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Fans in Mac Pro are noisy, very noisy [Resolved - it was Indexing or Search Light]

Hi all,

I am new to Mac, so please forgive my lack of terminology etc.

I reset the SMC by unplugging everything as described by Apple support docs (unplug power, keyboard, mouse, monitor - leave for a minute, plug in mouse, keyboard and power, power on) - this did not resolve anything.

I then tried to run the diagnostic by pressing `D`whilst booting. This returned nothing.

The problem persists.

Questions:

1) A PC would have a jumper on the logic board that can be used to reset the BIOS. In effect, is this what the process described above is doing?

2) Since these Pentium chips run cool anyway, what would be the real risk of disconnecting the exhaust fan until I take the box in to get checked? This is half the noise, I know it helps a flow of air between the pull of the heatsink fan and the push of the exhaust fan.

3) I bought this in a private sale and I don't have Apple care on it. Can I buy Apple care on Monday, then turn up on Tuesday with my jet engine?

4) Without Apple Care, what are the estimated costs of getting this looked at?

5) Is there such a thing as flashing the BIOS on a Mac? Is there a chipset firmware update?
 
ghoztman said:
2) Since these Pentium chips run cool anyway, what would be the real risk of disconnecting the exhaust fan until I take the box in to get checked? This is half the noise, I know it helps a flow of air between the pull of the heatsink fan and the push of the exhaust fan.
Click to expand...
They're actually Xeons, not Pentiums, but whatever. I wouldn't disconnect the fans, because otherwise there won't be air moving through the case. That's very very bad. :)

ghoztman said:
3) I bought this in a private sale and I don't have Apple care on it. Can I buy Apple care on Monday, then turn up on Tuesday with my jet engine?
Click to expand...
Depends on when the guy you bought it from bought it. You can only purchase Applecare within 1 year of first buying it, IIRC.

ghoztman said:
5) Is there such a thing as flashing the BIOS on a Mac? Is there a chipset firmware update?
Click to expand...
Macs don't use the traditional BIOS, they use EFI. So not really. There are firmware updates, but presumably the guy who sold the machine to you already installed those.
 
Actually, There are 2 fans in an Push Pull configuration that cool both CPUs plus the memory and nothing else.

It might be possible to run the machine for extended periods with only one of those 2 fans operational if its boosted to above normal RPMs.
 
ghoztman said:
1) A PC would have a jumper on the logic board that can be used to reset the BIOS. In effect, is this what the process described above is doing?
Click to expand...

There's a button inside the machine to reset something (the SMC I think).

It's all a bit confusing, mainly because of Apple's reluctance to release
any significant EFI/SMC/PRAM documentation. What you get is what
you can discover yourself, or gather from forums and third party developers.

ghoztman said:
3) I bought this in a private sale and I don't have Apple care on it. Can I buy Apple care on Monday, then turn up on Tuesday with my jet engine?
Click to expand...

Apple care can be bought within the first year of the original purchase.
From the HD fan speed, it looks like yours is the original Mac Pro, so it
could be (rough calculation) from 5 to 21 months old.

ghoztman said:
5) Is there such a thing as flashing the BIOS on a Mac? Is there a chipset firmware update?
Click to expand...

If there is, Software Update should find it. There was at least one firmware
update for the original Mac Pros. There are no third-party boot ROM flashing
programs that I know of.
 
I have just had a thought.

I bought 2 new 500GB drives that I installed. I then installed Leopard.

Could it be that as a result, a CPU intensive process like drive indexing is running?

Even if the drives are empty, would Leopard index the drives? I imagine it takes a while to index 1TB. I never let it run for longer than 10 minutes because of the noise.

Could it be indexing the drives causing the fans to blow?
 
ghoztman said:
I then tried to run the diagnostic by pressing `D`whilst booting. This returned nothing.
Click to expand...

When reading through this thread, I saw the chap the suggest you do this; but he forgot to mention you needed one of your grey discs in the optical drive at the time!

Of the two grey discs supplied at purchase, one of them has 'Apple Hardware test'. Pop that in and reboot. When the unit Chimes, press D. That'll then run the diagnostic application off the CD.

Hope this helps. Just to let you know, My 2.66 Mac Pro with the 7300GT is quiet as a mouse - I think there may be a sensor issue with your Mac Pro...I think the Apple Hardware Test will tell you - if it doesn't, I suggest you haul it into a Genius Bar...

Reseat all RAM and perhaps the Graphics card too?

F
 
FireArse said:
When reading through this thread, I saw the chap the suggest you do this; but he forgot to mention you needed one of your grey discs in the optical drive at the time!

Of the two grey discs supplied at purchase, one of them has 'Apple Hardware test'. Pop that in and reboot. When the unit Chimes, press D. That'll then run the diagnostic application off the CD.

Hope this helps. Just to let you know, My 2.66 Mac Pro with the 7300GT is quiet as a mouse - I think there may be a sensor issue with your Mac Pro...I think the Apple Hardware Test will tell you - if it doesn't, I suggest you haul it into a Genius Bar...

