Overheating powerbook

my powerbook is getting very very hot very quickly- within a few minutes of starting up. Im guessing that there is a problem with the fan. I recently had my harddrive replaced and was wondering if the refitting of this might have affected the fan?

First thing to check is what is running on your system when it gets hot. On your hard drive, in applications/utilities, run the activity monitor. Is something using 20%-100% of your CPU? If yes, that's causing your heat problem.
If you want to check the operation of the fan, run the Apple hardware test. Insert your OS X DVD that came with your system, which will say AHT Version x.x in small print, and reboot holding the option key. Choose Apple hardware test and follow directions. It will test the fans, and you should hear fan noise during the test.

Similar Messages

Powerbook G4 17" Overheating

I have overheating issues with my Powerbook G4 17".
Example: When designing in Photoshop CS2, maybe having another app open (Safari), my internal fans kick into overdrive, the computer gets really hot, sometimes causing the applications to freeze, quit or shotdown.
When I used CS1, I had no problems.
I have tried every possible solution to fix it and it still happens. I erased and re-installed all applications from their respective DVD/CD; run Activity Monitor (which says the CPU is using 20% or more for Safari and sometimes up to 50% for PS). I took the PB to an Apple store for diagnostics-they said there's no problem. I took it to another authorized retailer for diagnostics, again, nothing. I tried Adobe Technical Support to diagnose the issue, thinking it would be the software (after trying the two retailers) and they have no idea what could be causing this problem. I'm at wit's end!
I have a 12" Powerbook G4 for work and school, and have no problems. I kept CS1 on this computer.
I have 1 gig of RAM on both, my 17" has a 1.33 GHZ Processor with 54.8 Gigs of RAM left. So RAM shouldn't be an issue, right? I've even lowered available RAM in Photoshop to 50%-which slows my machine down significantly; no change with the overheating.
I know there's a problem with the computer and I don't want to purchase another one for the sake of it. The tech at the Apple store didn't take the time to "listen" what I was saying. So he ran the "usual suspects" and found no problems.
Does anyone have suggestions/feedback and/or comments? I greatly appreciate your advice and thoughts.
Regards,
Elias
Powerbook G4 17" Laptop Mac OS X (10.4.8)
Powerbook G4 17" Laptop Mac OS X (10.4.8)

The PB should not overheat, regardless which applications you use (maybe you work on really "hot" photos at Photoshop, just a joke
The two components generating the most heat in a computer are the harddisk and the CPU, the memory modules can be disregarded.
Where do you use the computer... note that the PB's bottom is used as a heatsink; therefore you should not put it onto the floor or a blanket.
Can you ensure that your fans are working properly ? There is a diagnostic program available from Apple, but I guess this has been used by Apple and the retailers already. So we may exclude this.
The tech at the Apple store didn't take the time to "listen" what I was
saying. So he ran the "usual suspects" and found no problems.
What do you mean with "usual suspects" ?

Powerbook overheating

I have read for quite a while that Powerbook have overheating battery problems. Though it never mentions 17 inch Powerbook G4.
For the past two month, my Powerbook G4 17 inch is overheating a lot. The battery is very hot and I even have a dark spot on it, like a burn mark. The back of my cpu is overheating as well (where the little screws are), and of course the whole space between the battery and the back of the cpu.
So my question is: is there an exchange program for 17 inch battery, are they other people with 17 inch Powerbook with the same problem?
I can hear the fan (I guess it is what it is) coming up sometimes...could it be that the fan is not doing its job?
Thanks for any info

