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qsoundrich

macrumors member
Original poster
For the past couple of weeks I've noticed that my old white macbook is running hot, and browsing has been kind of slow. I don't see anything out of the ordinary in the processes, but Heatsink A is reading -1. Should I just pull the machine apart and see if something isn't connected anymore? I installed a 7200 RPM HD a few months ago, but this problem is more recent.
 

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What happens when you set iStat to display the widget horizontally? I'm just wondering what the ... after the -1 is. It seems like this might be a defective sensor of some sort, but it shouldn't do anything to bog the system down. All a heatsink does is disperse heat. And if the temperature went up, I don't think the fans would kick in unless the CPU itself gets hot.

As for opening the machine, I wouldn't do it if you still have the warranty on it. Even if the warranty has expired, I would try to contact Apple first and see what can be done. If they can't help, then I would go in to the machine. Just make sure to back up everything!
 
OK i was just looking at it again, and the Heatsink A temp is all wonky. It goes up to 230 and down to -85 in a few seconds. I wonder how to fix the sensor....

I'm not inclined to take it anywhere, because I don't want to pay for them to fix it. Working on computers doesn't scare me, but good reminder about backing up first.
 
is this a 2GHz Core Duo MacBook by any chance ? (MacBook 1,1) ?

If it is then don't worry - it is a fault with iStat that never seems to get fixed - one second it reads -80 the next +60. The other Heatsink sensor works correctly ?

If so don't worry - nothing wrong with the hardware - faulty software !!!!
 
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