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Something small loose inside my MBA?

D

daonesteven

macrumors 6502
Original poster
Aug 7, 2007
298
0
Baltimore, MD
so today i lifted my 11" mba up and tilted it a bit and heard something relatively quiet inside the mba that sounded as if something was loose inside. I honestly only heard it because it was quiet in my room so it might not be a big deal at all, but now my OCD is kicking in and I'm trying to figure out what it could possibly be. It's coming from the right side of the computer, maybe around where the arrow keys are located. When I tilt it left and right I hear something but I'm not sure if it's something that's loose or it's like one of the keyboard springs that are just shifting or something.

Anyone else have any idea what i'm talking about or what this might be?

*edit: if you dont hear anything of the sort that I am referring to, on your mba, then it would be great to get those inputs as well. Thanks
 
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honestly it's not as bad as i'm making it sound, it almost sounds like maybe even a piece of dry rice or even smaller, a piece of salt or something is rolling around. I really have to put it close to my ear and in a quiet room to be able to hear it. So I might just be going insane.
 
Mr. McMac said:
It could be a tiny screw that came loose. Before something shorts out I'd have it checked out
Click to expand...

yea maybe. Though I think even a tiny screw would make much more of a rattle in there than I'm experiencing. Mine just sounds like a small sand pebble or something is just shifting around in there in a limited space. I'm starting to think maybe it's something fell in the keyboard.
 
daonesteven said:
yea maybe. Though I think even a tiny screw would make much more of a rattle in there than I'm experiencing. Mine just sounds like a small sand pebble or something is just shifting around in there in a limited space. I'm starting to think maybe it's something fell in the keyboard.
Click to expand...

Maybe it isn't going to damage your computer but since you're not 100% about that, just take it to Apple and ask them to check it out. That way you won't have to think about it every time you move your computer around.
 
That sound can't be normal. There's absolutely nothing loose inside MBAs, not even remotely.

Just earlier today I opened up my 2010 MBA to re-apply thermal paste: the insides are packed tight as heck (chock-full of electronic eye-candy :cool:). The only moving part is the fan. So your MBA shouldn't make any noise at all while shaken around.
 
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Mine makes the same noise in the same place. I have repaired one that had a screw loose under the clutch cover. This isn't anything like that.

I have never had mine apart, but when the time comes I will definitely be inspecting that area.

FWIW my buddy's makes the same noise. We are both using 2010 11" MBAs.
 
i am not entirely certain about this but i think the sound is coming from the ever so slight shifting of the keyboard springs or mechanisms underneath each key that shift every time you tilt the computer in any direction. Yea, like I said, this is a very very slight sound that only if you were truly OCD you could hear. It's even easy to miss when the room is absolutely quiet. That being said, I'll still have it checked out the next opportunity I have to get into the apple store.
 
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