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.

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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?

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

Late model iMac fan noise

Hi..
There seems to be many threads on this topic but I seem to be making headway on fault finding.
We have 3 late model intel iMacs (all with SMC).
All have been very quiet until recently when mine started running with fans at sometimes full speed.
I think I have tracked it down to only doing it with a high drain device in the USB port. Namely an EyeTV hybrid. I have it plugged into a Logitec powered hub. It seems that whenever the stick is plugged in it doesn't take long before the fans start up. After removing the stick.. after a little while the fans begin to slow down and eventually stop all together.
I'd be interested if anyone else out there can duplicate the issue wheter it be with an EYE TV stick or anything else.
Cheers

OK.. so its seems that it was incidental about removing the eye tv stick as the problem has returned.
I do believe this time that I have a better understanding of what is going on for me at least.
I installed "temperature monitor" to keep an eye on what was going on. The problem appears to be with the CPU A sensor. I just this moment woke my machine up and shortly afterward the fan started. I looked at the temps and the CPU A sensor read 127 C which was obvious rubbish since it had been asleep in a low ambient room. I suspected a bad reading from a bad connection or sensor so I tapped the machine on the back a few times (not too hard) and the reading returned to 33 C and the fan stopped.
My problem now seems clear (I must have bumped the machine when removing the EYE TV stick the first time leading me down the garden path a bit).. maybe this will help others.

I7 iMac fan noise question

I just got an new 2.93 i7 iMac 2TB 8GB RAM
Set it up yesterday and immediately noticed a fan noise running at the round rear vent. I thought I would let it go and see if it changes at all. It hasn't changed and doesn't even change speed when doing heavier tasks. It simply runs all the time.
I plan on taking this to the AppleStore since it is new yesterday. I just wondered if anyone else has experienced this? Is there a fix? I tried the Apple reset procedures but nothing has worked. Or, more importantly, is this normal? I hope not because it is very loud.
Thanks

Well, sounds like someone filled your head with a bunch of nonsense and now you're really more upset with yourself for believing such obvious nonsense, and not so much Apple or anything else.
But in the end, it kind of depends on what you were expecting. Some people want something that is exactly like Windows, only better. The obvious problem with that statement never really registers. They want to be free to do every stupid thing under the sun, turning off every security feature there is, and still have the OS magically protect them from current threats, and threats that haven't even been thought up yet. No computer is like that, I don't care what OS you're running, but it doesn't seem to stop people from pinning all their hopes and dreams on some new system being The One(tm) and then having those hopes dashed.
You see this a lot in the cell phone world too... Every new phone is going to be the iPhone killer, and every iOS update is going to fix the myriad of bugs and other issues with the iPhone. People get all excited like Jo-Jo the Circus Monkey, and the thing finally hits the market, people rush out to plunk down their money.... And, usually after a couple of days the honeymoon period is over, leaving people stuck with this device that isn't what they were hoping for... But it's never because their expectations were unrealistic, it's always someone else's fault.
So here's your chance to rise above it all, admit that you let yourself believe a lie, and accept the consequences of your rash actions. It won't make any of your problems magically go away, but you will be generally happier because you won't be stressing yourself out over something you can't control. That has loads of tangible health benefits, since the human body can't really tell the difference between being chased by something that things you look like a tasty meal, and being stressed out over a computer needing repair. It just starts dumping adrenaline into your bloodstream, and that is really not good for you long term.

Super Drive in my Intel iMac making noise

My 21" Intel iMac (v.10.8.3) super drive just started making this chattering sound when I inserted a disc.
I had copied 4 CD's to iTunes, then the fifth started to make that loud chattering noise.
I ejected the disc and cleaned it up but that didn't help.

One more long shot...
PRAM reset, CMD+Option+p+r...
http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1379
In fact, do 3 in a row, takes a bit of time.

IMac Fan Noise Problem (Reset SMC isn't working)

The Fans on my early 2009 iMac have been running very loud non-stop for the past few days.
I reset the SMC, and that took care of the problem for a few hours, but later that night, it happened again.
Thinking that my system may have been overheating, I reset my SMC again, and then installed iStat to monitor the temps and fans.
Everything looked normal, and the fan noise stopped after ther reset. That night, same thing, fans came back on, but iStat couldn't read the temps anymore...there was just a " - " where the temp should have been.
Anyone know what is going on, or how I can better diagnose the isse?

