Mac Pro Fans Kick into high

I have a Mac Pro with 2 extra HD'S in it. I leave the machine running all the time. After leaving the machine on (without restarting) for like 2 months, I have the fans Kick into high even though CPU load is low. They are very loud and they wont turn off. The only way I have gotten them to turn off is by turning off the computer. Has anyone else had a similar issue?
Ian

Turn off? hard or soft? ie, does it do a normal shutdown? if not the directory could be damaged.
Apple Hardware Test would be step #1.
Dust build-up or high ambient temperatures or not getting enough ventilation. You could use smcFanControl shareware app to force fans to higher rpm than 500-600 minimum rpm.
SMC Reset would be another.

Similar Messages

  • Mac Pro Fans run extremely high!

    Hello,
    I'm a video editor working within Adobe Premiere Pro CC, and I edit all kinds of footage from DSLR all the way up to RED 5K.  I have a Mac Pro (5,1), 6-Core 3.33Ghz with 32GB of DDR3 ECC 1333 MHz RAM.  Also in there is a GTX 770 Graphics card with 4GB on board RAM, and a RAID controller. 
    The problem is that my system fans are CONSTANTLY kicking up to high gear.  Whether I'm doing intensive or unintensive work with any kind of footage.  It's always within premiere when they kick on.  If I put the system to sleep they all go back to normal, but usually kick back on.  It is terribly frustrating.
    My system is out in the open, plenty of vintilation, and relatively dust-free.
    Recently swtched graphics cards from a Quadro 4000 to this GTX, thinking the Quadro was the culprit, but the problem persists.
    I've attached two screen shots of SMC Fan Control before and after the fans kick up to full speed.  I don't know anything about the layout of these fans, or what does what.  I also can't seem to run Apple Hardware Test to see if everything is fine...I try pressing the D key when booting up, but it just regularly starts up.  Any  other way to test the hardware?
    I realize the graphics card will heat things up a bit, but this still seems abnormal.  Can anybody help me troubleshoot?  Or at least provide an explanation of the fan layout of the Mac Pro, or list some recommended fan speeds?  I just can't seem to figure this thing out.
    Thank you so much.

    beauleland wrote:
    I realize the graphics card will heat things up a bit, but this still seems abnormal.  Can anybody help me troubleshoot?  Or at least provide an explanation of the fan layout of the Mac Pro, or list some recommended fan speeds?  I just can't seem to figure this thing out.
    Thank you so much.
    It does look abnormal, especially if Activity Monitor doesn't show any processes using much of the CPU's capability. Keep in mind that going full blast, your CPU can show up to 1,200% usage in Activity Monitor (six cores, two threads each).
    First, we both have the same Mac Pro with the same amount of RAM. Based on Temperature Gauge (from the App Store), the intended minimum and maximum speeds for the fans are PCI - 750/4500, PS - 750/2800, Exhaust 750/2800, Intake 600/2800, BOOSTA 800/4000.
    Working up, the Intake fan is at the bottom of the front grill. The Exhaust fan is at the back end at the same level. You've  had the processor tray out. Inside the processor block (the box behind the DIMM slots with horizontal fins) is BOOSTA. There'd be a BOOSTB if you had two CPU's. Those three (or four) fans cool the CPU and RAM. Above all that is the PCI fan, which is set in a bit from the grill and, for some reason, doesn't fill it's space at the front so, theoretically, the air could blow into the PCIe area, make a U turn around the right side and go back through the fan again. Finally, behind the optical drive bay is the PS and the fan is at the front of the PS. There's also a fan on the video card, and I've never seen a monitor which could show that fan's speed or temperature.
    I keep an eye on smcFanControl's temperature reading in the menu bar and when it heads north of 100ºF I start going to one of the higher fan speed settings I've established. That's probably being over-cautious but I like my Mac Pro. And if the fans can't do the job, it's time to blow the dust out, and that includes the dust inside the video card.
    Hope that helps some.

  • Why does my mac pro fan run at high speed?

    My Mac Pro cooling fan started running at high speed.  Tried all the shutdown and restart options but didn't help.  Suggestions?

    The fan runs if something is overheating or if a sensor has failed or there is a problem with the SMC. So, reset the SMC - Intel-based Macs: Resetting the System Management Controller (SMC). If that does not stop the fan from running then check for a runaway application:
    Open Activity Monitor in the Utilities folder.  Select All Processes from the Processes dropdown menu.  Click twice on the CPU% column header to display in descending order.  If you find a process using a large amount of CPU time (>=70,) then select the process and click on the Quit icon in the toolbar.  Click on the Force Quit button to kill the process.  See if that helps.  Be sure to note the name of the runaway process so you can track down the cause of the problem.
    If the problem still persists then create a new admin user account, logout of your account and log into the new account. See if this fixes the problem.
    If none of the above help, then you may have a hardware issue such as a defective sensor.

