I traded a brand new Mac Mini and a Dell 19 inch LCD monitor for a 4-month-old 17-inch revision A iMac G5. The previous owner was fed up with the abnormal fan noise and Apples reluctance to fix it. I have owned many computers and a few different Macs. I am familiar with the higher RPMs as the CPU is utilized more, but this was nothing like that. The only words I can think of that accurately describe it is model airplane like, or vacuum cleaner.
At first I thought I could put up with the sound. About 4 months later, I was so fed up with the sound that I could not take it anymore. This is a log of what has transpired over the past month. On October 7th, 2005, I scheduled an appointment with a Mac Genius and brought the iMac into the Apple store.
October 7, 2005
Despite the hundreds of posts I read on the Internet about Rev A iMac G5 fan noise, the so called Mac Genius had never heard of it being a problem. From all the reading I did online, and from inspecting the machine, I concluded that it was the CPU fan, which was the noise culprit. We setup my iMac at the Genius Bar and put on iTunes Visualizer. Between the music playing and large groups of people talking in the background, the iMac could barely be heard. I mentioned that I was able to record the sound with the built in microphone, so I clicked on that file and turned the volume up. He assured me that one of his colleagues would have a look at it in a quiet setting and that it should be ready in 7-10 business days.
Being that the machine was still less than a year old, I decided to go ahead and purchase the Apple Care Protection Plan. I did so and left the store, leaving the iMac behind to be serviced.
October 20, 2005
The 9th business day had arrived and my impatience was growing. I called Apple to get the status on the repair. The kind lady on the phone did not understand the techs notes, but read them to me. They were something along the lines of iTunes Visualizer running off of FWD.
October 24, 2005
The 11th business day arrived and I had no patience left. I called the Apple Store directly to speak with someone and find out the status of the repair. Apparently, they had just finished it that day and they forgot to call. I asked what they did to fix the problem. The person on the phone read the techs notes: reset NVRAM, sound gone I thought that was interesting on a few different levels. One, by saying that the sound was gone, they are admitting that there was an abnormal sound in the first place. Two, I had previously tried resetting the NVRAM but that did not solve the problem. Being that it was later in the evening, I said thank you and told them I would pick it up the next day.
October 25, 2005
I took the iMac home, hoping that maybe they did something extra and the sound really was gone. I was wrong. I got home from school after 9:00pm that night, so Apple Tech Support was closed. I called the next day.
October 26, 2005
I called Apple Tech Support and explained to them that the Apple Store had not successfully repaired my computer, and that I was certain I would need a new CPU fan being that that was where the noise was coming from (bottom left when looking head on). The tech was very polite and said that we should not jump to any conclusions just yet. I explained to him the problem I was having with the noise, and described it to him as resembling a model airplane or a vacuum cleaner. He seemed to have an idea what I was talking about. He had me reset the NVRAM again thinking that would somehow make the fan noise go away. Of course it did not. After about 30 minutes on the phone, he agreed with me that it was the CPU fan that was faulty, and he would have a new one shipped out. I received the package the next day.
October 27, 2005
I got home that night from school after 9:00pm and noticed the package had arrived. I was surprised and happy at the same time. I immediately opened up the iMac and the package and was ready to go to work. After opening the box, I had realized there had been a mistake. They did not ship a CPU fan. In the box was a hard drive fan, and the system fan. I was sure the tech on the phone said he was sending the CPU fan. Thinking that maybe he knew what he was doing, I proceeded to replace those two fans. Again, that did not fix the problem. The CPU fan was still as loud as ever. Being that it was late at night, I had no choice but to wait until the next day to call Apple Tech Support again.
At first I thought I could put up with the sound. About 4 months later, I was so fed up with the sound that I could not take it anymore. This is a log of what has transpired over the past month. On October 7th, 2005, I scheduled an appointment with a Mac Genius and brought the iMac into the Apple store.
October 7, 2005
Despite the hundreds of posts I read on the Internet about Rev A iMac G5 fan noise, the so called Mac Genius had never heard of it being a problem. From all the reading I did online, and from inspecting the machine, I concluded that it was the CPU fan, which was the noise culprit. We setup my iMac at the Genius Bar and put on iTunes Visualizer. Between the music playing and large groups of people talking in the background, the iMac could barely be heard. I mentioned that I was able to record the sound with the built in microphone, so I clicked on that file and turned the volume up. He assured me that one of his colleagues would have a look at it in a quiet setting and that it should be ready in 7-10 business days.
Being that the machine was still less than a year old, I decided to go ahead and purchase the Apple Care Protection Plan. I did so and left the store, leaving the iMac behind to be serviced.
October 20, 2005
The 9th business day had arrived and my impatience was growing. I called Apple to get the status on the repair. The kind lady on the phone did not understand the techs notes, but read them to me. They were something along the lines of iTunes Visualizer running off of FWD.
October 24, 2005
The 11th business day arrived and I had no patience left. I called the Apple Store directly to speak with someone and find out the status of the repair. Apparently, they had just finished it that day and they forgot to call. I asked what they did to fix the problem. The person on the phone read the techs notes: reset NVRAM, sound gone I thought that was interesting on a few different levels. One, by saying that the sound was gone, they are admitting that there was an abnormal sound in the first place. Two, I had previously tried resetting the NVRAM but that did not solve the problem. Being that it was later in the evening, I said thank you and told them I would pick it up the next day.
October 25, 2005
I took the iMac home, hoping that maybe they did something extra and the sound really was gone. I was wrong. I got home from school after 9:00pm that night, so Apple Tech Support was closed. I called the next day.
October 26, 2005
I called Apple Tech Support and explained to them that the Apple Store had not successfully repaired my computer, and that I was certain I would need a new CPU fan being that that was where the noise was coming from (bottom left when looking head on). The tech was very polite and said that we should not jump to any conclusions just yet. I explained to him the problem I was having with the noise, and described it to him as resembling a model airplane or a vacuum cleaner. He seemed to have an idea what I was talking about. He had me reset the NVRAM again thinking that would somehow make the fan noise go away. Of course it did not. After about 30 minutes on the phone, he agreed with me that it was the CPU fan that was faulty, and he would have a new one shipped out. I received the package the next day.
October 27, 2005
I got home that night from school after 9:00pm and noticed the package had arrived. I was surprised and happy at the same time. I immediately opened up the iMac and the package and was ready to go to work. After opening the box, I had realized there had been a mistake. They did not ship a CPU fan. In the box was a hard drive fan, and the system fan. I was sure the tech on the phone said he was sending the CPU fan. Thinking that maybe he knew what he was doing, I proceeded to replace those two fans. Again, that did not fix the problem. The CPU fan was still as loud as ever. Being that it was late at night, I had no choice but to wait until the next day to call Apple Tech Support again.
