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Fan is very loud when turning on macbook pro laptop, what could be wrong?

L

lovecd

macrumors regular
Original poster
Aug 14, 2022
165
14
One of my old MacBook Pro 15" 2012 model (non-retina) was sitting in shelf for a while, I'm trying to boot it up, but found the following issues:

1. Fan is very loud when turn it on, and unable to make it quiet, even with "Fan control" app (it can't detect any fan). Try to do pram reset two times, but no change.

2. Battery is not charging, connect the power cord, the charging end is not lighting up, after it boot it up, it can not detect any battery.

3. It runs quite slow.

4. Keyboard is not functioning correctly, have to use external keyboard.

Can anyone give any advise what could be wrong with it? Thanks,
 
Check Activity Monitor to see if something is eating all the processor time.

I would just open up the laptop and at least use a can of compressed air to clean it and check that all internal cables are connected securely.
 
kasakka said:
Check Activity Monitor to see if something is eating all the processor time.

I would just open up the laptop and at least use a can of compressed air to clean it and check that all internal cables are connected securely.
Click to expand...
Opened the cover, it wasn’t that bad inside, could it be the logic board was water damaged?
 
lovecd said:
Opened the cover, it wasn’t that bad inside, could it be the logic board was water damaged?
Click to expand...
My nephew's MBP 13 (2012) wasn't charging and didn't detect battery. At repair centre, they told him that the logic board had water damage (it was rusty) he never spilled anything but as the climate is very humid, it might have caused.

If Fan is loud even at lower RPM, you need to replace it.
 
15-inch MBPro would have two fans.
Your fan control app should be able to show which fan is running fast.
If your MBPro was "sitting on the shelf" for some time, and not ever plugged in to charge, then the battery might have simply died, never to charge again.
But, the LED on the magsafe connector should come on (green), even if the battery is not detected.
You could remove/disconnect the battery, and check that fans are under control, and the LED shows green with no battery installed.
If you suspect liquid damage, that will usually be visible. I keep a hobby lamp with magnifier - very good at finding corrosion on chip leads, for example. Another good place to look is on the inside of the bottom cover, looking for water staining.
 
lovecd said:
One of my old MacBook Pro 15" 2012 model (non-retina) was sitting in shelf for a while, I'm trying to boot it up, but found the following issues:

1. Fan is very loud when turn it on, and unable to make it quiet, even with "Fan control" app (it can't detect any fan). Try to do pram reset two times, but no change.

2. Battery is not charging, connect the power cord, the charging end is not lighting up, after it boot it up, it can not detect any battery.

3. It runs quite slow.

4. Keyboard is not functioning correctly, have to use external keyboard.

Can anyone give any advise what could be wrong with it? Thanks,
Click to expand...

You've reset the PRAM/ NVRAM already. But try resetting the SMC, this is also responsible for charging and fans running fast (amongst other things).
 
DeltaMac said:
15-inch MBPro would have two fans.
Your fan control app should be able to show which fan is running fast.
If your MBPro was "sitting on the shelf" for some time, and not ever plugged in to charge, then the battery might have simply died, never to charge again.
But, the LED on the magsafe connector should come on (green), even if the battery is not detected.
You could remove/disconnect the battery, and check that fans are under control, and the LED shows green with no battery installed.
If you suspect liquid damage, that will usually be visible. I keep a hobby lamp with magnifier - very good at finding corrosion on chip leads, for example. Another good place to look is on the inside of the bottom cover, looking for water staining.
Click to expand...
The weird thing here is the fan control app can't find any fan, and also, only a very light green shows on the MagSafe connector (not the regular solid green light). Fan loudness doesn't change if connect or not connect battery.
 
lovecd said:
Yeah, tried that too, and something.
Click to expand...
I wonder what fan control App you're using? Does it also provide you with a full range of all other sensor data/ temps? I run iStat menus, the trial version is fully functional. It could provide you with a clue if a sensor is malfunctioning?

Also, have you tried booting into Safe mode?
 
Alpha Centauri said:
I wonder what fan control App you're using? Does it also provide you with a full range of all other sensor data/ temps? I run iStat menus, the trial version is fully functional. It could provide you with a clue if a sensor is malfunctioning?

Also, have you tried booting into Safe mode?
Click to expand...
Here is the update, the fan suddenly quiet and battery can be detected and charged now. Don’t know what behind the scenes, I guess it could be the moisture dried out after several turns on? Keys on keyboard are still not functioning correctly. At least I can use it with the external keyboard now.
 
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