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clintdoof · May 27, 2006, 09:55 PM

Hey guys,

Quick question. Just tonight I've noticed that as soon as I start up my MacBook, without any apps running, the hard drive constantly spins. So much so that I can feel the vibration in my fingers now as I type this. It can also be felt easily on both palm rests.

I'm assuming that this "vibration" is the hard drive spinning up and staying tha way. However, I've also considered that it could be the fans. I somewhat doubt this however because I don't hear them first of all, and secondly they usually don't come on this early. Usually the temp has to get up close to 80-85C before they'll kick in.

I'm fairly certain the hard drive is spinning for no apparent reason. Does anyone else have this issue? I've owned several laptops in the past, but have never felt a vibration this defined from a hard drive spinning. What gives?

wataru · May 27, 2006, 10:42 PM

Uh, it needs to spin in order to boot. As long as data is being read off the drive, it will be spinning. How quickly it spins down depends on your settings in Energy Saver.

greenamp · May 27, 2006, 10:53 PM

Aykew · May 28, 2006, 12:49 AM

That sounds a lot more like the CD drive than the hard drive. Even under heavy load, you should barely notice noise and never notice vibration from the hard drive. If you've got a cd in the drive, eject it, try again and let us know!

clintdoof · May 28, 2006, 01:54 PM

Come on guys, give me a bit of credit here (check out the username

). I realize the drive will spin when data is being both written and read. The problem is that it spins just about all the time (or a good bit of the time). I don't recall ever having a laptop in which I can actually feel the movement of the drive while typing. Again, this is assuming it's the drive. I suppose it's possible it could be the fans that's causing the vibration I'm feeling with my fingers. As for the idea about the optical drive, it's definitely not that since there's no disc in the drive. Any other thoughts? Bad drive? Bad fans? Normal operation? Anyone else feel this mild "vibration" before while typing?

LilleG · May 28, 2006, 02:21 PM

What your describing doesn't sound normal at all. I dont feel any kind of vibrations when running my macbook, and I haven't felt any when trying out the macbooks at the Apple store.

I suggest you send it back or have it looked at.

hldan · 07:34 PM

Originally Posted by pcguru

Hey guys,

Quick question. Just tonight I've noticed that as soon as I start up my MacBook, without any apps running, the hard drive constantly spins. So much so that I can feel the vibration in my fingers now as I type this. It can also be felt easily on both palm rests.

I'm assuming that this "vibration" is the hard drive spinning up and staying tha way. However, I've also considered that it could be the fans. I somewhat doubt this however because I don't hear them first of all, and secondly they usually don't come on this early. Usually the temp has to get up close to 80-85C before they'll kick in.

I'm fairly certain the hard drive is spinning for no apparent reason. Does anyone else have this issue? I've owned several laptops in the past, but have never felt a vibration this defined from a hard drive spinning. What gives?

Okay, first off, I would highly recommend that you take your MacBook to a nearby Apple retail store if you live close enough to one and they can look at your MacBook or call Apple Care since you are covered for phone support for 90 days. It's very difficult for anyone on these forums to figure out your issue since we can't see the computer at hand.

Second, it's people like you that create negative feelings about something new that comes out and make people afraid to buy it. The title of your post suggests that you have had multiple problems with your MacBook but you don't mention that in your post. The new MacBook is one of Apple's newest computers and has received quite a bit of positive feedback and this board has not been flooded with posts of problems with it so unless you have a list of issues to mention please be kind and title your post saying something like, "I'm having HD issues please help?"

Paradise · Jun 10, 2006, 08:12 PM

pcguru..... I want to confirm your problem because I am having the same thing happen to my new 2.0 MB. The vibration comes from the right-hand side palm rest and is constant. Although a very slight vibration, if I leave my hand there for a while it becomes very annoying. Also, this is not the fan as this is a constant spin no matter what the temp. of the processor. In other words, the minute you turn on the MB it's there. I'm wondering what to do......I'm wondering what you've done to remidy this as your initial post was on May 27.