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lotzosushi

macrumors 6502
Original poster
Jan 10, 2007
432
401
Hey everyone, I'm looking for an application that works like "SMC Fan Controller" that works for my school's 1.8 GHz PowerPC G5 iMacs.

I've searched all over and I still haven't been able to find a non-Intel compatible application to control the fan speeds. Currently, a few of the computers have fans that are too loud and we want to quiet them down a little.

Since it's the school's computer and I'm only a lab assistant, we're not allowed to run any codes through Terminal or anything. If there is an application out there that works please let me know.

Thanks! :D
 

dilbert4life

macrumors regular
A little more complicated.....

I would like to do the same thing, as in adjust my iMac G5 fan speed, but up to a higher base speed. I'm more concerned about heat than noise.

I have also been looking for a program, but as of yet been unable to fine one. From what I understand, PPC Mac's do not have the System Management Controller (SMC) like Intel Mac's do.

I seem to remember reading something about editing the kext for fan speed, but can't remember how or where. If I do find something, I will post back.:apple:
 

dilbert4life

macrumors regular
Answered my own question.......

So, there are not very many answers to this question floating around the internet. I really can't figure out why, it seems like a very common problem, alot of people are asking about it, but there aren't any answers being given.

Do I ended up doing a generic search for how to increase fan speeds on any mac, and came across www.bitsandpieces.com, which has some pretty good Mac modding advice. On there, I found a way to edit the AppleFan.kext file to decrease the base Temp for the fans to start speeding up on. That way, they start cooling the machine at a lower temperature, thus keeping the computer overall cooler.

Basically, you need to edit, as stated above, AppleFan.kext; which is located at /System/Library/Extensions/AppleFan.kext. Actually, you don't edit that directly, but rather ctrl click on it, and select Show Package Contents. Open the Contents folder that shows up, and then edit the Info.plist file in there. Near the bottom of that file is a list of numbers (Shown on the site referenced above) simply make your changes according to the info provided, and your all set.

I changed my fan-hysteris-temp (i am assuming that it is the "ideal when computer is idle" temp) from 55 deg C to 45 deg C. (The numbers shown are in 256 multiples. 55 deg is shown as 14080 and i changed that to 11520 to match 45 deg.) Change the other temps accordingly. (I wanted to drop the temp by ten degrees, so subtracted 2,560 from every number shown). Reboot the computer and your all set!

By the way, for those that don't know, you can only edit a system extension while operating as the root user. If you do not have root user enabled, open directory utility (for 10.5) and authenticate. (Under 10.4 i think that the option is located somewhere in the Network Utility Program.) Then click edit/enable root user. Enter a password and you are all set. Then log out, a new user is available at the login screen called other. Select that, type root as username, and then enter in the password that you did before, and you are all set to go to work as the root user!

Word to the wise, don't do anything stupid as the root user. Because you can literally do anything that you want. Anything. Yes, I said anything.:apple:
 

Dedonut

macrumors newbie
Aug 12, 2007
7
0
No. CA
Fan Controller for PPC iMac G5

Dilbert-

How has resetting that way worked out? I'm also looking for something.
 

evanduz

macrumors newbie
Jan 11, 2009
1
0
Info.plist?

What application do I use to open Info.plist? (It is asking me)

Thanks!
 

edinburghmac

macrumors newbie
Sep 13, 2005
13
0
Fan controller for PowerPC G5 iMacs

I've tried resetting the temp at which my fans cone on following the method described here, but I only ever see the processor fan come on (using Hardware Monitor). My Hard Drive temperature slowly increases but there is no sign of the HD fan coming on eventually the machine freezes when the HD becomes too hot. Does anyone have any suggestions as to what settings need to be altered to get the hard drive or system fans to work.
 

Nein01

macrumors 6502
Dec 1, 2009
307
1
Germany
I've tried resetting the temp at which my fans cone on following the method described here, but I only ever see the processor fan come on (using Hardware Monitor). My Hard Drive temperature slowly increases but there is no sign of the HD fan coming on eventually the machine freezes when the HD becomes too hot. Does anyone have any suggestions as to what settings need to be altered to get the hard drive or system fans to work.

same problem here. i have adjusted my plist file as suggested above, but my computer will still freeze and go to sleep when it gets too hot -- because the fans won't come on when they should!

looking for answers...
 

