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When installing a HDD instead of the SuperDrive:

Does the bracket, which holds the HDD, seal off the optical drive slot in the unibody?

Slot of MacBook Pro optical drive

If not, it seems that debris and dust could get in. (I guess it may depend as there are various types of bracket.)

But if it does get sealed, I wonder if closing that gap can negatively affect airflow inside the machine, and thus, risk overheating.

Any thoughts?


Also, perhaps those bristles can be removed, and an aluminum/plastic filling could close it up? Something that would be flush with the outside. Is there something like that?

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  • Have a look at apple.stackexchange.com/questions/55608/… – Gerry Dec 1 '12 at 9:15
  • @Gerry, thank you! Kinda answers the last question (but not entirely) from the WiFi signal side, but still concerned about about debris, airflow, etc. – Baumr Dec 1 '12 at 13:58
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Depends on your bracket/caddie style, but for peace of mind I would advise using electrical tape over the gap on the inside, any exterior covering cannot be less intrusive than just ignoring the hole. Airflow etc is not an issue.

Debris entering the Mac isn't a huge concern as there are slots larger than the optical bay and unless your optical drive has massive amounts of conductive metal debris in it - leaving the felt-like skirt in place should suffice for all but the most messy environments.

Unless you are also sealing the heat exhausts by the display hinge - sealing the optical slot won't matter either for good or for bad, so I'd say it's not a good idea to spend time/effort to further seal that slot.

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    Stuffe is correct - airflow is not required or designed for that slot and sealing it won't likely even be measurable and certainly can be covered by the blowers to remove whatever extra heat you may have by a second drive being powered on all the time rather than an occasionally used SuperDrive. – bmike♦ Dec 13 '12 at 17:57

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