I've owned five (5) 17" PowerBook G4's!
I've had PowerBooks since I switched from PC's after nearly twenty years ago in September 2004. I have yet to experience one single problem with any of the FIVE (5) PowerBooks I've owned to date. I've sold each one in order to upgrade to the next generation.
Not a single problem, NONE! Including ANY heat related issues.
Perhaps the reason is I have an aluminum notebook cooler since day one. The iLap from Rain Designs ($79.99 @ the botique) is an aluminum notebook cooler precisely matching that of the PowerBook itself. It comes in all sizes of PowerBook and MacBook Pro, 12" (now discontinued), 15" and of course a 17".
There no fans in this cooler rendering it silent so you won't need to occupy a USB Port as most other notebook coolers do.
The entire aluminum surface of the PowerBook and the entire surface of the iLap makes it one huge heatsink in their own rights. The iLap comes with two padded velour "bumpers", one for the swivel stand located on the bottom and the other is a removable wrist pad on the front which is removable. The purpose of the velour wrist pad to aid in preventing carpal tunnel syndrome.
The whole purpose of the iLap is the provide a better user experience and to provide a silent cooling which therefore will improve the efficiency of the notebook and in turn improve the productivity of the end user.
The iLap provides a natural incline to enhance proper posture while using the PowerBook and it dissipates the heat across it's surface evenly allowing the PowerBook or MacBook Pro to run cooler. Lastly, airflow is allowed to naturally flow freely underneath and around a PowerBook or MacBook Pro itself.
I have three (3) batteries and rotate the usage of each to wear them evenly. I'm satisfied with every PowerBook I've owned because they are simply the pinnacle of notebooks and you know what - you have to take care of them and give the attention they need to run smoothly.
What's the purpose of all this, it's far more productive to take care of your investment than complaining as each one of you are doing. There is a simple solution to your "problems" just go a find them and quityour bellyaching already.
Of course each and EVERY battery is going to cause some kind of heat, why, it's simple - it's a form of energy which comes from a power source providing even more energy - electricity!
How could it be that some of you have horrible luck and the rest of us don't. Grow up and stop your whining and deal with it. Apple would've recalled any and all faulty batteries because of one simple fact, becuase of people like you.
Imagine any harm happening because of this God forbid then we'd all see you lined up sueing Apple for negligence and seeking damages.
This company sells incredible HIGH QUALITY merchandise not some plastic piece of junk like Dell. Who else has an aluminum case? Only since Apple released the PowerBook a few have have sprung up but that is because just like Microsoft after the release they all ran to the copying machines and attempted to duplicate this incredible piece of technology.
Stop your crying and if you can't deal with it, sell them and rid yourself of your problems and get out of our forums already!

Overheating 17" G4 PowerBook

My 17" G4 PowerBook is approx. 2 years old. Since about 6 months after purchase, I have been dealing with and overheating issue. I suspect it is video related. Initially it only occurred after about 15 minutes of playing World of Warcraft. Not a very video intensive game, but it consistently initiates the problem, which starts with the PowerBook beginning to make a noise that gets louder, until it finally locks up, if ignored. The only way I keep it running is with a desktop fan immediately behind the computer or an ice gel pack under it.
Now it's getting worst to where it is starting to overheat doing routine work, even with the fans. It has been in for Applecare service to correct the problem, but it came back worst than than ever. I use it virtually every day for business, so I would like to better identify the problem before just sending it in again and hoping it gets fixed.
It has 1.5 Ram, using OS X 10.5.1
Any information would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.

What was going on? One of the heat sink fans (left corner near speaker) on my laptop makes a strange noise when it heats up, specifically during downloading off the internet. I looked up that Temp Monitor but was curious as to how it can resolve the fan situation. I am ready to just replace the fan. Found new ones for as little as $35.00 US.
Has anyone replaced their fans?

PowerBook has malfunctioning temperature sensor/overheating graphics card?

I just received a brand new high res PowerBook 15'', but, the free "Temperature Monitor" program, that monitors the outputs from the PowerBook's temperature sensors, seems to display the Graphics Processor's temperature incorrectly. Often, it says it is 212º F, but it wildly flunctuates between that and a more reasonable 114º. The "Specified Upper Limit" also changes, but seems to be 156.2º F. If it is the correct temperature, then my graphics card is overheating. What should I do?

