Disable DVD Fan?

I recently had my computer into the Genius Bar to diagnose a loud buzzing in the computer. It's a DVD (Optical) Fan. I couldn't be without my computer for the two or three days it would take them to fix it, so I left with the assurance that even if the fan burns itself out, it wouldn't be trouble and that I could fix it when I felt I had the time.
My question is: Can I disable the fan in the mean time?
I don't do a lot with the Optical drive anyways.

No, and I would strongly disagree with the "genius" at the bar. While the primary function of the fan is to deal with the heat from the optical drive, it is also responsible for cooling a few other things. In the latest model iMacs, there's a metal plate that sits under the optical drive that is part of the CPU cooling mechanism. It's a heatsink of sorts. You disable the optical drive fan, you disable the airflow that helps convect the bleed off heat from the CPU.
Besides that, the only real way to disable this fan is to disconnect it from the logic board, and that means disassembling the system. At a minimum, you have to take off the glass panel on the front, and then the LCD panel under it.
What I would suggest you do, is try and convince them to order the part and then give you a call when it comes in. Then you can take your system in, they can swap out the fan, and you are on your merry way. This is like a 10 minute repair, so you should be able to just hang about while it's done. If the Apple store won't do that, check for any AASPs in your area, see if they're willing to do something like that. Anyone working at an AASP (and doing the actual repairs) has had the same training as anyone at an Apple store, and odds are they're going to be better than the person you spoke with who is talking out of their arse.
Apple has this strange idea that you can teach people to be a good technician. Sure, you can teach just about anyone how to do the actual repairs, but you can't really teach the ability to see how the different parts all come together to make a whole. There's a certain level of intuition that goes with it. AASPs will often times focus more on the technical abilities of people when they're hiring techs. Apple's recruitment method is excellent if you're looking for sales staff, but not so much for technical staff. At least at their retail level. Corporate may be different.

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Disable DVD Fan?

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