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12" PB 1.33Ghz continuous cooling fan

arnette

arnette

macrumors 6502
Original poster
Nov 22, 2002
315
111
Manhattan Beach
My PB 12" 1.33Ghz has been a great machine, but for the past week or so the fan has been running constantly. Whether I'm using tons of programs or it's just sitting still on my desk with the lid open. Doesn't matter, the fan is always purring away.
It didn't used to be like that. The fan used to only kick on when I was doing heavy-duty tasking or resting the PB on the bed. Has anyone else noticed a change in fan behavior? I was wondering if it were software related. My power settings are on automatic and I'm on OS 10.3.7 I did I virus check and repaired permissions with disk utility but no such luck. Don't really want to take it in....

Thanks!
 
PB fan

arnette

Go to versiontracker and download Temperature monitor or one of the other temp monitoring programs. My fan doesn't kick on until 120 F and goes to high at 124. It would be interesting to see what temperature your PB thinks it operating at. Also turn on activity monitor to see if there are any background processes going on that may be cause your PB to warm up.
 
I have the same problem as arnette. I use my PB at my desk all day long, connected to an 19" CRT, but with the internal display off and lid open. The fan whirrs up with the machine having only been on for a little while and after I start using apps.

Any ideas would be great.
 
here's a 'for instance':

Using Temperature Monitor, my fan is running on low speed while plugged into the AC adaptor (or while running on battery, doesn't really matter) and my temps are 45.8ºC Hard drive bottomside, 59.5ºC Processor topside, 60.8ºC Graphics Processor die, 30ºC battery.

The Activity monitor shows that no program is using over 1% of the processor, the user % is flickering around 97 while the % system is going between 2 and 3.

I have Excel, Mail, iChat, Safari, and both monitors open but nothing labor-intensive is going on. About 3 months ago I would be able to have all these open and absolutely no fan activity. But I've noticed for the past 2 weeks that the fan has been kicking on a LOT more. And, of course, the hinge area in the back of the laptop is very warm (though not piping hot).

Don't know if this is conclusive towards anything, but the more information the better. HSVguy... do you have the latest updates installed like I do? I still think it's software related. It's my understanding that the 12" PB are hard to crack open and work in and that many users get their 12" PBs back in less than perfect condition after reassembly (bad seams, wobbles and warping). And to make matters worse, I'm in Scotland and I'm not even sure if my 1yr warranty applies over here and where to take it in! I'm secretly expecting to walk into the room one day and be greeted by an orange-glowing Powerbook that's about to burn through my desk.
 
arnette said:
And to make matters worse, I'm in Scotland and I'm not even sure if my 1yr warranty applies over here and where to take it in! I'm secretly expecting to walk into the room one day and be greeted by an orange-glowing Powerbook that's about to burn through my desk.
Click to expand...

Your 1 yr warranty is worldwide so you should be able to call Apple and get it sorted.

There is a company in Edinburgh, at least, called scotsys who are good with Macs and might be able to offer some advice in person.
http://www.scotsys.co.uk/
 
mactropy said:
Hi Arnette,
I have the same problem. Check out this thread with advice from people. It didn't help me, but maybe it'll work with you. Let me know what you did please! I'd like to get my fan back to normal operating speeds too!!

https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/102628/
Click to expand...


Thanks for the suggestion, but that thread was mostly rants. I tried reseting the power management but that didn't do anything except screw up my clock. I'm out of ideas!
 
I heard that sometimes the fan can accumulate dust, which would make it have to work harder. In that case, cleaning it might help. I don't know how to go about it, though.
 
Well, Arnette, I'm sorry that it didn't help, but maybe there's somebody out there with some help.
Cleaning the fan isn't really an option for me since my PB is still under AppleCare. So, I'd rather send it in that taking it apart for a cleaning.
 
I know that my fans will kick on if it has been plugged in for a while. I say unplug you PB and see if fans spin down. I dont know what doing this will do. Also try setting your PB on a different surface. When I set my PB on a wood table, the fans spin up more the when placed on other hard materials.
 
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