IMac G5 fan noise

Hi MGW,
Baby Boomer recommended that I check with you about our iMac G5 fan noise since you used to have the same model. For a reference as to what all has been suggested and done go to: http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?messageID=9810894&#9810894
I've done some internet searches and come across some other ideas on what may be the problem and if it is not too much trouble I would be very interested in your thoughts about the suggestions by DeathStalker13 --- please scroll down to #19 at this link:
http://forums.macosxhints.com/showthread.php?t=50158
Here is another link that I've found information about iMac G5 fan noise. I'd also like your impression about the methods that these people have done to solve the issue:
http://scienceman.com/legacypgs/00imacG5fanforum.html
I've also contacted a local AASP store and from just our telephone conversation they think just cleaning the fans and inspecting the computer which would take 1-1/2 hours at $95/hour should take care of the problem.
We'd really appreciate you opinion. Thanks!!!

Thank you so much for answering so quickly. I apologize for not being able to do the same. We had unexpected house guests and everything else was set aside while they were here.
This morning I have been researching trying to figure out how to disable Flash but so far I've been unsuccessful. We have a Power PC Mac OS X 10.4.11, Safari version 3.2.1.
Under the Safari "Help" it says, "Safari works with the plug-ins that are installed with Mac OS X. To see a list of installed plug-ins, open Safari and choose Help > Installed Plug-ins."
I checked and the Installed Plug-Ins list only has one "FLASH" listed - Shockwave Flash. I didn't know how to disable it or if I should.
You suggested changing to Firefox or Camino. We already swap between Safari & Firefox (version 3.0.12) for other reasons. Unfortunately, the fan noise is the same whether we use Firefox or Safari.
It was interesting that under Firefox "Help" they recommended disabling Adobe Flash plugin: http://support.mozilla.com/en-US/kb/Usingthe+Flash+Plugin+withFirefox?style_mode=inproduct
They said something about, "vulnerable to an extremely malicious exploit" and that until Adobe has an update, you can disable Flash. I followed the instructions but the only plug-ins I found were the following:
Default Plug-In
Netscape Navigator Default Plug-In
Java Embedding Plugin 0.9.6.4
Runs Java applets using the latest installed version of Java. For more information: Java Embedding Plugin. Run version test: Java information.
Java Plug-in
Java 1.3.1 Plug-in
Java Plug-In (CFM)
Java 1.3.1 Plug-in (CFM)
QuickTime Plug-in 7.6.2
The QuickTime Plugin allows you to view a wide variety of multimedia content in web pages. For more information, visit the QuickTime web site.
Shockwave Flash
Shockwave Flash 9.0 r159
Shockwave for Director
Macromedia Shockwave for Director Netscape plug-in, version 10.1.1
I haven't changed anything yet, as I'm not sure what I should disable. We have considered putting up with the fan noise since it isn't as bad since we cleaned the fans but if there is an easy fix we'd really appreciate your advice. Thanks!

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IMac g5 fan noise with update to 10.4.11

Has anyone else experienced this?
I have never had any problems with fan noise with my iMac, though I know it's a problem, till the recent update to 10.4.11. After restarting, it sounded like an airplane. Never heard that before. I shut it down and restarted, and it doesn't sound like a plane anymore, but the fan is noticeably noisier than ever before, a constant whine/hum.
Besides the energy saver fix and resetting the SMU and canned gas in the vents, any other suggestions? This is annoying, it's been running pretty perfect for three years till this. Thanks.

The questions are certainly not dumb - almost anywhere is cheaper than Apple for RAM, I recommend [macsales.com] and [smalldog.com] or [newegg.com]. I don't think that going back to 10.4.10 will help, you should really vacuum the vents to get dust out, and make sure that there's nothing hogging your CPU and making the fans noisy, look at Applications>Utilities>Activity Monitor to see if anything is using an unusual amount of memory or CPU.
If you do want to install Leopard, I would suggest making a full backup of your system,I use SuperDuper! to clone my system to a firewire external drive. You should certainly upgrade your RAM if you install Leo, but I don't think your machine will be any quieter with a new OS.
You need to remember that your machine is several years old, and that things get creaky with age (I certainly have). Since you have the iSight, it's not a simple matter to open it and clean the fans off. If you are really disturbed by the noise, you can take it in to an Apple service place and have them clean and oil the fans, which should help enormously.
Sorry I couldn't offer more help, but fans will, and do, get noisy.