To the contrary. All Macs have a graphics card. Not in the same way as a PC where the card is removable, but it is integrated into the computer. Otherwise they would either have some form of Apple graphics card or the graphics would leech off the main computer components. Mac OS X takes full advantage of hardware graphics technology (OpenGL, Quartz).
As for temperature, it is key to computer performance. If you've looked at PCs there are many different cooling options. The PowerBook has it's own ways. First it is built of aluminum which draws the heat away and reduces the temperature by 10%, and it has two cooling fans that run at low speeds for quiet operation, they will crank to full speed if the computer is under stress and is creating lots of heat. A G5 has an extensive and well thought out cooling system with thermal zones and liquid cooling on some models, good example of how extravagant they can get.
And Logan, does your computer feel 212˚? If not there is a malfunction in the program. If the computer is whirring about trying to cool itself when it feels normal, it is a hardware malfunction. Thry running a hardware test if it is a hardware malfunction.
15-inch 1.5GHz PowerBook G4 Mac OS X (10.4.3) 1.280GB RAM, 128MB VRAM

Powerbook G4 overheating?

I have no experience with mac laptops but my daughter just called from school and says that when playing a dvd the laptop gets so hot she thinks its overheating. Its a G4. She cannot detect a system fan running like on her Toshiba. Is this normal for a G4? Any help is appreciated.

Hi,
You have posted in the G4 Tower forum.
Try the Powerbook forum. We don't know much about Powerbooks here!
Cheers!
DALE

Classic is overheating my PowerBook

I have a job to do in PageMaker, so I installed it in Classic. It started okay, but a couple minutes later my PowerBook's fan came on, faster than I've ever heard it before. A check in Activity Monitor found TrueBlueEnvironment (which I understand is Classic) using over 90% of the CPU -- and there wasn't even a document open in PageMaker, only the app. I had to quit PM to get the fan to stop. Is there any way I can limit Classic so it won't take so much CPU? This job could be done in 64MB of RAM in OS 9, with plenty to spare -- but my nice new 17" PowerBook won't boot in 9.

Classic has few adjustments. You can adjust:
• the memory for an application, or
• the memory of the Classic environment itself.
As a guess, if you're trying to run a version of PageMaker that was designed for 68K Macs instead of PPC (PowerPC) Macs, what you're seeing it may be due to transcoding. This was a technology that I believe was built into PPC versions of the Mac OS to let 68K apps run unchanged, but they would not perform well.
You've not stated what version of Mac OS 9 you are using for Classic, but I've found with Tiger one should be using Mac OS 9.2.2: there are issues that can crop up in Classic if you're using an earlier version. You can find the Mac OS 9 updates to 9.2.2 here.
Classic works best with applications designed for Mac OS 9. You'll get problematic results with Mac apps designed for earlier versions of the Mac OS.
PageMaker is a dead app: it has been for years. Time to think about getting a native Mac OS X app, like InDesign.
Good luck!
Dr. Smoke
Author: Troubleshooting Mac® OS X

Powerbook Gets Overheated

I have an 8 year old Powerbook. For the last several years, the battery did not hold a charge, so I only used it using plugged into an outlet. I just bought a replacement battery. It's the exact same battery as the original. For some reason, this battery also did not hold a charge and my laptop seemed to get really hot on the bottom. Any ideas what the problem could be? Thanks

Hi, merictay. It certainly sounds as though for the last several years there's been something wrong with your charging system, not your battery. You were right to replace the battery, though: after several years without a charge, it could no longer be expected to take one, even if everything else were working perfectly.
There's a chance that your replacement battery has been sitting around on a shelf for so long that it won't charge normally either, but if there's reason to believe your charging system doesn't work right, that's a more likely cause for the new battery's failure to charge.
Try a different AC adapter if you have access to one. Reset the Power Manager. Check the contacts inside your battery compartment to make sure they aren't loose; they should be solidly anchored to the battery-compartment wall, and if they aren't, we'll show you some screws to tighten. Finally, release your keyboard catches, flip the keyboard gently over onto the wrist wrests, and locate the six-wire cable with a white connector that connects the battery to the logic board: it's underneath the normal positions of the X and left Command keys. Press it down hard onto the logic board to make sure it's solidly seated. Put the keyboard back in place and test again. If you're lucky, these steps (or one of them) will put you right at no great expense.

10.5.7 vs Powerbook G4... serious overheating and locking up...

