iMac G5 20" Fans VERY Loud / Noisy !!!!!

Apple!Freak · Mar 8, 2005

After an hour of searching google I have found many issues like mine however no solution in sight. The first day was fine and now all of a sudden it's extremely loud and is blowing air like crazy out the top back vent.

I changed me energy saver performance processor thing to "highest" like recommeneded and installed 10.3.8 but I am still having this problem.

I can not return it at this point because of all the data I have on it (I just bought it Saturday) and I dont want to have to request any hardware. Isn't there some way to fix this? How do I slow the fans down? They are running crazy fast and it's annoying to use this computer now!

When I put it to sleep its fine and the fans shut down to a perfect barable sound (wish it could be like that when not asleep).

I guess the iMac isn't all what I thought it was if this problem cant be fixed. I'm a new switcher and then this happens.

JDar · Mar 8, 2005

If you are unwilling to take it back to the dealer for assistance try another hour of searching on Apple's support forums discussions about fans which cause too much noise. That will pay off more than a Google search. You'll find there are many possible reasons and several possible solutions, none of which I've seen suggested setting the processor to highest.

As the simplest start to a solution, reboot and reset the pram--the noise might go away.

HL Tan · Mar 8, 2005

Now on the retrospect, I have similar problem with my G5 17" but pass it off as I thought that it was because the fan was trying to cope with the long hours of usage. However, now I cannot play music off my Mac through the earphone port, which is connected to my HiFi. My system gets heated up with the fan blowing like crazyand my iTunes slowing down literally.The diagnosis was logic board problem. Worse news, Apple says that they have a worldwide shortage of logic board and cannot service my system yet. To top it all, the service which they provided really rots big time (had real difficulty with the AppleCare but that is another story here).

Hope that yours will not be an imminient logic board failure.

As for me, I'm also a new switcher and THESE nonsenses happen. Now, I'll consider twice getting another Mac product.

Apple!Freak · Mar 8, 2005

JDar said:
If you are unwilling to take it back to the dealer for assistance try another hour of searching on Apple's support forums discussions about fans which cause too much noise. That will pay off more than a Google search. You'll find there are many possible reasons and several possible solutions, none of which I've seen suggested setting the processor to highest.

As the simplest start to a solution, reboot and reset the pram--the noise might go away.

I bought it from the best dealer, Apple.

Will do what you said.

Apple!Freak · Mar 8, 2005

HL Tan said:
I'll consider twice getting another Mac product.

Yeah same here.

Right now the fans are now blowing hard (only been using it for 5 minutes since its been asleep) but there is an annoying electrical noise. The kind of thing you hear when you walk close to those big 75 foot tall electric towers just on a much smaller scale.

Annoying now the less. The only thing that works at this point is using iTunes to drown out the sound.

I FIGURED IT OUT! Steve Jobs told the mechanics to make the iMac nosiy so you had to play iTunes to drown the sound out hence the reason for buying more on the iTunes store. Steve jobs thinks hes slick but I'm slicker.

Demon Hunter · Mar 8, 2005

OS X point updates usually fix a lot of fan problems... every once in a while they change the cooling/fan speed algorithm and it causes a few models to behave erratically. It looks like you have to wait for service anyway.

You could try earlier versions of OS X like 10.3.6 and 10.3.7, or just wait for 10.3.9 and hope they fix it.

pdpfilms · Mar 8, 2005

I changed me energy saver performance processor thing to "highest" like recommeneded and installed 10.3.8 but I am still having this problem.

Was it happening before 10.3.8? Because if it was after the update, it was definetly because of it. There have been maannnny reports of fan issues with 10.3.8.

ClarkeB · Mar 8, 2005

My fans only go wild when I use my iPod as a startup disk...

JDar · Mar 10, 2005

"... but there is an annoying electrical noise."

Apple!Freak--is it looking (sounding) like your machine is a midplane replacement candidate? There is a large club of midplaners now, but you can achieve a quieter machine. Please give us an update as you work out the problem.

HL Tan · Mar 14, 2005

JDar said:
"... but there is an annoying electrical noise."

Apple!Freak--is it looking (sounding) like your machine is a midplane replacement candidate? There is a large club of midplaners now, but you can achieve a quieter machine. Please give us an update as you work out the problem.

Arrrggggghhhh........Just had my iMacG5 serviced yesterday and they replaced my mid plane......now, one day later, my fan is blowing like mad, noisier than ever and even louder than my air-con system!!!!!

Called AppleCare, they could not diagnosed the problem, advised that a technician be sent but if it is not a hardware problem, they will charge an admin fee as software problems are resolved over the phone....wat the heck? didn't i call them and they are the one who could not resolve the problem over the phone!!!

Is this rotten Apple hiring idiots???!!!

micvog · Mar 15, 2005

I have the 17" 1.8GHz SuperDrive model and have the exact same problem. Apple has replaced the midplane assembly... well, actually I replaced the midplane assembly... and there is no difference in the type or level of noise.

One suggestion would be to change your Energy Saver processor setting back to Automatic; setting it to Highest will make the most noise as the processor is generating the most heat and the fan has to run at a higher speed.

The only good news I have found is that (IIRC) ThinkSecret is claiming new iMac G5s will come out next month, and will include a firmware update for both the new and previous generations. Perhaps that will address it. In my research, some have speculated that it could be solved via firmware, and others insist it is a defective sleeve bearing. Meanwhile, iTunes is your constant friend.

plinden · Mar 15, 2005

Apple!Freak said:
I changed me energy saver performance processor thing to "highest" like recommeneded and installed 10.3.8 but I am still having this problem.

Doesn't "highest" mean highest performance, hence hottest? Try setting it to "auto" (you would lose some performance though)

jsalzer · Mar 15, 2005

Push the button

Heya,

I had a wonderful experience with Apple's online and phone help when I got my iMacG5 17 about a month ago. I had the jet engine noise going on, as well, with enough air flowing through the thing to keep the papers on my bulletin board above it (this is at work) waving around like lunatics.

They walked me through some steps, which did nothing. Then she had me open up the machine and press a button resetting the - uh, I think it was called SRAM.

It did the trick. Now my fans only go as fast as they need to - spinning up and down as necessary. Granted, it's louder than my Pismo (which I don't even think has a fan), but when you have a G5 at ear level with you, you have to expect some noise.

Anywho - they had sent me to a link showing how to reset this switch. Anyone know what it was called for sure so we can find the instructions again?

rainman::|:| · Mar 15, 2005

turn the energy saver back to AUTO. If you have it set on highest, the fans WILL run at top speed, no matter what. The "Auto" setting simply means that the heat dispersion will adjust to the clock speed as it changes, meaning you'll lose only a tiny bit of performance as the heat dispersion kicks in.

If the fans are still loud after you fix this, you may have a problem. but you do NOT have a problem if they're simply loud on "highest".

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