IMac fan running loudly, started suddenly yesterday

I've read through the forum and tried resetting the SMC and PRAM. Didn't do anything. Anything else I can try before I make an appointment at the Mac store? I really HATE not having my Mac at home...
History: Had iMac for ten months, never an issue. Yesterday midday my computer fan started running high. I installed the iStatPro widget, got this info, then realized I haven't a clue what this info means:
CPU: 1197
Hard Drive: 5907
Optical: 998
Obviously the Hard Drive fan is running five times the rate of the others, but is that abnormal? How abnormal is it?
The temps run:
HD: 92
CPU A: 95
CPU Heatsink: 97
Airport Card: 131
Ambient: 72
GPU: 108
GPU Diode: 112
GPU Heatsink: 112
Thanks for any info you can give me

Before taking off to the Apple Store try doing a SMC and PRAM reset again following:
1. Turn off your iMac and unplug everything from it for 30 seconds.
2. Plug in the power cord, keyboard and mouse only.
3. Press the power button and immediately hold down the Option, Command, P & R keys until you hear the second gong then release the keys. Your machine will start up normally, then check for the issues you are having.
BTW, if your don't have it already I would suggest getting AppleCare, it extends your telephone and parts and labor warranty to 3 years from the original date of purchase. If you do already have it when you call Apple ask about on-site service, they will provide it (if you ask) assuming you are within 50 miles of a service center.

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Mac Mini fan running loudly after Safari upgrade

Mac Mini 2GHz is around 2 months old. All been fine until yesterday. When running Safari (it seems) and not necessarily heavy usage fan starts runningvery loudly. In the previous 2 months NEVER heard the fan or at least it's been very quiet, so am quite concerned. It appears that this has coincided with updating to the very latest Safari release 3.1.1.
Anyone else having similar problem and/or advice?
thanks
D

The new Safari release supposedly has some issues with Flash media files and with Windows Media files -- and will require updates of the helper programs that display those formats.
Does the fan run loudly when you visit sites with such files? Or does it also run loudly if all you visit is sites with no video files on them?

IMac fan running all of the time

iMac fan running all of the time - how to stop. seems that after several hours iMac then shuts down on it's own accord.
Is there any help online - or take the 15 month old iMac to the shop ?

You can try an SMC reset, which can sometimes fix a goofy fan:
Shut down the computer.
Unplug the computer's power cord.
Wait fifteen seconds.
Attach the computer's power cord.
Wait five seconds, then press the power button to turn on the computer.
What you're describing, however, sounds like a temperature sensor that's either acting correctly or it's not. I'd install iStat Pro from http://islayer.com/apps/istatpro/ , and monitor the temps and fan speeds.
I'd also run the Apple hardware test to see if it finds any obvious hardware issues. This Apple note tells how to run it: http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1509 (if you have Snow leopard, look down towards the bottom of the note for directions).
When the fan starts roaring, have you looked at your Activity Monitor (on your hard drive in applications/utilities) to see if there are any programs that are driving up CPU usage to high levels? That could contribute to an overheating situation.

Will running games that make the fan run loudly and the computer heat up damage my machine?

On my Macbook Air running Yosemite 10.10.3, with 4 GB RAM, 251 GB storage (170 GB free), a 1.6 GHz Intel Core i5 processor, and Intel HD 6000 1536 MB graphics card, when I play games such as Batman Arkham City, I experience very smooth gameplay with high fps. The only thing that worries me is when I play, the laptop heats up very much and the fan runs pretty loudly. Even with old, less intensive games like GTA SA, the computer gets pretty hot and the fan runs loudly. Is this damaging the computer, or can I continue to play these games?
Thanks.

Yes you can continue to play games but heat is the bane of electronics and in time there will be a cost. When is hard to say, but I can put it this way, a fan running constantly at high speed is more likely to fail sooner than one at a slower speed.
Ciao.

27'' iMac fan running very loud?

I recently had to have a logic board and a video card replaced under Applecare, (get it, I have always needed my iMacs fixed). I have 'Carbonite' installed as backup. My activity monitor (when Carbonite is running) is showing that Carbonite is really working the 4 cores of the processor. Between 75 and 99%. My fan NEVER ran really loud before on this iMac, or my last two iMacs. I have used Carbonite as a backup for the last three years. The reason for the logic board and video card burning up MAY have been that the fan did NOT come on.
I'm going through a lot of phone calls with Carbonite to see if they have any answers. In the meantime I'm disabling Carbonite. So far the loud fan is not coming on.
Does anyone else have the problem of a very loud fan running? And why do you think that is?

