Apple released firmware updates for both the MacBook and MacBook Pro product lines Tuesday with the release of MacBook EFI Firmware Update 1.4 and MacBook Pro EFI Firmware Update 1.8. The company also released SuperDrive Firmware Update 3.0 for MacBook, MacBook Pro, iMac, and Mac mini.
Both the MacBook and MacBook Pro firmware updates offer the same description of dealing with noise from the optical drive: "This update eliminates the noise made by the optical disk drive during system startup and wake from sleep on MacBook Pro computers. When installation is complete, please run Software Update again, and install SuperDrive Firmware Update 3.0."
The MacBook firmware update is a 3.14MB download from Apple's support site, while the MacBook Pro update is a 3.36MB update. You can also find the update you need on Software Update.
SuperDrive Firmware Update 3.0 is also related to this issue (hence the instructions to then run it after updating your MacBook/Pro's firmware. From the patch notes:
"This update will eliminate the noise made by the optical disk drive during system startup and wake from sleep on your Mac. This update works with the following EFI updates:
- iMac EFI Firmware Update 1.4
- Mac mini EFI Firmware Update 1.2
- MacBook EFI Firmware Update 1.4
- MacBook Pro EFI Firmware Update 1.8"
This update is an 18.35MB download from Apple's support site, and it, too, is available through Software Update.