Macintosh Computers: Cause of CD-ROM Drive Vibration

This article describes a vibration that may be felt or heard when playing a CD in an 8X or faster CD-ROM drive.
This behavior is not related to a particular computer model. Rather, it is related to the speed of the CD-ROM drive in the system.

CD-ROM drives running at 8x and faster spin CD-ROM discs very quickly. Because of the high rotational speed, CD-ROM discs with artwork or a label on one side are unbalanced and can cause the computer to vibrate. For example, the label on the CD-ROM disc may be noticeably thicker on one side than the other.

This vibration affects very few CD-ROM discs and does not damage your computer or the CD-ROM disc itself, but you should be aware of the vibration in case it occurs.

Note: This can affect all 8x or faster drives.

Published Date: Feb 20, 2012