Hey all,
Okay then, after updating to 10.5.7, I noticed two things...
1) The fan kicks on almost immediately and the computer proceeds to go nuclear.
2) Nothing runs well, long hangs, long periods where no clicks or input react.
I am not a computer guru, but I did know enough to fire up the Activity monitor.
I noticed that "SyncServices" is eating up 90 - 100% of the CPU. Even when no syncing is occurring.
I shut off SyncServices and the performance returned, the machine cooled off, and everything is great...
Until I check my mail, then SyncServices turns itself back on, and the cycle repeats.
I have shut off ALL mobileme sync (as a bandage to keep running), and each time I check my mail I immediately shut off SyncServices as soon as the mail is checked.
But do you have any idea how I can actually fix the problem?
(Yes, I repaired permissions prior to updating, Yes I have repaired permissions since, Yes I ran disc diagnostics before and after upgrading, No I didn't have any peripherals connected to the machine while upgrading).
Thanks a bunch,
Matt

Is this a Powerbook G4 with side or rear USB ports?
How much RAM is on the Powerbook G4?
Is it all factory RAM?
Message was edited by: a brody

Overheating problem with PowerBook G4 17"

Hi,
I've recently noticed my PowerBook getting really hot. Is this likely to be a problem with the fan and if so how would I be able to find out?
Thanks

You need to read the actual temps to tell if there is a problem. "Rather hot" can mean different things to different people. As you have Tiger, get a free Dashboard widget here:
http://www.apple.com/downloads/dashboard/status/istatpro.html
iStat Pro provides a lot of info about your system. Download it and post the temps you see to get advice on whether your are too hot. Supposedly, processor temps can approach 212F/100C before the computer does a safety shutdown.
Can you hear the fans? The ones on my PB17 1G come on around 125-140F (60F).
Other things to consider:
1) Are you placing the Powerbook on a blanket of pillow? Not recommended--the aluminum case bottom is part of the heat dissipation system.
2) There is a long, narrow hot air aexhaust vent under the hinge in the back. It must not be blocked
3) Use your Activity Monitor (AM) utility to check for runaway background processes. To see them you will need to set AM's "Show" menu to "All processes." It defaults to show only user processes.
Be aware that Apple had trouble with Apple Hardware test for the PowerBook G4. Apparently versions shipped with some computers did not work and neither did later ones posted as disk images on the support site. My 1Ghz PB is so affected.

Powerbook overheating when in screensaver mode

Hi,
Seems whenever my powerbook goes into screensaver mode, the fans are really working overtime, much louder then normal. Once I start working on an application, it settles down. But if I walk away or come home from being out, computer is in screensaver mode and the fans are churning away.
It's almost four years old, so maybe it's wheezing. Works fine otherwise, no noticeable problems, but just a bit concerned about this. Any suggestions?

Hello - you're in the wrong forum. You need to post in the "powerBOOK" forum. You are in the "powerMAC" forum. A powerbook is a laptop, a powermac is a desktop, for further reference.
You will probably get a few people who have encountered your issue if you post there.

Powerbook Lower Memory Slot Issue, what are my options?

Hi there,
I have a Powerbook G4 1.5ghz that I purchased in October of 2004. I had no problems with it until after upgrading the RAM to 2 x 512mb chips and then installing Tiger which resulted in me later notcing the missing RAM and learning about the lower memory slot failure issue.
I find that sometimes if I remove the RAM and try and power it up and then replace the RAM again that the lower slot ocassionaly does come back. Trouble is though that the machine will either crash or I loose the other RAM slot when I have to shut it down. It seems to be so intermittent this way and I'm tired of constantly removing the RAM to fiddle about with it.
My serial number begins W8441, so it isn't covered by the returns programe. I would call Apple Support, but I am put off by a £35 charge just to have them discuss and diagnose the problem.
I'm in the UK and as I don't have Applecare and I'm not elgiable for the returns programe can anyone tell me what they charge for a logic board replacment? Looking at what they charge in the US, it's not cheap.
I use my Powebook for Final Cut Pro, DVD Studio Pro, After Effects mainly and I had been alright with 1gig when it was working.
I'm really trying to decide what the best thing to do is....
- Do I pay for the logic board replacement, which I'm not really sure I can afford right now, or to be without my machine... especially as I have read that it can just fail again.
- Should I just buy a 1gig stick for the upper slot and try and sell my old RAM, as that would be cheaper than getting the logic board replaced?
It's a real shame that Apple doesn't seem to want to ackowledge that this effects other users as I'd been so impressed with everything about Apple up until now.
Thanks for any advice.