Hello, let's see some temps & fan speeds please.
Get Temperature Monitor to see if it's heat related...
http://www.macupdate.com/info.php/id/12381/temperature-monitor
iStat Menus...
http://bjango.com/mac/istatmenus/
And/or iStat Pro...
http://www.islayer.com/apps/istatpro/

IMac fan runs full speed on shut down

Hi Everyone, this has probably been discussed before, but I may have some new information to add that could interest the tech savvy people out there.
My iMac runs perfectly fine; more or less as it did when it was new. In OS X, when I shut down the computer, the fan runs at full speed indefinitely, unless I unplug it or boot back up. When running, the fan is perfectly normal (increases speed a bit when doing something taxing). I've never heard it at full speed before until this started happening. After following the SMC reset procedure with no luck (I'd like to add that the SMC reset only says it relates to fan problems when the computer is ON), I searched a bit and noticed there are one or two cases where a problem like mine was believed to be a motherboard issue, and therefore a costly fix.
However, here's the fun part. When booted into Windows 8.1, shutting down the iMac does not cause this issue to occur. It stays silent, as it should, even if I disconnect then reconnect the power. This leads me to believe it's unlikely to be a motherboard issue. However I've wiped, restored, and reinstalled fresh copies of Mountain Lion, Mavericks, and Windows 8.1, and the result is still the same: if I don't want to have to unplug it from the wall, then I have to use Windows to shut it down.
So then, my questions are these:
-What is the difference between shutting down from OS X and shutting down from Windows?
-Is an operating system allowed/able to touch BIOS settings?
-Is it possible to still be a hardware problem, given this difference?
My default OS is OS X, and it makes no difference if I change that to Windows. I also did a PRAM reset, even though that has nothing to do with fans...
I'd certainly like to avoid a costly repair, if it's just something that a future software update will fix.
Thanks in advance!
-Jon
iMac 27", Late 2012, 3.4GHz i7, 3TB Fusion Drive, 16 GB, OS X 10.9.4

Hey, thanks for the response.
The "Startup after power failure" option was not checked.
I'll try the Extended Hardware test when I get some spare time again - probably tomorrow night. After that I suppose it is time to either take it in for service/diagnosis, or just keep using Windows to shut it down. Sleep mode is unfortunately not an option because it eventually goes into hibernate state, which has the same problem as turning off. I don't like to leave the computer on all night, just from a power-conscious point of view (but yes, I know today's iMacs use very little power). I have it on a power bar now, so I just flick the switch off when I power down. It's not bad as a temporary solution - perhaps permanent if the shop says they have to replace the motherboard.
As for contacting Apple... I had a 1-hour conversation with them about my iCloud account, because it suddenly stopped working on this Forum site (hence the new account with no points). Anytime I sign in, it forwards me to the "page not found" error page. This happens even if I sign in on the apple store then click over to here. If my login info has an open session, then Discussions just doesn't work. They were completely baffled (understandably), because the account works on iTunes, iCloud.com, Apple store, and everywhere except Discussions. I was on the phone with them for over an hour - and the kicker is, even after telling them the same thing happens in other browsers, from other computers, they actually forwarded me to the iMac team. This is when I lost faith in Apple support. When one of the staff asked why I don't just phone about the issue, instead of trying to get access to the forums just to post about it, I told them I didn't want to pay $50/hr (or whatever the insane rate is for Mac hardware issues), only to be put on hold and sent around between departments, just to be told I need to send it in for service, which I'm probably not going to do if it's the motherboard. They never did get back to me about my account issue...
Anyway, sorry for the rant, I'll keep you posted about the hardware test and more SMC resets.

MBP battery crapped out, now fan running loudly

While I am waiting for my replacement MBP battery (which I ordered yesterday) it looks like my current battery finally crapped out, as my computer shut down again automatically last night while I was on a plane and I'm getting a big "X" where the battery charge indicator is located. This appears to have caused my fan to run at a higher rate or something of that nature because the fan is now very constant and loud. Everything else on the computer seems to be working fine however, so long as I am plugged in. The question is, is it OK to be using the MBP with the fan running like this until the replacement battery comes in, or should I try to change to setting on the fan? And when I get the new battery in, will THAT make the fan go back to normal?

