Constant shaking hurting my iMac?

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Ever since construction started on the sidewalks, roads, etc. outside of my office my desk trembles- constantly. Therefore my iMac is always trembling. This may seem like a dumb question, but can that constant shaking hurt my computer? I've never posted in a forum so I hope that I didn't mess up royally. Thank you-
 

BrianLachoreVPI


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March 2011 15" MBP 2.3GHz i7 Quad Core 8GB Ram | Mid 2011 27" iMac 3.4 GHz i7 16 GB RAM 2 TB HDD
It's actually not a dumb question. The answer is a definite yes. I don't know the magnitude of the vibrations you're dealing with - but I would recommend you put some sort of foam rubber or anything you can think of to effectively isolate your iMac from that kind of vibration until they're done working out there. If it's vibrating enough that you notice it shaking your computer - it can cause damage. Your desktop wasn't designed to design a vibration environment, so I would definitely take a few precautions.

When we design systems for the military - there is a lot of additional design activity that goes into handling vibrations and then qualifying those systems to the MIL-STD. Your iMac wasn't designed with vibration in mind - which is good. It means you can afford it. ;)
 
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Thank you Brian. I've been so busy and distracted so it just occurred to me today that everything was constantly trembling and I bet it's been this way for 2 or 3 months. Dang. I wonder what signs or type of damage (hopefully none) I may want to be on the lookout for? I honestly do not know the inner workings of my iMac but I want to understand when I can. Thank you again!!!
 

BrianLachoreVPI


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I couldn't say - and it's entirely possible you'll be just fine. I'm just highlighting that if you've been observing visible and constant vibration - you should take steps to mitigate that if you can. Predicting where failure will occur and what symptom will materialize is a science of its own and where I work we have people who make careers out of that, so I couldn't begin to guess. The HDD is the obvious first choice - but in reality - it could materialize elsewhere. Again - I don't know exactly what you're seeing - so I was trying to answer your general question.

Just do yourself a favor and get a thick piece of foam rubber for the iMac to sit on for a while.
 
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I plan to buy that foam rubber asap. I've started looking around and everything in my office (which is my home too) is vibrating and the construction won't be ending for at least 1 year. Visible vibrations too. I understand that you can't predict what could happen. I appreciate your help so much.
 

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