My fan broke =[ / Passive Cooling - UPDATE

[ayeying]

I turned on the system from sleep today, and suddenly I hear a weird sound, like the fan was trying to rev but unable to. I open up iStat and I see 0RPM for the fan :(

I scheduled an appt for the Apple Store tomorrow morning, but I'm kinda worried that they won't be able to fix it by tomorrow. Does anyone know if there's a good chance or not of it being fixed by tomorrow? I need this system for a presentation tuesday evening...

[iBookG4user]

I'm sorry to say that I highly doubt that it will be done in one day. Perhaps you'll be lucky since it is the latest rev, but count on more in the 3-5 day range :(

[ayeying]

I know, I'm trying to prepare for the worst. The real big issue is the presentation I did is in Keynote... and my friend's extra laptops I can borrow run on Windows so I have to do the hassle of converting it and hope it doesn't break any animations and such...

At least with the fan breaking they can fix the problem where whenever I move the system, the fan makes a buzzing noise...

I guess the good news is that I have a cloned copy of the entire internal drive on my external 250GB just earlier today... therefore I can always work off that drive on the iMac and still have access to my files

I'm really hoping that it'll be repaired in the same amount of time as my Unibody MacBook, in which they replaced the screen by 4pm the same day (dropped it off around 10am)

[MacModMachine]

I know, I'm trying to prepare for the worst. The real big issue is the presentation I did is in Keynote... and my friend's extra laptops I can borrow run on Windows so I have to do the hassle of converting it and hope it doesn't break any animations and such...

At least with the fan breaking they can fix the problem where whenever I move the system, the fan makes a buzzing noise...

I guess the good news is that I have a cloned copy of the entire internal drive on my external 250GB just earlier today... therefore I can always work off that drive on the iMac and still have access to my files

I'm really hoping that it'll be repaired in the same amount of time as my Unibody MacBook, in which they replaced the screen by 4pm the same day (dropped it off around 10am)

where your in california, it should be done the same day.

[ayeying]

where your in california, it should be done the same day.

I'm going to the Stoneridge Mall store in Dublin, about 30 miles (driving distance) from San Francisco... or 45 miles (driving distance) from Cupertino

[joaquinsfy]

Hi,

First, sorry for my english.

One day my MBA makes the same noise, i opened and there's a lot of dirty in the fan, the istat says 0 rpm. I clean it, and now works fine.

If you don't want to open you can try to blow where the hot air normally get out.

[ayeying]

Hi,

First, sorry for my english.

One day my MBA makes the same noise, i opened and there's a lot of dirty in the fan, the istat says 0 rpm. I clean it, and now works fine.

If you don't want to open you can try to blow where the hot air normally get out.

I opened it up already. The fan is literally not moving. My appointment is in 1.5 hours, we'll see what Apple says.

Amazingly though, I can easily run the system without the fan and use its passive cooling ability. So far, my temps haven't rose over 85 deg C even running a virtual machine. It looks like the air has a pretty good passive cooling ability despite its noisy fan.

[ayeying]

Okay, just came back from the Apple Store. The genius took a look at the system, apparently, he didn't even bother doing a hardware test, just did a disk verify for some reason....

anyways, in the end, he ordered a new logic board and fan assembly and should arrive by wednesday. Afterwards, he said there's a good chance the system (if brought in, in the morning) I should be able to get it back the same day before closing.

Meanwhile, he said I'm able to use the system, just monitor the temperatures and make sure it doesn't hit 100 deg C. At that point, I should shut down the system and let it cool down, yadada.

