Loud Fan and Very Hot

[LittleWingNut]

I got this mac off ebay a few months back and the fan is very loud and it gets very hot. not all the time but every once in a while.

10.8.2

2.4gh

8GB Ram

2010

I am not great with computers but any help would be highly appreciated.

 

[simsaladimbamba]

Use SMCFanControl to read temperature and fan speed an report back.

Open Activity Monitor and select All Processes and then sort by CPU to show you the process(es) slowing down your Mac or speeding up your fan(s) or causing more heat.

Using Activity Monitor to show you CPU and RAM usage​

PS: Have you tried an SMC reset yet?

Intel-based Macs: Resetting the System Management Controller (SMC) (Apple Support Site)

PPS: Depending on your experience with Macs, this might be helpful: Installing Applications in Mac OS X​

 

[justperry]

You fan(s) are the problem here I think, you need to replace it/them, pretty sure it will be only one which is the problem.
If you go to iFixit.com you'll find guides there to open the case and replace the fan.

Edit: What do you mean by loud, is the fan making strange noises or just full speed.

 

[GGJstudios]

I got this mac off ebay a few months back and the fan is very loud and it gets very hot. not all the time but every once in a while.

Install iStat Pro (free) or iStat Menus ($16) to get accurate readings of your battery, temps, fan speeds and much more.

If your fans are spinning much faster than 2000 rpm without increased heat, try resetting the SMC. If you do have increased heat, it's likely an app or process you have running that is placing higher demands on your system. Follow every step of the following instructions precisely. Do not skip any steps.

1. Launch Activity Monitor
2. Change "My Processes" at the top to "All Processes"
3. Click on the "% CPU" column heading once or twice, so the arrow points downward (highest values on top).
   (If that column isn't visible, right-click on the column headings and check it, NOT "CPU Time")
4. Click on the System Memory tab at the bottom.
5. Take a screen shot of the entire Activity Monitor window, then scroll down to see the rest of the list, take another screen shot
6. Post your screenshots.

 

[ybz90]

I got this mac off ebay a few months back and the fan is very loud and it gets very hot. not all the time but every once in a while.

10.8.2

2.4gh

8GB Ram

2010

I am not great with computers but any help would be highly appreciated.

First things first, what constitutes loud and hot? Install iStat or similar and if you can, report back the temps and fan speeds.

 

[mrsir2009]

I got this mac off ebay a few months back and the fan is very loud and it gets very hot. not all the time but every once in a while.

10.8.2

2.4gh

8GB Ram

2010

I am not great with computers but any help would be highly appreciated.

Hey there,

What are you doing on the computer when it gets really loud and hot? Is it when you're doing something in particular, such as playing games or watching online videos - Or is it just random?

 

[Binomio]

There might be alot of dust trapped in the heatsink fins and the fans.

 

[mrsir2009]

There might be alot of dust trapped in the heatsink fins and the fans.

Perhaps - Although if that was the case it'd probably overheat more than 'once in a while.'

 

[nnectw]

Use SMCFanControl to read temperature and fan speed an report back.

Open Activity Monitor and select All Processes and then sort by CPU to show you the process(es) slowing down your Mac or speeding up your fan(s) or causing more heat.

Using Activity Monitor to show you CPU and RAM usage​

PS: Have you tried an SMC reset yet?

Intel-based Macs: Resetting the System Management Controller (SMC) (Apple Support Site)

PPS: Depending on your experience with Macs, this might be helpful: Installing Applications in Mac OS X​

He's said it all ^
I use SMCFanControl too. I have a mid-year 2009 13" MacBookPro (4 years now) and it's very slow and can overheat when I have alot of applications open and especially when I game (League of Legends) and I always have SMCFanControl open to adjust my temperature so it will not overheat.​