IMac 20" Fan Noise

I am very fussy about computer noise.
I have returned a 17" iMac G5 once due to the annoying buzzing of the fans (specifically the hard drive fan) that sounded nothing short of an RC model airplane buzzing around.
So I thought I would hear the same with the Intel Duo Core, but would just deal with it this time.
WOW! What a surprise!
This computer is so quiet I could not believe it. When the fans do ramp up, they are a dull ambient sound which is fine with me. I just did not want the high pitched RC-sounding annoying fan noise from the previous G5 models.
I drove the CPU to 100% on both processors for over an hour (multiple times) and the fans are significantly easier on the ears than the G5.
So if you are hesitating on your purchase because of possible noise issues, I would say buy the new iMac.
You will be impressed.

I can be very critical and nit-picky about the computers I buy.
But I must say that Apple has left me speechless on this one!
No problems at all. I added another 512 meg ($100) from the local Apple Store to give me 1 gig RAM total. Naturally, everything is that much faster as well.
Mind you, though, that I have the 20" iMac Intel Duo Core with 128 megs Video RAM (not the seemingly problematic 256 meg).
Front Row works great with no problems.

IBook or iMac? Fan noise?

Hey, I am thinking about getting either an iBook or an iMac.
I have read that the iMacs make allot of fan noise? Is this so? That might be a problem, as I will be using it for recording guitar and vocals quite often.
Anyone here use an iMac to record stuff in garageband?
Cheers
see ya

my G5 iMac sits in the only room in my house that does not have AC and even with the processor averaging about 165*F I barely hear anything over a purr. the room is a sun room, and I live in Santee, California, which isn't exactly cool during the day if you know what I mean. the SuperDrive is the biggest improvement, even though it is audible during use, my old G4 used to sound like it was trying to take off like a turbofan engine. while the heat of the thing scares me a little, I feel confident that it can handle it. I've not really tried to max it out, but in a room that averages 85+ degrees during the day she's holding up well I never used my G4 to record in garage band, but I've made simple techno songs, just by clicking with the mouse, and adjusting things, it took for-freakin-ever to do it that way, so I will be getting better equipment now that the new imac can handle things better.

IMac G4 Fan noise very loud, excessive speed

Hi there
My iMac is making a lot of fan noise, I have fun iStat pro and its saying my HD temp is at 106 F and I have already unplugged my power cord and reset my computer, but the fan noise is still very very loud, its hard to sleep in the same room with it also I am running leopard on it could that be an issue?
any suggestions or solutions?

Hello I just recently bought a imac like a month ago but it's starting to make this fan noise when it starts up..
Please if someone knows what's going or how can I solve this problem tell me!
I need help.

Imac makes fan noise when it turns off or goes to sleep

Hello,
I bought a new iMac from bestbuy during the last week of april 2013.
Recently when I turn the iMac off or put it to sleep, it begins to make a loud fan noise at the back above the place where the power goes into the iMac. However, the moment I turn on the computer the sound goes away.
I left the iMac on for a few hours thinking the noise will go away on its own but it didnt. Now I always have to turn off the iMac and take the power out of the wall in order for it to not make noise.
Does anyone know what I can do to solve my problem? I have tried the SMC reset and the Pram reset however it does not seem to do the trick for me.

I would recommend resetting the SMC at least 3x back to back, sometimes it does not work the first time. If you don't know how please navigate to https://discussions.apple.com/docs/DOC-3603 for detailed instructions. If that does not help, you have 90 days of free AppleCare telephone coverage or if you already bought AppleCare (VERY STONGLY RECOMMENDED) this will extend your 1 year warranty to 3 years and includes 3 years of phone support. If you are in the USA you can buy it from B&H Photo for as little as $122 vs. at BBY or Apple for $169.

Imac HD Fan Noise

I am a Mac user for over 20 years. I have an Imac 20", early 2008, 2,66 GHZ Inte Core 2 duo, 4GB (00 Mhz DDR2 SDRAM, Graphic ATI Radeon HD 2600 Pro 256 MB with Lion Operation System.
The problem I have is that the HD fan coes crazy at certain times, using iPhoto, with screnn protector, witn Top Sites. They all have in commeon the use of graphic card. After putting the computer to sleep, HD revs drop from 600 that had reached and working properly. I sent the computer to an Apple service twice and failed to find fault. Changed the leoaprd operating system to Snow Leopard and now to Lion without result. I ´ve use control fan, SMC fancontrol, I´ve reset PRAM, PMU, Preferences, Onyx, reinstall all the programs, whitout fix it.
Any idea what could be the problem?
Do you think that any program -As HDD fan control- would solve the problem ?.
Thanks.

