Imac fans keep running on high

I have an old imac 2 ghz intel core duo 21" (white) that we have at our holiday home for email and the kids. It's pretty crappy but does the job. This morning one of the kids accidently unplugged it and when it restarted the fans are going constantly on full. I checked activity monitor and there's nothing happening (CPU, Network or Disk) that warrants the fans. I zapped the PRAM and updated all the system software with no effect.
Is there anything I can do to reset them to normal? And, if not, should I worry?
thanks

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.

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IMac fan keeps running despite resetting the SMC

My iMac fan keeps running loudly even when the computer isn't doing any thing, and I just started it up.
I have tried resetting the SMC and that didn't help.
I also recently had to insert a new hard drive instead of the old one that failed. I am thinking that either the SSD is just hotter than the old hard drive, or that the hard drive sensor is somehow inverted in the plug. Is there any way of testing the hard drive sensor to see if that is faulty, or to test the fan. When I look at the Activity Monitor the system is 87% idle...

Although you don't mention which imac you have since 2009 Apple has used hard drives with the temp sensor built in. When replacing one of these late model drives you have to use the same type hard drive or you get fans running all the time because the temp sensor isn't detected. You might want to try some third party software such as iStat Menus, SMC Fan Control or HDD a Fan Control. Google them for reviews.

IMac fan keeps running

Since starting my iMAC last night, the fan keeps runnings on high. I have tried restarting several times, ran a diagnostics which found no faults, and checked the CPU usage which is around 10%. Any ideas what else I can try?

Your post somehow found its way to a low-traffic forum for Apple desktop models other than iMacs made before 2006. I have asked the Hosts to move you to a more active and appropriate forum for your product.
Please add your iMac variant and what version of the Mac OS you are running to get faster help.

I have an MAC OSX 10.6.7 and when I turn it on the fan keeps running. I shut down/turn on and it's the same. Any suggestions? Thanks.

I have an MAC OSX 10.6.7 and when I turn it on the fan keeps running. I shut down/turn on and it's the same. Any suggestions? Thanks.

jean156,
I am a little confused, you are posting in an iMac forum however your profile only indicates you have a MacPro. While I agree a SMC reset may help please carefully read the link The hatter provided because different Mac's have a different processes for resetting the SMC.
In the mean time you may want to update your profile (Your Stuff in upper right and click Profile) and also please post in the correct forum to avoid confusion.

HT1349 When I start my I Mac desktop the fan keeps running loudly. Can't get it to turn off.

When I start my I Mac desktop the fan keeps running loudly. How do I get it to stop?

Hello there, Jacquefromaz.
The following Knowledge Base article reviews the steps to perform a reset of the System Management Controller (SMC):
Intel-based Macs: Resetting the System Management Controller (SMC)
http://support.apple.com/kb/ht3964
Thanks for reaching out to Apple Support Communities.
Cheers,
Pedro.

Mac mini fan keeps running!

Today I turn on my mac mini (late 2011) and its fan keeps running... How can I solve it?

Try resetting the SMC
Intel-based Macs: Resetting the System Management Controller (SMC)

Powerbook fan keeps running

Hi,
My Tibook's fan keeps running - battery life is at 40 minutes because of this. I am running OSX 10.4.8. I tried quitting all apps but no use.
Any ideas?
Tnx
Guy

Hit the power button while unplugged at least at one time use to be part of SMC Reset procedure - it gets rewritten every year or so it seems.
Or you could say there was/is a different procedure for each model year.
Some found the culprit was their 3rdd party RAM.

T410 - 252226G slow start, fan keeps running, BIOS config hangs

Windows 7 Prof FP1, 80 GB SSD. 4GB Ram
Some strange unusuall behaviour:
1. It takes up to 45 seconds before the ThinkPad Screen is shown when starting (latest 1.45 bios version)
2. When T410 is closed down using W7 system power off; the fan keeps running until the battery is empty. When de/attaching the charger in this stage the T410 beeps like it's still running
3. When choosing 'config' option in BIOS the T410 hangs
Any clue?

I would do a BIOS reset. If your T410 has no supervisor password, then remove the BIOS battery, leave it out for a couple of minutes and then plug it again.
When the T410 boots, go to the BIOS, press F9 to load the default values, save and re-start.
Hope this helps...
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A31/i1600/G40/R50p/R61i/S30/SL510/2*T22/4*T4x/11*T6x/6*T4x0x/6*T5x0/3*W5x0/W700/3*X2x/4*X3x/3*X4x/5*X6x/3*X6xT/10*X2xx/2*X200T/4*X30x/Z60m/3*Z61x
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MacBook Pro's fans start running at high speed when the computer is asleep. Normal?

The other night, my MacBook Pro's fans started running at high speed when the computer was asleep. Loud enough to wake me up. And this just kept on going until I finally decided to turn the computer off. Is this normal? Is this anything to worry about?

This is not normal. See if a SMC reset solves the problem:
http://support.apple.com/kb/ht3964
Ciao.

Fan keeps running. Maybe from RAM upgrade?

