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Something loose inside.

philipxz

philipxz

macrumors regular
Original poster
May 15, 2007
112
0
I have a MacBook, specs on signature.

When I carry my MacBook (folded) and give little shakes or when walking while carrying it you could feel something loose inside. And you could definitely hear something from inside shaking. It seems it is coming from the hard drive side (bottom right corner). I've open it up before but didn't touch anything.

Does yours do this? It doesn't make the machine feel very solid. /=

EDIT: Oh and one more thing sometimes I could hear a light clicking noise from the hard drive now and then. Is this normal? It's quite quiet I can only hear it when there is nothing playing like music from the speakers.
 
Neither of the two problems you specified sound normal to me! I can shake my macbook without hearing anything clattering around inside, and neither does my harddrive click.

Clicking HD's can mean looming HD death, or even if not can drastically reduce the life of the HD, I'd bring it to a store for an examination, but really, mention both these issues and have them fixed if possible. Neither sound trivial enough to ignore.

My advice to you is back up your files if you haven't already.
 
When you were shaking it was it in a vertical position? Because that's when I hear something moving inside. If it is on a horizontal position mine doesn't make any sounds either.

If I were to get it checked do I just come in the Apple Store and have one of the employees see it?

Archiving files now. 1=
 
philipxz said:
When you were shaking it was it in a vertical position? Because that's when I hear something moving inside. If it is on a horizontal position mine doesn't make any sounds either.

If I were to get it checked do I just come in the Apple Store and have one of the employees see it?
Click to expand...

I shook it vertically (just for you ;)) and don't hear anything, but even if I did, it would definitely not be normal, and we would both have to have our machines checked out.

Yes, take your machine and your receipt to a store and ask to have someone check it out. If the clicking persists tell them to change the HD, it's really, really not a good omen. Check google for HD clicking, you should find plenty of (scary) material on the topic. You really don't want to settle for a clicking HD.
 
Yes, I've searched Google and YouTube before for HD clicking and mine is nothing like the others so I thought mine was normal and it was only Spotlight indexing Webpages. But to think of it I've never really heard these noises from the HD the first weeks I got it. As long as I can remember I've been hearing the clicks for about two weeks now.

Thanks! I'm archiving documents right now and uploading it to my Gmail. :)
 
philipxz said:
Yes, I've searched Google and YouTube before for HD clicking and mine is nothing like the others so I thought mine was normal and it was only Spotlight indexing Webpages. But to think of it I've never really heard these noises from the HD the first weeks I got it. As long as I can remember I've been hearing the clicks for about two weeks now.

Thanks! I'm archiving documents right now and uploading it to my Gmail. :)
Click to expand...

Different HD's sound different, don't be deterred by the fact that your clicking may sound different... any type of HD clicking is a very bad sign. Definitely have it checked out and preferably replaced, you'd be risking quite a lot if you don't.

Good job backing your stuff up, but at the risk of sounding like I'm lecturing, you should always be making regular backups of your important files, you just never know! If I had relied on my computer to keep all my stuff safe I think I would have lost all of my files quite a few times over during the course of the years I've been using computers. (Granted, most of them were PC's, but it's equally important on a mac).
Also consider such free online services as mediafire file uploading. www.mediafire.com
 
Thanks for helping! But I'm not going to be able to get it check until Saturday or Sunday. So until then! Unless you guys have any ideas what this is. :(

Can I still extend its warranty while it's on its 1 year warranty? I will definitely extend my warranty and buy a Time Capsule when I get money.
 
Don't worry, it is only a loose screw.

You should be all right as long as you don't shake your head too much.

And if it only happens when you carry the Mac, it is just the joy of Apple ownership loosening things up for you.

Edit: or was it the computer with something loose?
 
philipxz said:
Thanks for helping! But I'm not going to be able to get it check until Saturday or Sunday. So until then! Unless you guys have any ideas what this is. :(

Can I still extend its warranty while it's on its 1 year warranty? I will definitely extend my warranty and buy a Time Capsule when I get money.
Click to expand...

You're welcome. Good luck! If you remember, post here again once you've gone, and give us a follow-up.

You can always purchase extended warranty.
 
Hello guys,

I was just from the Apple Store and it was indeed the HDD. They're going to replace it soon after. :)
 
I have more issues than the HDD itself actually, but they don't bother me as much as the HDD issue except for the YouTube/Flash issue, and I thought I'd just share it here since I don't want to create a whole new thread.

Flash for Mac? It's really bad. When you right click, the video stutters/choppy. When you right click on the flash object, animation and audio stops. Even if I don't right click on anything YouTube videos are still choppy but every 10s - 30s or so. This must be Flash right, because videos being played other than Flash doesn't do that. Bothers the hell out of me when watching YouTube videos or any Flash videos at that.

Something on the left of my display there's a white line that goes all the way through from top to bottom. I think the display is misplaced. Doesn't bother me because can't see it unless you are trying to look for it. You can only see it when it's sunny or you're in a really bright environment.

Finally Photo Booth. It's really weird, sometimes there would be this pink dot that appears when I'm on it sometimes on the bottom and sometimes at the top and always at that same place doesn't move or anything. And yes it takes it with the picture when I take a picture.

http://i688.photobucket.com/albums/vv241/asongforyou/DSC00051.jpg?t=1241982426
The strange white line.

http://i688.photobucket.com/albums/vv241/asongforyou/DSC00051.jpg?t=1241982426
Normal side.