Furthermore, I asked the genius about the battery. According to him, regardless if i have a 1 year warranty or 3 year (applecare), as long as my battery health drops under 80% before 750 cycles, I can go in and get it replaced. He did mention that I have a high battery cycle for a system purchased only 3 months ago. I'm at 251 cycles to this date

[Jobsian]

Ayeying! The maestro =)

Hope you get it fixed soon. In the meantime, you might want to do what I do sometimes and surf with the laptop sitting in the freezer (box freezer). Nothing beats trying to cream the processor knowing it's being pummeled with sub-zero :D

[MacModMachine]

Okay, just came back from the Apple Store. The genius took a look at the system, apparently, he didn't even bother doing a hardware test, just did a disk verify for some reason....

anyways, in the end, he ordered a new logic board and fan assembly and should arrive by wednesday. Afterwards, he said there's a good chance the system (if brought in, in the morning) I should be able to get it back the same day before closing.

Meanwhile, he said I'm able to use the system, just monitor the temperatures and make sure it doesn't hit 100 deg C. At that point, I should shut down the system and let it cool down, yadada.

Furthermore, I asked the genius about the battery. According to him, regardless if i have a 1 year warranty or 3 year (applecare), as long as my battery health drops under 80% before 750 cycles, I can go in and get it replaced. He did mention that I have a high battery cycle for a system purchased only 3 months ago. I'm at 251 cycles to this date

i am interested in the run times without the fan running,
could be interesting :P.

your battery cycle is like mine....charged 4-6 times a day....haha

2 months for me 194 cycles :P

my hypermac battery comes tommorw....hopefully it will reduce the usage :P

[dudup]

i bought mine 2 weeks ago and I'm already with 18 cycles and 96% of the capacity :eek:

[ayeying]

i am interested in the run times without the fan running,
could be interesting :P.

your battery cycle is like mine....charged 4-6 times a day....haha

2 months for me 194 cycles :P

my hypermac battery comes tommorw....hopefully it will reduce the usage :P

So far, after coming back home, I've been running the system for about 2 hours now. Its holding at upper 70 and lower 80 deg C temperatures without the fan running. I'm currently only running a Vista Virtual Machine and nothing else on the OSX side. The Vista VM is installing Service Pack updates and other updates, so its pushing the CPU at 50% (allocated 1 core to vm)

I am using the system on a glass desk. The bottom casing is getting hot, however, it feels the same as with a running fan :confused:

[MacModMachine]

So far, after coming back home, I've been running the system for about 2 hours now. Its holding at upper 70 and lower 80 deg C temperatures without the fan running. I'm currently only running a Vista Virtual Machine and nothing else on the OSX side. The Vista VM is installing Service Pack updates and other updates, so its pushing the CPU at 50% (allocated 1 core to vm)

I am using the system on a glass desk. The bottom casing is getting hot, however, it feels the same as with a running fan :confused:

very interesting, seems like even with the fan it hits the same thermal maximum temp or 70-85c.

might as well not have the fan, im sure if you max out the cpu it will climb a bit.

[ayeying]

very interesting, seems like even with the fan it hits the same thermal maximum temp or 70-85c.

might as well not have the fan, im sure if you max out the cpu it will climb a bit.

That, I'm extremely positive. It seems that with this configuration, I can't manage a 100% cpu (both cores) for a long period of time, but for say normal web surfing, music, even my virtual machines, it can handle the heat for a long period of time if not stressed.

At least I have a "silent" (except the clicking of the fan trying to rev but won't go anywhere) macbook air lol

[Jobsian]

if ayeying's no-fan experience proves successful to any degree, well i think we have our answer to the mac noise problem folks.... :D

[ayeying]

if ayeying's no-fan experience proves successful to any degree, well i think we have our answer to the mac noise problem folks.... :D

So far, my results has been pretty good. But it is a constant monitoring of the temperatures, just in case ya know.

[alphaod]

Sorry to hear about your fan; good to hear that it's running well with passive cooling; my problem is iStat says 130º and the computer is still running with 2500RPM fan speed. That worries me.

[stoconnell]

Sorry to hear about your fan; good to hear that it's running well with passive cooling; my problem is iStat says 130º and the computer is still running with 2500RPM fan speed. That worries me.