I do think it's normal. Keep in mind that batteries vary - the "health" is determined with a nominal value as the denominator (5500 mAh for a 15" MBP, which is actually rounded down from the calculated full charge capacity of a new battery, 5555 mAh), but the actual full charge capacity of a new battery varies within a range around that nominal value. So, if you happen to get a battery with a full charge capacity higher than 5500 mAh, iStat or CoconutBattery will report your health as 100% for some time, even though the full charge capacity is dropping - you started from >100%, but the utilities will just show 100%, not a value like 107% even if your battery started with a capacity of 5900 mAh.
The bottom line is that a rechargeable battery starts with a certain capacity, and over time that capacity can only decrease. The decrease is non-linear, and how rapidly it decreases is influenced by a variety of conditions (charging pattern, temperature, etc.).

Imac fan running at high RPMs

My IMAC fan was running just fine then yesterday the fan started running continuously at high RPMs. Computer otherwise runs fine. what can i do?:

Welcome to Apple Discussions!
Ignore it, unless you see 4 language screens saying you must restart, or the machine shut down on its own.
P.S. Odd you posted this to a forum that has nothing to do with your iMac or operating system. Was that glitch with the forums, or your mistaken navigation, or is your system the issue is happening on not the one shown with that operating system?

No startup chime, red light, fans running loud...

yeah, I know that there are other threads with the same topic, but I just wanted to know how common this problem is?
How many people have experienced this?
What are the common disturbances?
What is going on?
Why is such an expensive, powerhouse computer become such a puny electronic product because of power issues?
I posted this in another thread but,
Here's my story:
I am having the same problem.
Now before you start taking advice to back up all your data, reformat your hard drive, and reinstall all the software; please take note of a few things:
first off, I'm ****** that this is happening to me. I spend $5000+ for a "reliable" Apple computer. Then it doesn't want to turn on because its not safe. Sorry if I drown this post with bitter sarcasm but I am coming to the end of the line with my patience.
I called Apple Care, read a bunch of posts (here and elsewhere), and yes I do know about the SMU Reset button (like that really does anything?).
My problem happened a few weeks ago and I thought nothing of it at first. There was a power outage for a quick second and it turned everything off. When I went to turn on my computer, there was no chime, the red light was on, and the fans were running and eventually began running very loud. After letting it run like that in hopes of the screen lighting up, I turned it off by holding the power button. By the way, there's nothing on the screen and the keyboard doesn't work (I use a wireless keyboard, but I plugged in the OG cord keyboard to push whatever series of buttons recommended by these "geniuses") Trust me, the computer doesn't make it to that part of the boot process, so stop with commandoption+PR or F12 to get the CD out. It doesn't work! What's up with this computer! It can handle all these intense calculations,etc. but a power surge is going to shut it down indefinitely.
So I left the computer came back the next day, turned it on and its fine. Cool, I'm happy. It's Working!! I go on a few weeks, then I go to turn it on this Monday, same problem. But actually a worse situation. I had a client come over and the computer wouldn't work. I looked like a idiot. Couldn't do anything cause my computer didn't want to turn on. I do music production/editing. I use my G5 for running ProTools LE. I have other programs but that is the main one I use. There's nothing wrong with it. It's optimized for use with the mac. So those people who are going to advise me to uninstall all my software and all that - I appreciate your concern but don't give advice when you don't know anything!
So I am getting frustrated. My client left a little disappointed, but what can you do? I tried to call AppleCare on Mon. but it was Memorial Day. So I waited for Tues.
Tues morning, my computer turns on like everything is fine.
I'm happy but cautious. I talk to AppleCare rep. He tells me that it is a common problem they have heard about with the G5's. Wherever blackouts, brownouts, spikes, sags, dips, and other electricity inconsistencies occur, the Power Mac G5 has a breaker in it which flips so it doesn't receive uneven power supply and damage internal components.
I like that feature. Good thinking Apple. Protecting my investment from bad electrical grids. But I don't like the fact my computer has a mind of its own where it decides when it wants to boot or when it wants to sit there and run its fans all loud.
I shut down Tues morn to go to work. I come back in the evening, it doesn't want to boot up. Instead of getting angry trying a bunch of times to turn on/turn off the computer, I leave my house all together and go and have a few drinks. I come home ,don't even look at my computer, and go to bed.
I wake up Wed. morning. Go to turn on my computer. Successful boot. It's running. Okay, I think, I'm going to get down to the problem. I read all the logs, not like I know every piece of info, but just to see what's happening. Everything looks fine. I decide to run the AppleCare CD Tech Tool. It says restart holding down C. I do that. When the gray Apple Logo comes up, all this writing about kernals comes up and it tells me to restart or shutdown. I shutdown and attempt to restart, same problem: no chime, red light on, and fans eventually spin loud. Now the CD is stuck in there. I'm going to take it to the Apple Store tomorrow to if these "geniuses" can figure it out.
(Just a side note: Apple calls them geniuses, but its hard for me to think some disconnected college kid with a bad haircut and questionable social skills knows what's up with the power supply issues of a computer; maybe I'm wrong, but you can run your diagnostics and look at the chart of what to do and all that BUT Apple needs to listen to the people)
I am going to get a UPS (uninteruptable power supply) with a clean sine wave output to curb the issue at my end. It's not my fault I live in a area that receives uneven power output. I live in Los Angeles. Summer is starting up and I think its going to be hot, so blackouts, power dips and sags are inevitable. I just don't understand why Apple hasn't considered this problem and fixed it with something:
A recall to change the power supply, Is it something on the logic board?, are they going to reimburse me for lost income (Ha, yeah right)
I really want to know how many people are having this problem?
From what I've heard, it is a common problem.
So I think we need a common solution.
If its so common, it must be the computer. We are all going to live in different areas where the power may vary. Not all of us have the consistent power flow of 1 Infinite Loop in Cupertino, CA. So if it is such a common problem, Apple needs to fix it.
I can't spend more than five grand on a super duper computer and have it wuss out on some power issues.
Its a loss of income and productivity to me.
I can't have that anymore.
Sometimes my computer turns on, sometimes it doesn't.
I bought my PowerMac G5 in April 2006, its been about a month and a half and I'm having these problems.
Thank you for your time.
If anyone else has been having this problem, I feel for you.
It was been very difficult for me not to curse in this post, but I have tried to extend the same respect to all that use these discussion boards to create dialogue, find help, and create solutions.
LETS FIX IT!
Peace,
Swami G
Power Mac G5 Mac OS X (10.4.6) Dual 2.3 Ghz / 4.5 GB RAM

