mac mini - constant fans

Is there anything in Activity Monitor taking up a lot of CPU cycles? Has it slowed down? Where do you keep the mini? Is it near a heat source?

mak said:

activity monitor is fine. using around 40% for various tasks.

it hasn't slowed down. but the fans/noise continues.

the mini is kept on a shelf next to my desk. the front or back is not really obstructed.

the fans are driving me insane. it like a pc all over again !!!

i know it kicks in heavy when using imovie etc but shouldn't when i browse or leave it alone.

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Post a screen shot of your Activity Monitor.

Hmm... Well the fans should alway be running from memory. It's only the 'Books that have fans that stop. Still, I don't understand why they'd be so loud. From what I've read, the minis are pretty quiet.

Have you set the Processor Performance preferences to highest? This could make the fans work a bit harder.

The only time My mini ever run's it's fans is when I'm burning a CD...

Try calling Apple.

WeeShoo said:

The only time My mini ever run's it's fans is when I'm burning a CD...

Try calling Apple.

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I thought the mini's fans were constantly running, like all desktop Macs, and that only the laptops have the ability to stop their fans. Hmm... I could be wrong.

Nevertheless, I agree that Apple should probably be told about this, assuming the fans are running at 100% all the time.

WeeShoo said:

The only time My mini ever run's it's fans is when I'm burning a CD...

Try calling Apple.

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that sound is not you fan my freind, its your Combo drive spinning up the disc, all computers make a loud noise when burning a CD and its perfectly normal...

And to original poster the noises from your mini all the time are not normal call apple or bring the little thing into your local apple store and let them check it out...

SHadOW

I have seen and used 3 different Mac Minis and the fan spins all the time. It never stops, and I dont believe people which claim their Mac Mini is completely silent. In fact, Ive been to my local reseller and their display models also have their fans on constantly.

So someone is definately exaggerating their minis low noise level in these debates. Either that, or they are deaf

The Mini is silent yes, but not noiseless.

Loke said:

I have seen and used 3 different Mac Minis and the fan spins all the time. It never stops, and I dont believe people which claim their Mac Mini is completely silent. In fact, Ive been to my local reseller and their display models also have their fans on constantly.

So someone is definately exaggerating their minis low noise level in these debates. Either that, or they are deaf

The Mini is silent yes, but not noiseless.

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I have noticed that the fans rev high in the demo models too. That's because they are probably running a demo program that is processor intensive like some kind of DVD demonstration.

I think that you should definitely believe people who say the mini is completely silent, because I can't hear my mini most of the time. The fan only spins up to the point where I can hear it if I'm ripping or burning a CD, or if I'm on a website with flash animation. The fan does run all the time, but I can't hear it. It runs very slow and if you wet your hands you can feel some air blowing out of the back very lightly. If you hear your fans all ofthe time, I think you should get it checked out. On Apple's forums, I read about someone who had a problem similar to the original poster's, and the heatsink actually came loose from the processor. You should take your mini to an Apple store to make sure no permanent damage is done.

I hope this helps.
Joe

I went to the Apple store, and the fans in the mini do not stop.

i have the same problem, while i know that the mini was never not totally quite it, the noise of the pilot flame from the heater made more noise, heater 5` behind me mini 11 1/2" in front of me, after 2 month the mini make more noise and sometimes the fan runs at noisier speeds for quite a while which is nery annoying to me but the air which comes out of the vent in the back is not even warm, checking the activity monitor it shows that fire fox eats up close to 60% (is that normal ?) of the cpu nothing else was running, i have a stealth with 1 gig of ram, i read on another forum that os update could cause this

My Mini is pretty much silent, so you may have a faulty one on your hands. I have mine folding 24/7, and there's very little fan noise, and it's not noticeable unless I stick my head up against the Mini. On the other hand, have you installed memory lately? When I upgraded my RAM I forgot to plug the little black wire in the front back in, and I guess that's the controller for the fan, so the fan started up at full speed and wouldn't stop until I plugged that back in.

i haven`t done anything upgrades, that`s what to weird it just started doing that without me changing anything, reminds me of my windows days

acer66 said:

i haven`t done anything upgrades, that`s what to weird it just started doing that without me changing anything, reminds me of my windows days

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I would definitely take it in to an Apple Store, then. That's definitely not normal behavior.

mad jew said:

I thought the mini's fans were constantly running, like all desktop Macs, and that only the laptops have the ability to stop their fans. Hmm... I could be wrong.

Nevertheless, I agree that Apple should probably be told about this, assuming the fans are running at 100% all the time.

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I believe that's right as well. However, I've never owned a desktop mac.

calebjohnston said:

I believe that's right as well. However, I've never owned a desktop mac.

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Although fans in a mini may never turn off, they certainly run faster when the machine is hotter, making more noise.

Same for the G5. When those fans really kick in its like a hurricane, but normally you can hardly hear them.

BTW - I'm surprised someone hasn't suggested resetting the PRAM on the computer yet. I know in the past that has been a good fix for fan issues.

I think you may have a physically unbalanced fan, because although I can hear the fan on my Mac mini, it is the most silent computer I've experienced.

Edit: I have a G4 Mac mini.

Both my Mac mini's (this one and the one that broke, Intel Core Duo) constantly have fans on. In a silent room, the Mac mini is far from silent.

However, the surface you place the Mac mini on will make a difference. Mine is on a chest of drawers so I guess the hollow space inside acts a bit like an amplifier. You could try placing your Mac mini on something soft to see if that dampens the noise? Be careful not to block the vents around the bottom, though.

FWIW, the G4 Mac mini I have seen seemed quieter than both the Intel ones. It had a bigger rear vent and the air coming out was cooler.

miniConvert said:

Both my Mac mini's (this one and the one that broke, Intel Core Duo) constantly have fans on. In a silent room, the Mac mini is far from silent.

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Perhaps the Core Duo makes more noise. I can barely hear my Core Solo in a silent room.

stock mini 1.25 here. gets used really hard. unless i hold my ear to the case, i can't tell it's on other than the power led.

mabey the computer is silent, or mabey it's all the joe walsh concerts catching up with me after all.

I had this problem, where the fans would run at full blast, all the time, regardless of the amount of CPU activity. It was due to the fan cable coming loose. Either you or a technician didn't notice it came loose during a RAM installation, most likely. I installed RAM when I first got the thing and the fans didn't start doing this until many months later, so I imagine it is possible even if you haven't been in there and they just didn't put it together well.

I just bought a Core Duo 1.66 Mini on the 26th and I can't even hear the fan. The only part I hear is the hard drive. My room is silent and the Mini is right in front of me.

My core duo mini is pretty much silent, I can only hear the fans if i put my head up to the mini to listen out for them, other than that, no sound