the lowest speed, only noticed in a silent room. Not every machine is doing this, but more than usual.

Cumbria eh? Small world......
Click to expand...

Ahh very good. Yeah im sure this will be nothing compared to the noise Im hearing now. Its literally like an A380 taking off from my desk.

Aye Cumbria, I live in the ghetto that is Carlisle.
 
mattyuk said:
Ahh very good. Yeah im sure this will be nothing compared to the noise Im hearing now. Its literally like an A380 taking off from my desk.

Aye Cumbria, I live in the ghetto that is Carlisle.
Click to expand...

It's still quieter than any plastic windows machine I have ever used lol.

(Barrow-in-Furness here)
 
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