Hi,
I have the same problem.
iMac 27, i5
HDD is very noisy and buzzing fan.
Many times I have dropped the PRAM and SMC, but nothing changes
Please help, Apple

TA25225 Display Flickers in my 21" Imac Intel. This happened after the fan noise in my machine. I also reported the problem and gave to the service centre, but the problem still persist. Please help. I purchased it 3 - 4 weeks ago

Hello,
I purchased my imac intel 21" 3-4 weeks ago and in the 2nd week i faced an issue with the machine. When i switched on in, there was a fan noise and a white screen. The machine had hanged. I reported the problem and gave to the service centre. After testing for a week, they said that there is no problem with the imac. Again i faced the same problem after receiving it from the service centre. They again tested the machine for 3-4 days and reported as no problem with the machine. Couple of days back, I received the machine from the service centre, and on the same day when i switched it on, there are flickers in the display. Please help me solve the issue. I am from India. The service here is very bad.
Hope for a resolution
Thanks

Hello RedDevil07
Yes I agree with seventy one. It's common sense to do this, especially now. I would also contact AppleCare and report this issue with them, it will get documented and you will have a caseID that you can refer to when talking to them in the future should this issue go one.
Be polite with AppleCare and your AASP. Hopefully everyone is being honest and trying to help you and not what might appear to be the opposite.
Patience is a virtue, but I thoroughly understand your frustration.
Let us know how it goes, we are here to help in whatever way we can.
I encourage you to contact AppleCare to report this experience and get their recommendations. There is an expectation that you should have that AppleCare is there to help you as a customer. I am sure they will too!

IMac Fan Noise - Not The Usual Problem

Hi,
I have seen plenty of discussions on iMac fan noise but mine is a little different. A week ago, a 'tink' noise (similar to tapping your fingernail on a glass) started coming from my mid 2011 iMac. At first, I thought it was the "click of death" for my hard drive, so I replaced it myself. This didn't fix the noise, so I ran an extended hardware test. This came back with a 4MEM error. I had some spare RAM, fitted it, ran the test again, no 4MEM error.
So, I booted the iMac again. 'Tink'... 'tink'. I finally located it to the bottom right of my iMac, where the optical drive fan is located. This fan has always rattled a little now and again but now it seems intent on driving me round the bend with its very own form of torture. At first, the 'tink' was now and again, but now it constant. 'tinktinktinktinktink'. Is there a way to stop the optical fan for now? I don't use the optical drive often anyway. Or would it just be a replacement fan?
Resetting SMC or PRAM does nothing.

This may be way off target, in which case ignore me. Do you have an app called Free Memory installed? There have been a few posts on here where it seems to cause repetitive odd noises to occur, particularly when running Mavericks?

MacTel iMac and the dreaded fan noise...

a buddy of mine bought an iMac G5 2 Ghz last June and mentioned having no problem with the dreaded fan noises of said iMac. fast forward to last week when we got together to do some nerdy stuff in front of same iMac when he casually mentions to me. "my fans have been going crazy lately" ... not that his iMac sounds like a jet turbine or anything, but it got me thinking about the new "Intel Inside" Macs. and with two cores inside, goodness!
so b4 i rush out and buy one of these babies -- i'm going to wait and see regarding the fans. but it will be interesting to see how all of this plays out.
CMM.
PS.. i am a bit amazed (and elated!) that the Intel Inside Macs have already become a reality -- 6 months sooner than expected. (who would have thought!)
YAY!

Miriam,
Maybe I was a little premature. I just went to abc.com to watch the last episode of Men in Trees and here's the results.
With ABC video running (maybe quarter screen size), the CPU was running at a steady 65-70%, CPU temp 69.8, CPU fan 4791-4814 steady (very loud).
Didn't seem to be a high bandwidth download as net was clicking at 117 Kb/sec.
Oh well...don't really consider this very good performance. The fan went down to the 2700 range on reduced, but then the video was choppy. Good thing my capacitors are leaking...Maybe I'll get a Core 2 under my 3 year Apple Care.