MacHamster68

macrumors 68040
Sep 17, 2009
3,251
5
just fit a zalman fanmate its cheap and easy to do and your fans slow down and stay there , need to watch the temps for a while of course to find what speeds have the best compromise in temp and noise , i could make my eMac really quiet with it , ok still louder then my mini but the eMac fan has to extract all the heat of the crt screen too
 

tiresmokindad

macrumors newbie
May 24, 2010
3
0
Re: Fan controller for PowerPC G5 iMacs

Hey everyone, I'm looking for an application that works like "SMC Fan Controller" that works for my school's 1.8 GHz PowerPC G5 iMacs.

I've searched all over and I still haven't been able to find a non-Intel compatible K&n air intake application to control the fan speeds. Currently, a few of the computers have fans that are too loud and we want to quiet them down a little.

Since it's the school's computer and I'm only a lab assistant, we're not allowed to run any codes through Terminal or anything. If there is an application out there that works please let me know.

Thanks! :D

I research to fix out your problem but because of difficulty I can't find the compatibility of your application. I have also the same problem. :(
 

vmax4304

macrumors newbie
Nov 18, 2010
1
0
AppleFan.kext editing

tried to edit the plist of applefan.kext but fans still run at 1500rmp at 150' F they speed up for a second then go back down. Is there a way to keep the fans at 1600 or 1700rmp? Thanks for any help in advance.
 

Host47

macrumors newbie
Jan 26, 2011
2
0
I dont have a solution for the system fan, but I wanted to point out a very important task that has fixed 90% of the 'broken' iMac G5's i'm constantly buying on craigslist... CLEAN IT OUT!

The power supply at the bottom, the low profile easily-clogged cpu heatsink, and the hard drive fan are the ones to get caked with dust first. Obviously, this causes them to overheat. Take a good air compressor, if you have it, and clean that sucker out. A can of air will probably work pretty good, but i'm talking about high psi. You need to remember to take off some fan covers and the cpu shroud (but not the heatsink) to get all the dust out of there.

The way the CPU heatsink is designed, each one of mine (when I got it) has had a BLOCKED channel in the heatsink grill. That leaves them with no airflow and which is why the people though they were 'broken'. LOL. Also make sure to reset the PMU and PRAM(or PVRAM... something like that).

One more thing! More than one model of PowerPC iMac G5 will not work well at all without a good CR2032 battery inside.. If your having problems, replace it with a brand new one... even if you test the battery and it's good - try a brand new one.
 

MadFrank

macrumors newbie
Jul 25, 2011
1
0
Ann Arbor USA
iMac G5 heat sink maintenance

Hello folks, thanks for your threads re: fan speed control. I may have got to the bottom of a problem on my young 1.8GHz PPC G5.
Symptom: The display would disintegrate with alternate blocks of misbehaving pixels appearing, then the colour-wheel of death and a crash.
Observations: I became convinced it was heat related and found that hanging a vac' on the air outlet slots would prolong the session. Noted that the lower fan was only idling so replaced it and also experimented with the applefan controller file. Then noticed that if the processor was lightly loaded, the problem would occur and if the processor was loaded-up and the fan working hard, the session would typically be extended.
Actions: Eventually I completely stripped the motherboard out and removed the heat sink unit. (Note: spring-loaded heat sink retaining screws release from the board's underside.) I found that the graphics chip uses a heat dissipating pad (about 2.5mm thick) to bridge the gap to the heat sinks underside. I substituted the pad with a piece of fat copper plate and heat sink compound. Things seem to be holding up now. I think the thermal pad may be prone to degradation with age.
 

