Fan on iBook G4 Running All the Time

[CHawkins]

Hey Guys,

Ive recently purchased an iBook G4, it was fine but recently the fan has started running all the time, from when i boot it up to when i close it down. It very occasionally turns off but only for a couple of minutes, and its really loud, when it goes off the difference is crazy.
Just wondered if anyone else had experienced this problem and if anyone has any fixes. Ive rung apple up but apprantly its a software problem and im out of the 90days, which means id have to pay £35. Hope someone can help me!

Cheers

CH

 

[mkrishnan]

I think you should try resetting all of the firmware... Follow the directions here:

http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=2238

In particular, I think you'll have to do the part about resetting power management (the PMU) as well, because I think that it controls the fan.

 

[iTwitch]

When my iBook hit's 70c the fan is really loud and stays that way until the temp drops to 50c. Is there any chance a PMU reset would make it run quiter.

I can hear it with headpnones on, open variety at low volume.

 

[mkrishnan]

When my iBook hit's 70c the fan is really loud and stays that way until the temp drops to 50c. Is there any chance a PMU reset would make it run quiter.

I can hear it with headpnones on, open variety at low volume.

Probably not. If your iBook is hitting 70º C, then those fans are doing their job. The goal should probably keeping your iBook cooler, rather than changing the fan performance.... make sure it's set on a hard surface so it can ventilate, etc....

 

[runninmac]

When my iBook hit's 70c the fan is really loud and stays that way until the temp drops to 50c. Is there any chance a PMU reset would make it run quiter.

I can hear it with headpnones on, open variety at low volume.

Thats around when my fans go on. If their on when its cooler then its probably a problem but at the temp. their doing their job,

 

[iTwitch]

At home I always use it on this laptop thingy that raises it up about .5", but occassionaly when I'm ripping vinyl records or a few other things it goes on full and seems a bit loud. Guess it's about time to invest in something with fans. Thanks. <-- Hope Blue Velvet sees this.

 

[motulist]

Couple of things to check:

1) Open Activity Monitor and see that there isn't any program taking more than about 30% consistently. If there is, then that program is what's keeping your fan on.

2) Open up the Energy Saver system pref and be sure your laptop is set to automatic and not highest performance. If it's already at automatic, try lowering it to longest battery life and see if the reduced performance is worth the reduction in fan.