I recently installed 4G of ram into my computer as the old ram was bad. I didn't notice anything for about 1 1/2 months but all of the sudden my fan keeps running. From what my istat pro says, it ranges from 3000 rpms to over 6000rpms! As you can imagine, this is very annoying. My performance isn't affected but the fan is annoying. I have 4G of 667 MHz DDR2 SDRam. I'm worried about over heating. Could somebody please help me with my fan problem?!

Thanks, I love being able to answer questions and help people

Fans still running at high speed after smc reset

I have an i Mac Version 10.6.7, 4 GB RAM and 2.66 GHz Intel Core i 5 and since yesterday the fans are running at high speed. I tried to reset the SMC as instructed on Apple Support Site but it won't help.
Does anyone have an idea?
Thanks.

Try the reset again. Sometimes it takes several. This time leave it off wall power for an hour before holding in the power button.
If that doesn't help, run the Hardware Test in Extended.
http://support.apple.com/kb/ht1509

I'm wondering if anyone else has had problems with their imac fans being extremely loud when running at slow speeds? When the computer heats up enough for the fans to run at higher speeds they quiet down. New HD fan was just installed.

I have an imac that I've had for a couple years. The fans have always been loud when running at the slower speeds. When the computer heats up enough for the fans to run at a higher speed the fans quiet down. I had installed SMC fan control after multiple attempts with Apple to get the fan issue resolved. That seemed to keep the fans quiet enough. I've never had a problem with overheating. Recently the fans were becoming loud again even running at the slightly higher speeds so I took it to my local Apple store and they replaced the hard drive fan. I got it back and it's now as loud or louder than ever!! And, now SMC fan control won't "stick." The fans will speed up, but then gradually go back to the lower "loud" levels. I'm at a loss as to what to do next.

Thanks jared,
I'm still dealing with this issue through Apple. Some time after I posted this, I contacted Apple again. They did start a case up for me, as I was experiencing the same behavior on two different machines, with two different versions of Windows.
So far it remains unsolved. I've logged iClouds for Windows on my desktop, which is brand new, then logged for awhile after completely uninstalling Norton Security Suite, depending on the Microsoft security for some time, and finally logged after I uninstalled iCloud for Windows, restarted, installed a clean download, and connected using a completely different test account, which Apple set up for me. None of this made any difference. Looking at the logs, it seems every 10 minutes, iCloudServices.exe creates a new TCP connection to confirm I'm using less than 5GB on iCloud, (which I am by a good margin, using less than 2GB), it seems this connection is not closed, and when the next iteration rolls around 10 minutes later, a new TCP connection is created. I come very close to having 6 TCP connections created per hour, until I restart my computer. This works out to... 6 x 24 = 144/day.
Perhaps the article you posted will shed some further light on this. I'm thinking seeing the state of the connection through netstats, at the least, could help.
For the last week, I've been putting a hold on further logging, as Apple wants me to create a new user account on one of my computers, install iCloud for Windows there, and log it running in the other account. This however basically means I cannot use my computer for a fair number of hours, and I've been busy enough with work the past week that I haven't the time or energy to afford to set this up and run it. I've had need of my computers too much for the past week.

My imac desktop 9.1 the fan keeps running..i have turned off and also pulled power plug but it still runs

the fan on my imac9.1 keeps running..i shut it down and pulled the plug..did not help

The fan minimum speeds are about 1200 rpm, so if the Mac is powered on and not sleeping, they're running.
An iMac's exhaust fans will not run if its power cord is disconnected. If that's what you meant to write, you're hearing something else.

My fan keeps running and never stop

my laptop is dell studio 1458
the system is the latest archlinx x64, and now i am using kde 4.6
the problem is that the fan of my laptop keeps running all the time and never stop.
Is there any solution to this problem?
Thx...

The warning is there so that people realize they need to be aware of the possible outcome if they don't properly check their fans during the setting up of the software.
The guide even suggests to keep a constant watch on the CPU's temperature during testing, and suggests how you can immediately spin up the fans to max in case of a too high temperature:
Second warning: Some of the steps outlined below describe how to tweak fan speeds. Before doing this be sure you have a low cpu load and are comfortable playing around. If at any time during tweaking you notice the CPU temperature start to rise dramatically, do a echo "255" > /sys/class/hwmon/hwmon0/device/pwm1 to spin up the fan all the way until things cool down. Basically, you should know what you're doing before fooling with the configuration file.
Alternatively, there's a fan control deamon called dellfand. A related topic can be found here:
https://bbs.archlinux.org/viewtopic.php?id=54865
Essentially, all these tools do the same. The temperature is polled and the fan speed is adjusted.
As far as I know, there is no alternative way / graphical tool to do this for you.
*edit*
considering this is a dell studio, have you checked the system's bios to see if the automated fan control is enabled?
Last edited by stefanwilkens (2011-04-29 13:03:18)

First use of Photos: fan keeps running

In the few weeks that I've been using my iMac Retina I've never heard the fan. This morning I imported a photo from my iPhone 6 and after that I noticed that while the fan was running high, some iCloud xxx app/task was running in Activity Monitor. I've killed it, rebooted my iMac twice, but still the fan starts running high now and then.
What can I check more?

Hey Hans Elting,
This seems to be happening with a number of folks. Here is the link to that discussions.
high cpu usage all the time
The solution the had to use was to wait it out and it eventually stopped. How long has this been happening on your mac?

Imac fans keep running on high

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