I got the same problem..
Just started couple days ago.. SMC reset worked but still it starts up again... I even got the vacuum out to suck out a little dust perhaps, no dice.

Intel Imac fan speed? normal ?

Hi guys , im a new mac user and i was wondering i downloaded istat pro
and i noticed a low humming noise when running so i lookd at the fan speed and
the
cpu 1200
harddrive 1600
optical drive 800
im not sure if those are good temps but liek some times after using for a couple hours while just webbrowsing and listening to music i feel the heat coming from like the screen and i touch it and its pretty hot!
an i just use it for webbrowsing and music and downloading like the only third party software i own is utorrent and handbrake..
i posted my computer stats below
are Overview:
Model Name: iMac
Model Identifier: iMac9,1
Processor Name: Intel Core 2 Duo
Processor Speed: 3.06 GHz
Number Of Processors: 1
Total Number Of Cores: 2
L2 Cache: 6 MB
Memory: 4 GB
Bus Speed: 1.07 GHz
Boot ROM Version: IM91.008D.B08
SMC Version (system): 1.45f0
ATI Radeon HD 4850:
Chipset Model: ATI Radeon HD 4850
Type: Display
Bus: PCIe
PCIe Lane Width: x16
VRAM (Total): 512 MB

Those look like normal fan speeds for the latest Macs. But you can use software that allows you to create different speed sets for different circumstances.
I use smcFanControl. The first time you start the app it reads your Mac's default fan speeds and creates a default set. But you can create more sets with increased speeds. I live in Monterrey, Mexico with no air conditioning, just fans. It has been around 40°C everyday for weeks on end, and lately hotter. So I have a Hot set where all speeds are ramped up 200 rpms over the default speeds. And I have a Really Hot set where they are all ramped up 200 rpms more over Hot. If I see the temps edging up I usually choose the next set and increase the rpms and that usually brings the temps down to normal. If I see the temps drop down below normal I back off a set on the rpms.
I think Handbrake is probably a bit CPU intensive, so it probably sends your temps up above their normal range when you are just surfing the net.
BTW, rpms are not temps, those are fan speeds. Revolutions per minute.
Dah•veed

Intel iMac fan problem?

my fan seems to be running all the time, is this normal? Its like a humming noise, i mean i can hear it but i'm just not sure if I'm suppose to be hearing it and if its suppose to be on all the time when my computer is awake.
can any users comment please?

Yes, this is completely normal. Because of the iMac's ultra thin design, the fans will always run at low RPMs to vent the heat created by the internal components, as well as to keep the air circulating inside the machine.

20" iMac Fan Noise - Revisited

So I just received my new fans from Apple, and I am still receiving the same "buzz/whirl" from the fan immediately next to the hard drive fan.
On the 20" Rev B, all my other fans are acceptable; exept the fan right next to the hard drive. Model BFB0812H.
The fans Apple sent me were exactly the same, which means that Apple should issue different fan.
Since this may not happen; does anyone know of 3rd party fans that I can buy.

I will run the hardware test, but reading post, replacing fans, and searching for solutions leaves me fairly certain that top right fan on the iMac 20" is the problem.
I even disconnected the fan and used the iMac for about 1 minute to see if there was a noise difference, and there was.
The iMac was quite.

IMac Fan Noise

Good afternoon from Spain,
I have a iMac (late 2006) and during the last weeks, it's beggining to make a very strange noise.
The noise: http://rapidshare.com/files/170755323/Ruido.m4a.html
I supose that is from one of the fans, and o i'm trying to fix the noise with a SMC reset, but the noise doesnt disappear.
Any suggestion? I'm thinking to reset the PRAM but anything that Apple describes in the web is what apparently i need.
Thank you and sorry for my bad english
Message was edited by: luismerce

Hi Luis
Carefully follow the instructions in the SMC reset article:
http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1543
Then to see what the fan speeds are download the iStat Pro Widget:
http://www.apple.com/downloads/dashboard/status/istatpro.html
If just one fan is running fast it could mean that there is actually a overheating issue or hardware problem with a sensor. To find out run the Apple Hardware Test:
http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1509
Dennis

27" iMac fan noise

Hi. I picked up an iMac the other day, and have found it to be a lot louder than I expected. I can hear fans whirring all the time. They're by no means loud, but loud enough to be heard from a fair distance away, or sitting here with music playing. I'm just wondering if this is a normal sound level?
I checked my fan speeds, and they've been roughly:
Optical Drive: 998 rpm
Hard Drive: 1098 rpm
CPU fan: 939 rpm
CPU temp is about 36 C.
To clarify, I have the 27" C2D iMac, stock. 4GB ram, Radeon 4670 graphics.