130ºF or 130ºC? Most people report their CPU temps in ºC.

[ayeying]

I say 130 deg F... C sounds a bit hot.

The fan is designed to run all the time, mine's just broken :( No gaming in Windows right now thats for sure lol

[stoconnell]

I say 130 deg F... C sounds a bit hot.


That's what I figured, but I wanted to make sure we were all using the same units (you know, :apple:s to :apple:s)

[ayeying]

Okay, so after using it constantly as much as possible since the fan broke, I've noticed a few things:

1) The system, if you're using it very lightly like iChat, E-Mail, Web Surfing w/o Flash, iTunes ; then the system would work great, the temperatures are cooler than with a fan :confused:

2) If the system is taxed, kernel_task kicks in very quickly, much quicker than with a fan (obviously)

3) The system, if your heatsink is equipped with properly applied thermal paste, then the system shouldn't shut down at all, just have kernel_task kick in making everything useless.

4) Even with coolbook, the kernel_task also kicks in, so it looks like its not a overheating CPU problem but overheating GPU that causes kernel_task kicks in.

[ayeying]

Just came back from dropping off the laptop... Apple said it'll take 5 days to replace the logic board and fan... :confused:

Seriously? I can take apart a car in 5 days and put it back together...

[NC MacGuy]

Just came back from dropping off the laptop... Apple said it'll take 5 days to replace the logic board and fan... :confused:

Seriously? I can take apart a car in 5 days and put it back together...

That's what I got on my hinge / display estimate too. Seems they have to send it away? I thought they were smart enough to do it there? Come on, they are geniuses for Pete's sake.:rolleyes:

[MacModMachine]

Just came back from dropping off the laptop... Apple said it'll take 5 days to replace the logic board and fan... :confused:

Seriously? I can take apart a car in 5 days and put it back together...

but is that car made of lego ?

[ayeying]

I can do the work myself and finish within an hour... they don't have to pay me either lol.

[MacModMachine]

I can do the work myself and finish within an hour... they don't have to pay me either lol.

and it wont come back with more scratches/dents or other mysterious problems requiring more repair.

[thejadedmonkey]

and it wont come back with more scratches/dents or other mysterious problems requiring more repair.

Why would it? It's not like Genus's have some magical voodoo that you don't have...

[LAS.mac]

Just came back from dropping off the laptop... Apple said it'll take 5 days to replace the logic board and fan... :confused:

Seriously? I can take apart a car in 5 days and put it back together...

And, probably from the car take apart / back together job, you also gain some spare screws and bolts...:D

[iBookG4user]

Just came back from dropping off the laptop... Apple said it'll take 5 days to replace the logic board and fan... :confused:

Seriously? I can take apart a car in 5 days and put it back together...

I do believe that is what I said to expect. It is within the standard estimate that they give to repair it, you shouldn't be too surprised. Unfortunately the work is not always instantaneous :(

I'm sorry to say that I highly doubt that it will be done in one day. Perhaps you'll be lucky since it is the latest rev, but count on more in the 3-5 day range :(

[MacModMachine]

Why would it? It's not like Genus's have some magical voodoo that you don't have...

sarcasm

[Jobsian]

i like ayeying

[ayeying]

i like ayeying too.

oh wait, thats me! :D

anyways, I did notice that (I went to the Stoneridge Mall's Apple Store, if anyone local knows where it is), and the genius took my air, went out of the store, and went into Macy's... I gotta admit, it was kinda... weird? lol

I do believe that is what I said to expect. It is within the standard estimate that they give to repair it, you shouldn't be too surprised. Unfortunately the work is not always instantaneous :(

I know, I kinda figured when you meant 3-5 days, you were stating that's how long it would take for parts to come in + labor... I didn't expect labor alone to take a week..

[stoconnell]

I know, I kinda figured when you meant 3-5 days, you were stating that's how long it would take for parts to come in + labor... I didn't expect labor alone to take a week..