Well, you can see my specs below. I have the same problems as you, just worse. I am also running (as I have my previous systems) on an APC Smart-UPS 2200, and it doesn't solve this problem.
I bought my machine last December. In early March (just 2 days before my 90 days of phone support were up), I woke the computer from sleep to check email; about 5 minutes later it just froze. I had to force it down, but it never even got to the startup chime.
Called Apple, bought Apple Care on the spot, spent about 45 minutes on the phone with two levels of support, and Apple couldn't really diagnose the problem. They decided to send out a replacement logic board, processor unit and power supply for on-site service (I don't have an Apple service center nearby).
Nearly two weeks later the technician arrived with the parts, installed all of them, and - nothing. The system still exhibited the same symptoms as before the repair. He spent around five hours here, most of it on the phone with Apple. They decided that the processor unit they shipped was defective, so they sent another processor unit.
Nearly another two weeks later, the re-replacement processor unit arrived with the tech. He installed it, and everything worked. This was around April 1.
Fast forward to last Wednesday. Arrived home from work, tried to wake the Mac. Nothing happened. Had to force the machine off. Never booted again. Called Apple and went through the motions again. They're sending another logic board, processor unit, and power supply.
I asked about having the machine replaced since this will be the third repair attempt, considering it took two visits and nearly a month to repair it the first time it died. Apple was unwilling to replace it but I was told that if I had another failure, a replacement would be in the cards.
I agree with you about needing reliability in a computer as expensive as a Power Mac. It is not acceptable to have this kind of failure, repeatedly, with this kind of system. If my Windows PC has a hardware failure, I can take care of it myself. A top-end power supply is ~$200, a quality system board is ~$200-$300 - all very doable, and in very little time, if the need arises. A Power Mac logic board is ~$1K, a cpu module is well over $1K, who knows how much that crappy power supply costs, etc. If you have Apple Care, you face the kinds of downtime I'm having to deal with. A month without use of your computer. I mean, if I buy a Dell workstation, or an HP workstation, and pay an extra $200-$300 for service and something fails, Unisys will be here the next day and it will be fixed. That's the standard business class service experience you get from those companies with a computer that costs $600, much less the $3000+ you dish out for a Quad Power Mac. Apple's response is unacceptable.
It's a good thing I have kept my Windoze machine around, cause it's really saved my butt the last 2-3 months; that also makes me really sad, because in the last 6-7 years of Power Mac ownership I've had zero problems with any of them. My dad has my previous machine, a Rev A Dual 2.0 G5, and it's rock solid.
I sure hope that the Intel based Power Mac replacement doesn't suffer from what ever seems to afflict the recent Power Macs. I would absolutely hate to abandon OSX, but I will not put up with this kind of quality failure (hardware & service) again.
Power Mac G5 Mac OS X (10.4.4) Quad 2.5 GHz, 4GB RAM, Disk0: 74GB WD Raptor

IMac fan super loud

My iMac was running fine yesterday, but when I turned it on today the fan immediately ran at full speed. I've followed all the instructions here: http://support.apple.com/kb/HT3964 but there's no change. Any further suggestions besides taking it in?