I have the same issue with my new iMac, only I'm on my 3rd one. The funny part is, I probably wouldn't have even noticed this one was a little noisy if I hadn't been through 2 others that I took back to Apple for a backlight/display issue (when I dimmed, I would hear an electrical hum). To the store's credit, their customer service was excellent and they didn't make me feel crazy...switching the machine out, and then switching it out again when the new one had the same problem.
Turns out I'm not crazy, and the 2nd replacement does not have the backlight issue...but I noticed right away that during normal use, it's a bit louder than the other two. Now that I've noticed it, it's really starting to irritate me, but I'd really feel like a pest taking it back for a fourth(!!!) machine. It was bad enough taking it in the first and second time. I'm glad the display doesn't hum when dimmed, but this noise of the machine is constant and I'm not so sure it's better (I remember being surprised how quiet the others were in my silent room). Does anyone know if this is an issue that can be repaired without replacing the machine?
While I'm not sure what to do about my situation... to anyone else whose iMac is less than two weeks old: Apple is happy to replace your machine if I you're not satisfied with it. If you choose to switch it out, know that the replacement might have other issues.

Lion causes iMac fan noise during sleep mode

Ever since upgrading to Lion, my iMac's (early 2009 model) fan will randomly go into high speed mode (very loud) in the middle of the night when the iMac is in sleep mode. This seems to happen more often if I manually put the iMac into sleep rather than letting it automatically go into sleep mode as defined in the Energy Saver settings.
Anyone else experiencing this? I posted a feedback report (http://www.apple.com/feedback/macosx.html) so I hope Apple can fix this soon.
Eric

Hi Mendl,
Ok, what I discovered after running the AHT test, long version, was that the test doesn't see the actual failure I had in a new iMac. It turned out to be what I suspected all along, which was a defective temperature sensor, or more likely a factory assembly issue on that component.
They replaced my computer and now all is well.
Thanks, for reinforcing my suspicions!
Keep up the good work.
enumscrat

No fan noise with new intel iMac?

My daughter's iMac G5 sounds quite loud when the fans kick in,but I haven't heard my intel iMac fans even come on. The loudest noise the thing makes is the hard drive writing occasionally. Is there any way to make sure the fans are working?
iMac 17 Core Duo Mac OS X (10.4.5)

Did as you suggested and still cannot hear any fans. My first G5 unit was the same way till the logic board fried and was replaced. Now it sounds like a jet engine every time it starts to work hard. I hope this one doesn't turn out the same way. My first unit is in the shop right now for it's second logic board and a new power supply.

IMac 24" Noise

Just recieved my iMac 24" a couple of days ago and for the most part I love it.
However, it makes a static sort of noise, very noticeable in a quiet room. I think this is the hard drive running. The noise is very intermittant, and is still present with the speakers muted.
I tried turning off the computer and unplugging it for a few minutes before restarting, this had no effect.
Does anyone else hear this or should I be contacting Apple Care?
Thanks!

Thanks it does say Status:Verified
Can you tell me what the sound your HD makes sounds
like? Is it a small closely spaced ticking sort of
noise?
As far as I know, the only moving parts inside are the fans and the hard drive. It is obvious to me what the Intel iMac fans (barely) sound like, and the hard drive sound I occasionally hear is distinctly different and is not at all constant.
It sounds the same (but much less noisy) as I hear from a hard drive in a PowerMac G5 [much louder due to encased in metal, rather than plastic]. When you described "a static sort of noise" I knew exactly what you were talking about:)
I could also describe it as a faint rolling kind of sound that for a split second gets slightly louder, but it and any sound from the fans are drowned out when anything at all is going on. Nothing to be concerned about - it could sound the same and work fine for five years, or longer.

20" intel iMAC fan noise

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