Can I leave out the EMI shield?

Question

Level 1

110 points

Can I leave out the EMI shield?

It seems to me that replacing the clamshell hard disk would be very easy if the EMI shield were not present. Does this aluminum shield have a particularly important function or could I leave it off during reassembly without having a significant impact on the machine?

Indigo clamshell, Mac OS X (10.3.x)

Posted on Aug 31, 2008 3:57 PM

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Answer 1

Duane

Level 10

124,267 points

Aug 31, 2008 5:56 PM in response to josemari

The EMI shield is there to block electrical interference. It blocks interference caused by the iBook so that it won't interfere with other devices. It also blocks interference from other devices so that they won't affect the iBook.

You can try leaving it off but you or those around you might not like the results.

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Answer 2

josemari Author

Level 1

110 points

Sep 1, 2008 4:06 AM in response to Duane

Thanks for the reply! Leaving the shield out may be an interesting experiment, if I try it I'll report the results. 🙂

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Answer 3

vince1327

Level 2

260 points

Sep 1, 2008 11:03 PM in response to josemari

Hey,

I've done it on my ibook blueberry. It's actually a really cool see through effect. I also removed the shielding from around the lcd for the final touch. I use it in my house and at university and have had no real noticeable issues. It's constantly around thousands of dollars of computers and equipment at home and everyone elses computer at school. The only side effect i've seen so far are a couple of impressed looks from friends. 😀

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