  • Mac Pro 2006 boots into OS fine but graphics freezes on grey apple logo

    When I boot my Mac Pro it boots into Mac OS X fine. I can access it remotely and all seems fine however the monitor only displays the grey apple with the whit background. I know the graphics card isnt over heating because I have removed any dirt/dust and had additional fans blowing the card and it is running cool.
    does this mean the graphics card is dead? if so what can i replace it with as the machine is now 5 years old?
    the current graphics card is a GeForce 8800 GT.

    That last one is not a good sign. Kernel panic when starting from an installer DVD either mean you are using an installer version that cannot boot your model or there's a hardware problem.
    I'm thinking your original thought may be valid. It would be provable if you had another GPU to try, but if you don't then I suppose you should replace the one you have. Of those available the ATI 5770 is an excellent replacement choice for both performance and cost unless you want to look for a different replacement card on eBay.

  • Mac Pro Fan Problem

    Hi, I have been having some problems with a Mac Pro I have been working with. At the Start-up the Fan goes to top speed and once it logs-in the fan is still pretty loud. I've checking the Temperature of all the computer parts via a Temperature Diode, and its normal and not high. After searching the internet for hours looking for posts that were for the Mac Pro and not for the MacBook Pro (which comes up in about all the searches using the words Mac Pro Fan Problem) and I found some software all of which is not for Mac Pro's. Is there any application I can run do reduce the RPM of the Fans, Reset the Fan Speeds to only turn on when it get hot, or something along those lines.

    Thats odd, seeing as Apple have it listed in the Support article:
    To reset the SMC on a Mac Pro:
    1) From the Apple menu, choose Shut Down (or if the computer is not responding, hold the power button until it turns off).
    2) Unplug all cables from the computer, including the power cord and any display cables.
    3) Wait at least fifteen seconds.
    4) Plug the power cord back in, making sure the power button is not being pressed at the time. Then reconnect your keyboard and mouse to the computer.
    5) Press the power button to start up your computer.
    It does exactly the same thing as the SMC_RST button, simply by removing all power from the system. I would assume the reason for this would be that the SMC settings are stored in RAM, which is erased once the power is removed from the board, hence the minimum 15 secs wait which gives time for the capacitors in the power supply and system to discharge.
    So yeah, it does do the trick, or has done for me in the past a few times.

  • Moving a drive with OSX to another computer? take it out of my Mac pro laptop and into my mac mini. can with be done with no OS/Hardware issues?

    moving a drive with OSX to another computer? take it out of my Mac pro laptop and into my mac mini. can with be done with no OS/Hardware issues?

    babowa wrote:
    Thanks; however, I was really referring to this: if it is preinstalled on a Mac, I believe the license is for that computer only (unlike an MAS purchased version which can be used on any Mac owned). Has that requirement changed?
    At this moment, that's correct. The OS X license included with a Mac can only be used with that Mac. However, in the case the OP has purchased OS X Mountain Lion in the past, this may change

  • Moving a drive with OSX to another computer? take it out of my Mac pro laptop and into my mac mini. can it be done with no OS/Hardware issues?

    moving a drive with OSX to another computer? take it out of my Mac pro laptop and into my mac mini. can it be done with no OS/Hardware issues?

    When I work with a drive to boot many computers, I use the newest model computer I will be booting, and set the system up on that, run all the Apple updates. Normally I will have no issue booting any older computer with the same drive. Unless of course those older computers do not support the operating system on that drive.
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  • Why does my fan go into high speed noisy mode sometimes when I'm not actually doing anything on my laptop?

    why does my fan go into high speed noisy mode sometimes when I'm not actually doing anything on my laptop?

    Probably Spotlight is indexing your HD? To stop this indexing, have a look here:
    http://www.thexlab.com/faqs/stopspotlightindex.html
    marek

  • Mac Pro, Fans fire up full speed for no reason - randomly!

    So, here is another fan issue with the Mac Pro, and I am at a loss. Perhaps someone can help me with this one. I have a Mac Pro I bought in mid '07, dual 2.66 GHz. I have 2 7300GT video cards, which don't have fans of their own to be making the noise...
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    Last night, after I shut down, my fans slowly ramped up into high gear. They went to full rotation, and I let it whirr for four or five minutes, thinking it would shut itself off. It never did, so I just pulled the plug on the CPU. I plugged it back in five seconds later, and it stayed shut down after that.
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  • Mac Pro fans all of a sudden running extremely loud!