(Browse down for findings and questions).
The notorious lower-memory-slot-bug has hit my finally too... I never believed it until now (and I've immediately signed the petition).
I am outside warranty and I never bought Applecare either.
Also my powerbook, a very dear machine to me, is a less common type to have this problem: a 1 GHz G4 15" FireWire 800 OS 10.3.9 type. Funny enough my older powerbook ( a G3 Bronze) is still running strong with no problems whatsoever.
My G4 15" also has the "white spots" problem and a dead superdrive... I cannot believe how many hardware problems I'm having with this machine in comparison to all my older macs - even my sluggish powerMac 7200/90 never gave me this many headaches...
Alright, I'll stop complaining for now.
I've been able to browse the internet on this and found the following statements:
The lower memory slot gets "fried" because of a OS 10.3.9 upgrade,
or possibly due to overheating when the powerbook is put on the users' lap,
or possibly due to picking the powerbook up by the corners so the metal gets bent.
+ I have only seen one case where someone's UPPER memory slot was defective.
The solution to this problem (replacing the logic board) didn't seem to be definate in many cases so I'm reluctant to try this myself (and I have very little money). The alternative (replacing the upper slot memory with a bigger type of RAM) seems a bit scary to me,
because I wonder:
-will the upper memory slot RAM get "fried" eventually as well after a while?
-do you need to have something installed in the lower slot or is it possible to just install one RAM card only?
-are there more people with a 1 GHz PB that have this problem? It seems it's mostly people with a 1,67 GHz that have been bitten by this bug and maybe that's why Apple decided to give the majority a free repair. I am not sure whether that is a common policy, I am part of the minority it seems.
As a solutions someone posted on a board that we should all buy KTA-PBG4333/1G RAM, but here in Dutch stores it is said this memory is only compatible with 17" powerbooks....
Does anyone know if it is suitable for 15" as well??
G4 Powerbook Mac OS X (10.3.9) 1 GHz G4 Powerbook FW800

DVI to ADC Adapter Overheating

My DVI to ADC Adapter overheats when I plug in a 22" Apple Cinema Display M8058. I've used this adapter with my powerbook and after about 30 minutes or so it is hot enough to cook an egg on the apple and it shuts down and the display goes dead. The same happens with my G5. Once it's cool it fires up. It works ok on a smaller ADC display without shutdown. I can't find anywhere where overheating is an issue and wonder if this adapter is a fire hazzard or I got one that's gone bad ? Anyone else have this problem?
G5 Mac OS X (10.4.5)

Yes , that's true , my Adapter is overheating too , but I have Drop-Outs at the resolution 1600x1024 ono my Cinema Display 22". I think it's a case of warranty.

Please help, Powerbook issues!

Sorry if this is long. Hello everyone. I am having quite the time with my Powerbook. Here is a little background information. I purchased it in August of 2004 and I have Apple Care, so everything is under warranty. For the most part my laptop has been very fast, hardly freezes, and is always very responsive. A few weeks ago I was at a friends house with my PB plugged into a wall and I am quite sure the machine overheated and froze. I wasn't able to get it to stop freezing, even after restarting at least 5 times. I turned it off and left it alone until I arrived home the next day. When I turned it on it was fine and was fine for another week. I was at this friends house again and the same thing happened. I shut it off and brought it home and it was fine again.
A few days later it freezes at home and I had to restart it. When the machine turned on it said "Please restart your computer." And I did, again and again and again, kept saying the same thing. I called the Apple support line and they had me do a PMU reset and a PRAM reset - nothing worked. We ran a disk utility from my boot disks and it found a red error in my HD that it couldn't repair. I ended up having to do an erase and install. I thought that would fix my problems, but I was wrong. The next day my machine was constantly freezing with every program I opened. The color spinning wheel shows up every time I attempt to click on anything. As you can imagine, this is qutie annoying. I ran ANOTHER disk utility and it found no errors. I've also ran a hardware test (the short version and looped the extended version) and that found no errors.
I have a friend who works for apple support and he and I tried EVERYTHING over the phone. I even replaced my 1 gig stick of ram with my original 256 stick of Apple ram, and it's still just as slow and freezing. I am really running out of possible reasons for this. If anyone has ANY possible ideas, I would appreciate it. I want to get as many answers and opinions as I can before I drop my PB off at the retail store and say goodbye to it for 3 weeks. Thank you for taking the time to read this. I appreciate it very much.