You know, you cannot rush genius.

[ayeying]

You know, you cannot rush genius.

Wouldn't it be easier just to give me a replacement? That takes 10 seconds vs 5 days to remove a dozen screws... lol

[Vikz]

Wouldn't it be easier just to give me a replacement? That takes 10 seconds vs 5 days to remove a dozen screws... lol


lol

The problem is that apple wants to know what do we pass through warranty and when, so all techs have to order the parts to the closest warehouse. Thats why it takes days for the repair to be completed.

when they say that parts are in stock its because they were for another apple computer but were not used for some reason. ;)

Plus hes giving you an almost brand new computer from the inside with the logic board and fan so thats really great

[stoconnell]

Wouldn't it be easier just to give me a replacement? That takes 10 seconds vs 5 days to remove a dozen screws... lol

Yes, but policies (esp. warranty issues where they have liability) are set for the average bun-bun (many of whom cannot manage to navigate their automobiles through an S-curve without coming to a near complete stop).

[alphaod]

130ºF or 130ºC? Most people report their CPU temps in ºC.

This was a few minutes ago:
http://ran.me/postimages/mr01/mr_somethingwrong02-092309.png

Hint: I don't live in a freezer.

So unfortunately that's in Celsius :(
I'm not a fan of losing my computer for a few hours, so 5 days I cannot do with.

[still in school]

Okay, just came back from the Apple Store. The genius took a look at the system, apparently, he didn't even bother doing a hardware test, just did a disk verify for some reason....

anyways, in the end, he ordered a new logic board and fan assembly and should arrive by wednesday. Afterwards, he said there's a good chance the system (if brought in, in the morning) I should be able to get it back the same day before closing.

Meanwhile, he said I'm able to use the system, just monitor the temperatures and make sure it doesn't hit 100 deg C. At that point, I should shut down the system and let it cool down, yadada.

Furthermore, I asked the genius about the battery. According to him, regardless if i have a 1 year warranty or 3 year (applecare), as long as my battery health drops under 80% before 750 cycles, I can go in and get it replaced. He did mention that I have a high battery cycle for a system purchased only 3 months ago. I'm at 251 cycles to this date

I will definitely keep that in mind!

[stoconnell]

This was a few minutes ago:
http://ran.me/postimages/mr01/mr_somethingwrong02-092309.png

Hint: I don't live in a freezer.

So unfortunately that's in Celsius :(
I'm not a fan of losing my computer for a few hours, so 5 days I cannot do with.

I was hoping that was in ºF, but I wanted to make sure it was truly indicative of a problem.

[ayeying]

Okay so I dropped it off around lunch time and I got a call at 7pm. It's fixed and ready to pick up! 5 days my ass... The bad part, I was in class until 9... Same time as the store close... So I'm computer less until tomorrow 10am at the earliest...

I'm going crazy here since dad stole his iMac back in the evenings lol

[stoconnell]

Okay so I dropped it off around lunch time and I got a call at 7pm. It's fixed and ready to pick up! 5 days my ass... The bad part, I was in class until 9... Same time as the store close... So I'm computer less until tomorrow 10am at the earliest...

I'm going crazy here since dad stole his iMac back in the evenings lol

Heh. I guess it's a good thing that you should have it back tomorrow. It sure beats next week. Maybe the 5 days is their standard depot period but they did it in the store, or they give that as an estimate (on the off chance things are worse than originally expected once they crack it open) and then look like "heros" when they are able to get it back much faster.

[ayeying]

This was a few minutes ago:
http://ran.me/postimages/mr01/mr_somethingwrong02-092309.png

Hint: I don't live in a freezer.

So unfortunately that's in Celsius :(
I'm not a fan of losing my computer for a few hours, so 5 days I cannot do with.

