Macbook Superdrive Makes Noises When Being Moved

Joined
Sep 8, 2007
Messages
552
Reaction score
4
Points
18
Location
United Kingdom
Your Mac's Specs
13" MBP 2.3Ghz i7 32GB 1TB | iPhone XR
When im moving my macbook around while its turned on and not in sleep, the superdrive makes the same noises that it makes when its turned on or waking from sleep but while its making the noises if I move it again, it stops the current noise its making, and starts it over again. It doesn't seem to have affected the drive at all but its just kinda annoying hearing the noises while Im moving my macbook from room to room. Just wondering if anyone elses does this. I have the first gen Macbook, the one with the 2Ghz Core Duo. Thanks Guys
 

chscag

Well-known member
Staff member
Admin
Joined
Jan 23, 2008
Messages
65,248
Reaction score
1,833
Points
113
Location
Keller, Texas
Your Mac's Specs
2017 27" iMac, 10.5" iPad Pro, iPhone 8, iPhone 11, iPhone 12 Mini, Numerous iPods, Monterey
Is it the superdrive or the hard drive that's making the noise? The hard drive is protected by a "sudden motion sensor" which will lock the heads down if the drive is moved while it's turned on. It's not a good idea to move your MacBook around while it's turned on and not in sleep mode. :Grimmace:

Regards.
 
OP
halo200
Joined
Sep 8, 2007
Messages
552
Reaction score
4
Points
18
Location
United Kingdom
Your Mac's Specs
13" MBP 2.3Ghz i7 32GB 1TB | iPhone XR
Hi its the actual superdrive making the noises, the same ones that it makes from resuming from sleep, but it sometimes even makes the noises when its on my laptop and i shuffle a little bit
 

chscag

Well-known member
Staff member
Admin
Joined
Jan 23, 2008
Messages
65,248
Reaction score
1,833
Points
113
Location
Keller, Texas
Your Mac's Specs
2017 27" iMac, 10.5" iPad Pro, iPhone 8, iPhone 11, iPhone 12 Mini, Numerous iPods, Monterey
That's a bit strange. Normally optical drives only make noise while reading and writing to a disk. The movement is probably causing the drive to spin slightly. Could be a defective sensor within the drive itself. I guess as long as it hasn't impacted on the operation of the drive it can be used. But I wonder how long can that last? You might think about replacing the drive.

www.ifixit.com is a good place to find out what the cost of a new drive would be and how easy or difficult it is to replace it yourself.

Regards.
 
OP
halo200
Joined
Sep 8, 2007
Messages
552
Reaction score
4
Points
18
Location
United Kingdom
Your Mac's Specs
13" MBP 2.3Ghz i7 32GB 1TB | iPhone XR
When you put your macbook to sleep and then wake it up again can you hear the superdrive making a sound? Thats the sound Im getting when my macbook is moved. Thanks
 

chscag

Well-known member
Staff member
Admin
Joined
Jan 23, 2008
Messages
65,248
Reaction score
1,833
Points
113
Location
Keller, Texas
Your Mac's Specs
2017 27" iMac, 10.5" iPad Pro, iPhone 8, iPhone 11, iPhone 12 Mini, Numerous iPods, Monterey
My drive is silent when coming out of sleep or when moving the machine. The only time it makes any kind of sound is when it's reading or writing to a disk. That's why I think your drive may have a sensor which is not working the way it should.

Regards.
 
Joined
May 27, 2008
Messages
275
Reaction score
2
Points
18
Location
Maine
Your Mac's Specs
MBP 2.5ghz, 4gb/r, 200g7.2krpm
Yea carrying it puts a little pressure on the very thin CD bay so its makes a scraping noise if thats what your talking about.
 
OP
halo200
Joined
Sep 8, 2007
Messages
552
Reaction score
4
Points
18
Location
United Kingdom
Your Mac's Specs
13" MBP 2.3Ghz i7 32GB 1TB | iPhone XR
No scraping

Yea carrying it puts a little pressure on the very thin CD bay so its makes a scraping noise if thats what your talking about.
Hi, no scraping noises, just the the sound thats made when i start the computer or wake it from sleep, like its checking if there's a CD in there or something. It does it when the drive is empty.
 
Joined
Mar 22, 2007
Messages
1,463
Reaction score
67
Points
48
Location
UK
Your Mac's Specs
Lenovo Z560 Hackintosh -:- '06 iMac -:- iPod Touch 2ndGen
Hi, no scraping noises, just the the sound thats made when i start the computer or wake it from sleep, like its checking if there's a CD in there or something. It does it when the drive is empty.

They don't seem to be listening to you! ;)

The drive connector might be loose, and causing the power to the SuperDrive to become intermittent when the case is flexed - that might cause it to "reset" and make that sound.

If you're brave, you could get the lid off and take a look and see.
 
OP
halo200
Joined
Sep 8, 2007
Messages
552
Reaction score
4
Points
18
Location
United Kingdom
Your Mac's Specs
13" MBP 2.3Ghz i7 32GB 1TB | iPhone XR
Looks like you were right

I decided to open it up like you said, following the guide on ifixit and the connector looked a little loose lke you said, so I disconnected it and made sure it was in nice and tight and I havnt had the problem since, Thanks a lot, quiet at last :D
 

Shop Amazon


Shop for your Apple, Mac, iPhone and other computer products on Amazon.
We are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon and affiliated sites.
Top