Reseat all RAM and perhaps the Graphics card too?

F
Click to expand...

I reseated the RAM, but not the GFX card.

That explains why the diagnostic didn't do anything, because I never inserted the grey disc.

Problem: I bought this Mac Pro in a private sale and I never received the discs. I only have a grey disc with my Mac Boook Pro. I gather this will not help for a diagnostic?

Will the Leopard installation disc that I have be able to run diagnostics?
 
No grey discs...

ghoztman said:
Problem: I bought this Mac Pro in a private sale and I never received the discs. I only have a grey disc with my Mac Boook Pro. I gather this will not help for a diagnostic?

Will the Leopard installation disc that I have be able to run diagnostics?
Click to expand...

hhhhmmmm looks like a visit to the Genius Bar is what you'll need. If the Genius you see is in a good mood, ask him/her for a copy of the AHD for your machine. There's also an Apple Service Diagnostic (which is a bit more thorough than AHD) for your machine.

I can't seem to find any images online. What CPU speed is your Mac Pro?
 
FireArse said:
hhhhmmmm looks like a visit to the Genius Bar is what you'll need. If the Genius you see is in a good mood, ask him/her for a copy of the AHD for your machine. There's also an Apple Service Diagnostic (which is a bit more thorough than AHD) for your machine.

I can't seem to find any images online. What CPU speed is your Mac Pro?
Click to expand...

It's a Dual Xeon 2.66GHz, gForce 7300GT machine.
 
I don't know if it's relevant, but you were wondering about the Applecare.

You can check your warranty status with your serial number at https://selfsolve.apple.com/GetWarranty.do. If it's still valid you can just go and drop the machine for service without any documentation/receipts. (You can also buy the extended AppleCare).

If it has run out, you are out of luck I'm afraid.
 
Quiet as a mouse, as if like f*****g magic

Hi all,

I thought I would update you all. This morning I zapped the PRAM without any result. Feeling despondent, I unplugged everything and went to work. At work I had a thought that maybe the new Hard Drives, 1TB, needed to be indexed by the OS.

So I come home, switch it all back on, and it's gone all quiet as a mouse.

It's a miracle.

So, I'd like to thank you all for your ideas and tips. :)

So far so good, let's hope it stays that way.
 
Ya, spotlight can be a pig. After an initial install you can expect it to take an hour or so to level out. I was so mad when I went from tiger to leopard because of the instant speed loss, but when it finished it was back to normal.

Congrats on the mac pro by the way, I plan to get one with in a month or so :D.
 
ghoztman said:
I unplugged everything and went to work.
So I come home, switch it all back on, and it's gone all quiet as a mouse.
Click to expand...
Looks like the SMC (which is responsible for the fan speed) just need a little reset (remember the Apple article I posted before)
 
ghoztman said:
Hi all,

I thought I would update you all. This morning I zapped the PRAM without any result. Feeling despondent, I unplugged everything and went to work. At work I had a thought that maybe the new Hard Drives, 1TB, needed to be indexed by the OS.

So I come home, switch it all back on, and it's gone all quiet as a mouse.

It's a miracle.

So, I'd like to thank you all for your ideas and tips. :)

So far so good, let's hope it stays that way.
Click to expand...

It's exceedingly unlikely it was anything to do with indexing.
Unfortunately, the juxtaposition of two events in time does
not mean one caused the other.
 
Infrared said:
It's exceedingly unlikely it was anything to do with indexing.
Unfortunately, the juxtaposition of two events in time does
not mean one caused the other.
Click to expand...

After about an hour of silence I installed Final Cut Express. As the installation was about to finish it started again, like a freight train. This lasted for about 5 minutes then it went quiet again.

So it is certainly a process based fan frenzy.

When it first happened, I never let it run for more than a few minutes out of fear that something was not right. But once I had let it get it's knickers out of a twist, everything normalised.

I'm happy. I shall proceed to whip it with as much fury as possible. :D
 
ghoztman said:
After about an hour of silence I installed Final Cut Express. As the installation was about to finish it started again, like a freight train. This lasted for about 5 minutes then it went quiet again.

So it is certainly a process based fan frenzy.

When it first happened, I never let it run for more than a few minutes out of fear that something was not right. But once I had let it get it's knickers out of a twist, everything normalised.

I'm happy. I shall proceed to whip it with as much fury as possible. :D
Click to expand...

I would still contact Apple, if I were you. From what I've read
hereabouts, those fan speeds are not usual even in heavy use.

E.g., https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/424940/
 
Infrared said:
I would still contact Apple, if I were you.
Click to expand...

I second that. The HD temperature sensor will trigger an increase in fan speed, but it should do it gradually, and not like a jet engine. The SMC controller is faulty.
 
An update.

The problem was persistent. I took the computer into get it looked at. I had to replace to mainboard.

It cost me dearly too. When I asked for the old one back I was told it would cost me even more as it gets sent back to Apple so that they can refurbish it.

A bloody cheek really (800CHF for a mainboard?), but all is quiet now and I'm happy.
 
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