Contact Apple Service, iMac Service or Apple's Express Lane. Do note that if you have AppleCare's protection plan and you're within 50 miles (80 KM) of an Apple repair station, you're eligible for onsite repair since yours is a desktop machine.

Finder makes fan run loudly and continuously.

I've had my MacBook for only a few months now and I am having a problem with the fan. It starts running loudly when I am doing simple tasks, such as viewing a webpage which contains no flash, video, or similar content. The fan does not stop running unless I put my computer to sleep or restart it. I have found that by relaunching the Finder, the fan almost instantly slows down back to its normal state. This concerns me as this has been occuring more frequently over the past two weeks. Is there some sort of fix to this instead of having to relaunch the Finder every time?

Yes you can continue to play games but heat is the bane of electronics and in time there will be a cost. When is hard to say, but I can put it this way, a fan running constantly at high speed is more likely to fail sooner than one at a slower speed.
Ciao.

IMac fan very loud since upgrade to maverick

A week ago I just took advantage of the free upgrade to maverick from snow leopard on my iMac and already twice I have awoken to a loud fan running or so it appears. I've checked the activity monitor all processes and it seems that it's idle is at 91-94%. Kernal task is the highest activity but only at about 2%. I've done the SMC reset where I shut down my mac and unplugged it and it seems to do the trick but why have I had to do it twice???
If anyone can help I would appreciate it since I don't feel like taking this in nor purchasing a new PC just because of a loud fan. iMac is about 7 yrs old but other than this recent nuisance appears to be running just fine otherwise. Thanks in advance!

It is possible that the update to OS X 10.9 requires more real memory (MINIMUM is 2 GB, 4 is better, more than that is better yet).
The SMC reset should have fixed the problem if the problem is/was related to system management.
I would take it in for diagnosis (free in a Apple store).
Barry

IMac fan running constantly

Hello!
OK I purchased a mid 2011, 21.5, i5, 2.5ghz iMac from ebay the other day that was listed as slightly faulty. As I was looking to buy my first iMac and I had a tight budget I thought I'd give it a go. I work with computers and thought I could have a go at fixing the issues.
So this brings me to the problem, the seller said it was bought as part of an office clearance so not much history behind it and that when it was on one of the fans was noisy.
It's arrived today and true to form one of the fans is noisy. I've spent the past couple of hours researching the issue on the internet. First thing I did was run the online AHT. This brought back an error code of 4MOT/4/40000002:CPU-0. I think this refers to a faulty cpu fan but the noisy fan is coming from the right hand side of the screen?
I then downloaded smcfancontrol. Currently the ODD fan is running at 4300rpm and 46 degrees (I presume this is the noisy fan I hear). The HDD 1099rpm and 46 degrees and the CPU fan 0rpm and 46 degrees?
So I suppose my question is, where do I start to fix this? Why would a faulty cpu fan make the odd fan run at max?
Thanks in advance

If the system cannot detect temperature, it will run in protection mode: Always safe to keep everything cool.
There's a spot on the motherboard where most of the temp sensors connect. If that machine were opened by inexperienced hands, there's a chance those connections were missed. Simply opening the cover to see if they are connected would be the least expensive (and most likely) solution to the issue.
Follow this guide to opening the cover. It's fairly simple.

I am having problems with my outlook 2011. While i am able to check and SEND email on all my other devices ( Ipad, iphone, Macbook), I am unable to do so with my iMac. This problem started suddenly and the error message i get is error 5.7.8. Please Help

I am having problems with my outlook 2011. While i am able to check and SEND email on all my other devices ( Ipad, iphone, Macbook), I am unablesend any email with my iMac ( i can recieve email) . This problem started suddenly and the error message i get is error 5.7.8. I have read the threads on line and went into settings, even created a new profile, nothing helps...Please advice..is this something to do with my keychain Access?

As Outlook is not an Apple product, you will find more helpers familiar with Outlook here:
Office for Mac forums

Imac fan is loud

When switching on my Imac noted that the fan was loud and stayed on for a long time. After leaving switched off for a number of hours the fan seemed to stop i.e back to normal. Should i be concerned about this and take my imac in to Apple to get checked over.

First try resetting the SMC
Desktop Macs
Shut down the computer.
Unplug the computer's power cord.
Wait fifteen seconds.
Attach the computer's power cord.
Wait five seconds, then press the power button to turn on the computer.

IMac fan running loudly, started suddenly yesterday

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