ForI

macrumors newbie
Jul 25, 2011
13
0
AppleFan.kext.
Stock code has it set to start to spool up up at 135*f and max them out at 144*f with very small even speed steps between and a very long delay before they spool down. I believe this is a major contribution to noise complaints.
Code:
<key>fan-hysteresis-temp</key>
				<integer>14080</integer>
				<key>fan-polling-period</key>
				<integer>8</integer>
				<key>fan-slowdown-delay</key>
				<integer>48</integer>
				<key>fan-speed-table</key>
				<array>
					<integer>14592</integer>
					<integer>14922</integer>
					<integer>15059</integer>
					<integer>15164</integer>
					<integer>15252</integer>
					<integer>15331</integer>
					<integer>15401</integer>
					<integer>15466</integer>
					<integer>15526</integer>
					<integer>15583</integer>
					<integer>15637</integer>
					<integer>15688</integer>
					<integer>15736</integer>
					<integer>15783</integer>
					<integer>15828</integer>
					<integer>15872</integer>
				</array>
				<key>fan-speedup-delay</key>
				<integer>8</integer>

I modified the code to spool up gradually 129*f-163* then ramp up to max quickly between 165*f-167*f. Slowdown delay was cut by 2/3 from 48 to 16.
Code:
<key>fan-hysteresis-temp</key>
				<integer>13300</integer>
				<key>fan-polling-period</key>
				<integer>8</integer>
				<key>fan-slowdown-delay</key>
				<integer>16</integer>
				<key>fan-speed-table</key>
				<array>
					<integer>13800</integer>
					<integer>14200</integer>
					<integer>14600</integer>
					<integer>15000</integer>
					<integer>15500</integer>
					<integer>16000</integer>
					<integer>15500</integer>
					<integer>16768</integer>
					<integer>17200</integer>
					<integer>17800</integer>
					<integer>18176</integer>
					<integer>18700</integer>
					<integer>18950</integer>
					<integer>19100</integer>
					<integer>19150</integer>
					<integer>19200</integer>
				</array>
				<key>fan-speedup-delay</key>
				<integer>8</integer>

These changes, along with setting performance to "automatic" have made the fans behave far more civilized.
 

andrei2005

macrumors newbie
Oct 28, 2011
2
0
Fan control for imac G5 PPC

Hi everybody,
I joined this forum right now.
I have a problem too: my Imac G5 PPC 17'' keeps hard disk fan to a constant 2500 RPM, so the hard is never under 55°C, which I think is too much.
Any idea how to adjust fan speed in order to decrease this temperature with some degrees?
Thanks a lot.
 
Last edited:

Steve134

macrumors newbie
Nov 5, 2012
2
0
Imac G5 2.0 GHZ loud fan

I am totally new hear, If i am posting in the place please tell me.
My problem is I have a iMac G5 2.0 GHZ 20 inch.
new install of Leopard 10.5.8 and there is no control for the HD fan?
can anyone tell me where to look other than Libary/and so on.
thanks Steve
 

Jethryn Freyman

macrumors 68020
Aug 9, 2007
2,329
2
Australia
I am totally new hear, If i am posting in the place please tell me.
My problem is I have a iMac G5 2.0 GHZ 20 inch.
new install of Leopard 10.5.8 and there is no control for the HD fan?
can anyone tell me where to look other than Libary/and so on.
thanks Steve
From what I have seen so far, there is no equivalent. I've looked. If you want more cooling, my advice is to do what I have done [albeit not on purpose] and stick your G5 directly in the flow of a pretty badass air conditioner.
 

Steve134

macrumors newbie
Nov 5, 2012
2
0
Thanks for the reply,
My problem is I want to slow my fan down,
(The temp for my hard drive is 52F to 55F) I don't think the 1 fan should be running that hard/fast.
I looked in the folder that is suppost to control the fan and did not see anything in the folder?
Help please.
 

kencu

macrumors member
Jan 23, 2019
92
110
For anyone else who stumbles across this PowerPC Mac fan issue, the proper fix (after cleaning) is generally to re-run the "Thermal Calibration" routine. You can find the various Apple Hardware Test discs here and there, for example <https://archive.org/details/asd.2.6.3>
 
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