    I restarted my computer routinely and when it booted back up the fans started running very loud. They have never run this loud before.
    I reset SRC and PRAM as well as replaced the power cord and cleaned the dust out. I also checked that there were not any programs running at high CPU.  Nothing new was installed on or into the computer. The computer is not running hot.
    I don't know what else to do
    The loud fans does not affect the performance of the computer but it's a work from home computer and I need these fans to quiet down!!
    This is a MAC pro 1,1 running OS 10.7

    Readers have reported "all fans" went to high speed, but on closer examination it sometimes turns out that the graphics card fan, all by itself was making all that noise. If that is the case, the prognosis is very different.
    The side door is not interlocked, and can be removed with the Mac Running to determine the exact source of the fan noise.
    Caution: The European Commission has determined the anyone living in Europe is not smart enough to keep their fingers out of the plastic fans used in a Mac Pro, so they have been banned Mac Pro silver tower from sale in Europe for over a year now.

  • Mac Pro fans run at max speed with no load

    I recently picked up a Mac Pro 12core and it's been working amazingly well for the past few months... in the past day or two though the fan has been ramping up to maximum and staying there. When this happens there are no processes taking more than 4% CPU and the system is never less than 99% idle. Resetting the SMC controller solved the issue for about 8 hours overnight, but when I started using the computer this morning the fan ramped up about 15mins into using it.
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    CPUs: 23,22
    Ambient: 23
    HD Bays: 23,25,24
    Mem Banks: 22,21,25,25,25,27,27,22
    Northbridge: 27
    Power supplies: 33,36
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    I did order it from the Apple Refurb shop and I think it'd fall into that timeframe (got it early November), but I was kinda hoping for some things I could try on my own before shipping it out?

  • Mac Pro randomly goes into sleep mode

    My (mid 2010) Mac Pro, OS X.6.8, randomly goes into sleep mode and I can't wake it, have to power it off and reboot. Just started to the best of my knowledge Friday (Jan 6, 2012) I've had it happen surfing the web in Safari, while working on an illustration in Adobe Illustrator, while running Apple Hardware Test, using 23" LCD connected by HDMI and DVI-D, Disconnected monitor and connected 12" Cintiq (LCD Tablet).
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    Tried Apple Hardware Tester again, it said everything is fine, ran it again an error popped up: 4SNS/1/40000000:Te1S-99.364, wrote it down then it slept.

    The next time this happens open your mac and see if there is still a fan running.  If so you are not sleeping, you are in a thermal cutoff.  Keep you mac cover off.
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    When the fan doesn't start, or if it does then stops, the card will overheat and the machine will go into thermal cutoff.  The amount of time is variable.
    I speak from experience.  I am currently on my third 5870 video card.  Both the previous two had this fan problem.  The only wrinkle in my theory for you is that I wouldn't expect more that, say, 15 minutes of up time at the most, not hours like you got.  But it may be that your card is starting ok, but stops sometime later.   I chalk it up to the lousy fans Nvidia uses in the 5x70 cards.
    FWIW, if you happen to catch the fan stopped before the machine goes into thermal cutoff you can give it a little nudge with your finger to get it going again.
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    Some other temperature monitors:
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    Temperature Monitor
    Hardware Monitor
    Note, after typing all this I also realized you got a AHT 4SNS error. I would run AHT again to see if you get that error again.  If so that means "Check Main Logic Board" and you may have a more serious hardware problem than just a video card!  So my other recommendation is that when you machine fails again look inside for any lit diagnostic leds.  There's some near the dimms but there are others on the board as well.

  • Mac Pro fans revving after waking from sleep....

    Anyone else experience this? Seemed to start after I installed the latest firmware update. After wakign from sleep, my Mac Pro's fans start to rev, but they eventually die down.

    Happens all the time. Check out the long thread on "SMC Firmware" for the issues and problems some ran into.

  • Mac Pro Fan always on very fast

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    Your UPS is still underpowered.

  • X1900 and Mac Pro Fan problems

    I just got my new system today.
    I transferred all my data from my old G4 tower to my new system.. and all was good. I deleted the data from my old G4 as I am going to sell it soon.
    Alas, when I go to try out my fancy smancy new grfx card... I fire up WoW... and futz around for a bit..
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    I unplugged everything. Then plugged it all back in.. and as soon as I plug in my power cable.. the comp restarts itself...
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    I dread the thought of having to put all 80 gigs of that data back onto my G4 and take this sucker back to the apple store..
    But I don't want a computer that flips out and sens its fans speeding for certain death...
    any thoughts?
    Mac Pro 2.66   Mac OS X (10.4.8)  

    First reset the System Management Controller…
    http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=304123
    … and immediate upon booting PRAM and NVRAM…
    http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=2238
    … three consecutive times and see if it helps. Additionally check to see that the graphics card is seated properly.

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