Again imac 309rs/a fan noise

Hello!
problem with fans again
After hanging my imac - fan began to publish a crackling sound. that this could be?
few image's of istat
here look's like all right
and here:
imac didnt hanging again, but noise crash my mind
so what i try to do:
reset SMC (cmd+opt+r+s)
have on idea, about what i need to do now
or it's question for service? (actualy its very sad - imac work just around 4 months)

This could be a completely different issue, but occasionally I've encountered loud fan noise from my iMac. It's not a crackling sound, though, just a loud fan. Anyway, the fix for me is to unplug the power cord from the back of the computer then plug it in again. The fan noise disappears. Not sure this applies to your problem but it's worth a try.

20" intel iMAC fan noise

My iMAC's fan has begun to make a clicking noise like a card in the spokes of a bicycle wheel. Sometimes it's louder and sometimes it gets softer. Any ideas on what is causing it and how to fix it? Thanks

If you are sure it's a fan there really isn't anything you can do other than calling Apple and having a it serviced.

My new Imac 24", 2.8GHz Intel Core is suddenly making a loud fan noise

Please help!
This Imac is only a week old. I bought it on apple online store. This is 24" 2.8GHz Imac and it's been the best computer I've ever had. It was wonderful to work and silent until yesterday. And suddenly I can't stand the fan noise coming from my new Imac. I downloaded i-stat Pro to check the status of my computer and it reads *CPU fan:1198rpm, hard drive:1198rpm, optical drive: 4401rpm*
what is wrong with my computer?
I searched many mac forums, and I've tried many things including shutting it down and unplugging everything and replugging everything after a while, but nothing solves this problem. Does anybody have experienced this problem? I am not even using many applications. I am only using safari, and the fan is at full speed. SO LOUD! What can I do to solve this? Should I take it to apple to look at it?

Hello lovingimac
Welcome to Apple Discussions
That sounds like there is something wrong with the temp. sensor for the optical drive.
If carefully following the SMC reset instructions below, does not fix the fan issue:
http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=303446-en
Then yes you need to make a trip to your local Apple service center.
Dennis

IMac fan noise noticeable?

I am thinking of getting a new iMac. Am used to a very quiet computer, using a Macbook Pro 15inch. Does the iMac have much of a noticeable fan sound? Or is it basically quiet?
Thanks,
Richard

Today I layed the mac face down on the desk, removed the power cable and all periphials. I pluged the mac in (still face down) and powered up. The fan noise was still happenig. Just above the power supply I began applying a small amount of pressure against the case. As I increased pressure the fan noise got worse. In the spot that made the most differene in noise I continued to massage the case (if you will) assuming the fan enclosure was probrobly jared durring shipping causing the blades to rub the case as the fans turn. I then powered down, removed the cable, and took of the memory door just below the apple between the speakers. This is a great design by the way. Changing memory is almost as easy as pluging in a USB device. Anyhow, I made sure everything was tight and secure in there, closed the door, put the mac back upright, and powered up again.
Under this current boot I am not experiencing the fan noise. Maybe the fans moved enough to stop rubbing the case. Lets hope. I would hate to have to take this back to the apple store. I am in Lexington SC and the nearest apple store is in Charlotte NC 1.5 hours away. It's been runnning for aprox. 30 minutes now. "Still holding" Thanks for all of the responce.
Mesaman

IMac sleeping automatically more and more frequently with hudge fan noise

A few days when I was watching a DVD my computer started to sleep suddendly.
Of course I desactivated sleeping option in preferences panel and I also tried to reset the nvram without success.
It was getting worse when I tried to play games (on DVD) : every minutes the computer started to sleep (iMac G5 iSight 20")
Now it is not a matter of DVD, my computer often sleeps every 20 seconds even during startup, it is impossible to work. When I restart there are hudge fan noises which are not disappearing after starting.
The only way to work without the imac sleeping every 20 s is to boot under my safe tech tool pro partition.
I tried to repair permissions, reinstall combo update, delete caches with Onyx, ran techtools tests and as I said reset nvram...without result
If I can get some help it would be nice, I am currently backing up all my data in case...

You are dong the right thing by backing up, it sounds as if your power supply is going bad. What did TechTool report?
Have you tried booting from the install disc and verifying/repairing the drive? Try running the Apple Hardware Test as well, but it doesn't always catch things. It does sound like a hardware problem, if none of the suggestions helps, call Apple.

IMac G5 fan noise

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