Photo58.jpg

The Photo Booth issue.

Other than that I love my Mac.
 
This is very frustrating.

Yesterday, I went to drop it off to the Apple Store to get a hard drive replacement.

Today, I went there to pick it up. And I shook my MacBook just to make sure it was fixed. Guess what! There was still the clicking noises. It was different this time actually, different noise and sound. So I addressed the issue once again to a genius and he checked it out. He came back and told me that it was from the optical drive and completely normal.

I walked around the Apple Store and looked at the other MacBooks. I shook them and they weren't making any clicking noises like mine!

When I got home I started the MacBook and found out they didn't change my hard drive. I looked at the "Parts and Services" it said "NO TROUBLE FOUND". When last time they said they were going to replace the hard drive.

Can anyone else confirm that is normal? Because I've been going back and forth to the Apple Store by walking and taking buses and only to find out that nothing was changed about it. I'm just frustrated.

Please read the whole thread for this to make sense.
 
philipxz said:
This is very frustrating.

Yesterday, I went to drop it off to the Apple Store to get a hard drive replacement.

Today, I went there to pick it up. And I shook my MacBook just to make sure it was fixed. Guess what! There was still the clicking noises. It was different this time actually, different noise and sound. So I addressed the issue once again to a genius and he checked it out. He came back and told me that it was from the optical drive and completely normal.

I walked around the Apple Store and looked at the other MacBooks. I shook them and they weren't making any clicking noises like mine!

When I got home I started the MacBook and found out they didn't change my hard drive. I looked at the "Parts and Services" it said "NO TROUBLE FOUND". When last time they said they were going to replace the hard drive.

Can anyone else confirm that is normal? Because I've been going back and forth to the Apple Store by walking and taking buses and only to find out that nothing was changed about it. I'm just frustrated.

Please read the whole thread for this to make sense.
Click to expand...

FYI: All hard-drives will make a little clicking noise when shaken. It's perfectly normal!! The only HD's that are completely silent when shaken, are Solid-State! Mainly because there are no moving parts inside. In fact, if someone shook you, you'll make a odd noise inside too!!
 
What I'm pointing out now is the optical drive. The genius said it was completely normal but when I went around the Apple Store shaking other MacBooks, they did not make the same noise ass mine did.

It seems as though they did something with the hard drive because I don't feel it moving now. But the new sound, the genius said is coming from the optical drive.

My complaint is just that I did all this for nothing and I still feel like they couldn't see the issue.

:(
 
philipxz said:
What I'm pointing out now is the optical drive. The genius said it was completely normal but when I went around the Apple Store shaking other MacBooks, they did not make the same noise ass mine did.

It seems as though they did something with the hard drive because I don't feel it moving now. But the new sound, the genius said is coming from the optical drive.

My complaint is just that I did all this for nothing and I still feel like they couldn't see the issue.

:(
Click to expand...

My macbook does not make any clicking sounds when shaken. And as you said other ones at the store did not so i would think that's not normal.
 
philipxz said:
Flash for Mac? It's really bad. When you right click, the video stutters/choppy. When you right click on the flash object, animation and audio stops. Even if I don't right click on anything YouTube videos are still choppy but every 10s - 30s or so. This must be Flash right, because videos being played other than Flash doesn't do that. Bothers the hell out of me when watching YouTube videos or any Flash videos at that.
Click to expand...

Very true, this affects the entire mac lineup. The first time I got a mac I pointed it out to a 'genius' and he claimed he 'couldn't see that it was choppy' and that he thought 'it was the user uploading videos of inferior quality', basically he denied flash playback problems. :rolleyes: My grandmother would make a better 'genius' than some of those dunces I've witnessed.

I'm also sorry to hear about your repeted troubles. I stand by what I said earlier, that it's not normal. None of the macbooks I ever owned had something moving around inside of them when I shook them. I hope your hunch won't be confirmed by component failure in the near future.
 
Next thing you know they blame me when I get back to them with a system failure. :rolleyes:

Maybe I'll try once again this summer in different Apple Store! I think they are not taking me seriously because I'm just 15 and think I don't know what I'm talking about.
 
I'm just afraid that this could be start of something bigger. :mad:
 
Some brands of hard drives rattle or click when shaken while powered off. The easiest thing to do is to remove the drive and check to see if it is making the sound. Most likely that is the source.
 
You are shaking it when it is awake? Why would you do that? The sudden motion sensor will make the HDD click. As for the optical drive, is it coming from the top right near the screen?

As for youtube and flash, bypass it with Clicktoflash to watch it in h.264.
 
I know about the SMS, trust me I know what it sounds like, this is something else.

The SMS doesn't constantly make a clicking noise when shaken it locks the hard drive once and that's it one clicking noise.

This on the other hand is the exact opposite, constant clicking noise when shaken despite if it's on sleep or it is off.
 
Ok then you have something loose in there if it is making a noise when it is asleep.

Does the optical drive work normally?
 
The last time I used the optical drive to watch a movie it worked fine.

Yes, the clicking noise seems to be coming from the top right corner near the screen.

EDIT: Wait actually the last time I used the optical drive was to burn and install Windows 7. But I have had this issue before I did that which was around two weeks ago.
 
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