Karilynn
To me it sounds more like the hard drive is in need of replacement and, since you have AppleCare, the best thing to do is to get the drive replaced by Apple.
The downside to a drive replacement is that you will lose all your data unless it has been backed up.
2.0GHz MacBook, 15" 1.25GHz/12" 1GHz PBs, 2xPPC Mac minis, 12" iBook G4, Mac OS X (10.4.8) Cube, 2xTAMs, iPod 4G & nano 2G, 1G & 2G iPs, AEBS, AX

Performance Degradtion on PowerBook G4-133 (1.2G RAM Tiger)

It just runs slower, and slower until I finally have to reboot - Maybe Memory Leaks?
I have recently tried to breathe some new life into my somewhat neglected
PB-G4 133 by giving it an additional 1G of RAM, and a new 120G Hitachi HD.
I'm using Tiger since it came pre-installed on the Hitachi when I had that drive
installed, but previously the G4 had Panther. I also have Ubuntu Linux 8.05 installed on a external 250G FireLite. Ubuntu seems to run faster than Tiger,
but it runs hot and the fan goes full blast so I am a little worried about overheating and limit the uptime. This is a nice compact combination to take
on the road. The performance is OK when I first boot up, but as I fire up
more applications (iPhoto, LightRoom, Camino, Adium) the slower things get. Shutting down applications brings a marginal improvement in overall speed and responsiveness of the desktop. I have come into the Apple fold from the Linux world so I'm using tools like vm_stat, top, and iostat, whose cousins exist in linux, to track things down.
I also have an iBook G4 (1G RAM) which runs Open SUSE 10. This machine can run
for 6 months or more at a time with no performance degradation. My first generation MacBook (1G RAM and Tiger) runs faster than the PB, but it's just enough heavier that it usually gets left at home in favor or the smaller PowerBook.
I'm wondering if my PowerBook apps have some memory leaks that eat up the
free memory, never to be released ? Or maybe there is something that I'm overlooking?
Thanks in advance for reading this long post and for any ideas you folks may have.

Welcome back to Apple Discussions!
If this is a 15" or 17" Powerbook, it might need its clock battery replaced.
If this is a 12" Powerbook it might need its power manager reset.
If the clock battery has been replaced in the last 4 years, then its PRAM might need resetting.
Note, the overheating you might be experiencing while running Linux might be damaging some chips, and/or causing the Energy Saver settings to force the processor to go at a lower speed to keep the processor cool. In Mac OS X that's Apple menu -> System Preferences -> Energy Saver.
In Linux, I don't know what that would be, but pmset is the command used for it in Mac OS X's command line.
Camino and Adium depend on internet speeds. Try using OpenDNS for your DNS numbers. I find that's usually faster than using the internet service provider supplied DNSes. Changing the MTU in your network settings can also speed your internet, and toggling the IPv6 setting on/off may affect it as well.
If you are using numerous Dashboard widgets, some of them may not be compatible with your version of Mac OS X and those can slow internet speeds down too. iStat Pro has been known to have trouble with that too. If none of those appears to be at issue, are you seeing issues with these titles in WiFi hotspots, or just at home?
iPhoto has improved performance with each new release, and an oversized photo library can slow down earlier versions of iPhoto. I don't know how Lightroom works, but it may be the same issue.
Make sure your hard disk is not in excess of 85% full. This arbitrary number has been found to slow Mac OS X down.
If you still can't explain the slowdown, tell us when you've backed up your data at least twice, and tell us what you've tried so far?

Overheating powerbook

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