At this point, I think you have a bad thermal sensor inside the CPU instead of an actual overheating CPU... at 120 deg C detected by iStat, the system would've shut down a long time ago, or ramped up the enclosure temperatures excess of 45 deg C.

lol

The problem is that apple wants to know what do we pass through warranty and when, so all techs have to order the parts to the closest warehouse. Thats why it takes days for the repair to be completed.

when they say that parts are in stock its because they were for another apple computer but were not used for some reason. ;)

Plus hes giving you an almost brand new computer from the inside with the logic board and fan so thats really great

The genius did take my laptop out of the store... and went into JCPenny's or Macy's... lol

[ayeying]

Just came back from the Apple Store. They replaced the logic board and fan only. Didn't bother replacing my heatsink which I'd thought they would do, but whatever.

I took the lower panel off and visually inspected the work. Done pretty well considering I have taken it apart before. The only bad thing was they lost one of my screws :(. I talked with the genius about it and she said they'll need to replace the whole lower section of the system to fix that, but she also mentioned that I can bring whenever the system's still under warranty to get that thing fixed... so I decided to fix it at a later date since I can't go out without the laptop during the school semester.

They replaced my thermal paste also, Apple's thermal paste again... and they didnt' complain I used AS5 on the original board.

[alphaod]

At this point, I think you have a bad thermal sensor inside the CPU instead of an actual overheating CPU... at 120 deg C detected by iStat, the system would've shut down a long time ago, or ramped up the enclosure temperatures excess of 45 deg C.


I need my computer all the time as well, so I can't afford to take it the store and have them keep it for a few days. Anyways I have an appointment scheduled in an hour, so hopefully they can help me.

I don't want my computer to die a premature death. I'm getting sick of these Apple computers having issues.

Just came back from the Apple Store. They replaced the logic board and fan only. Didn't bother replacing my heatsink which I'd thought they would do, but whatever.

I took the lower panel off and visually inspected the work. Done pretty well considering I have taken it apart before. The only bad thing was they lost one of my screws :(. I talked with the genius about it and she said they'll need to replace the whole lower section of the system to fix that, but she also mentioned that I can bring whenever the system's still under warranty to get that thing fixed... so I decided to fix it at a later date since I can't go out without the laptop during the school semester.

They replaced my thermal paste also, Apple's thermal paste again... and they didnt' complain I used AS5 on the original board.

They lost a screw? That's not acceptable at all. You should have told them to order the part and then bring it in one weekend; bottom cover shouldn't take more than a few minutes.

[ayeying]

They lost a screw? That's not acceptable at all. You should have told them to order the part and then bring it in one weekend; bottom cover shouldn't take more than a few minutes.

They said there's a problem with the lower enclosure (not the panel) in which the screw won't go in so it requires an entire lower part of the laptop to be replaced.

However, on a more positive note, the fan is more active than my previous fan. It has hit 6200rpm twice, but each of those times, the fan quickly returned back to 2500rpm (within a minute :eek:). It seems the fan assembly is newer. even the circuit board for the fan is different colors.

[alphaod]

They said there's a problem with the lower enclosure (not the panel) in which the screw won't go in so it requires an entire lower part of the laptop to be replaced.

Oh I see; that happened to my former MacBook Pro (Oct 08); they had to replace the top case.

However, on a more positive note, the fan is more active than my previous fan. It has hit 6200rpm twice, but each of those times, the fan quickly returned back to 2500rpm (within a minute :eek:). It seems the fan assembly is newer. even the circuit board for the fan is different colors.

Well I got to the store. Told the Genius about my issue; a few minutes later, he's looking at my computer and then asks how I'm checking my temp. iStat of course, so he looks at that. Of course as luck would have it, the fan says 0rpm. The Genius takes it to back and looks like I need a fan too.

Part was not in stock, so I've been told to bring it back when it comes in and the work should be be done in few minutes. I hope that's the issue I have and I don't have to expect a new motherboard.