Why is my fan running loudly?

My Macbook Pro Retina 13" is about 6 months old. Just today it started running warmer than normal and the fan is MUCH more audible than usual. My office staff commented that it sounds like it's overheating. I am not doing anything differently than normal nor have I downloaded any new programs in the last few weeks. Any ideas about why this has suddenly become an issue? This issue occurs whether the laptop is plugged into my Thunderbolt display or running off of battery power.

Thank you! I stopped the application that had 'taken over' or run away but it was the Mail program and I don't know how to figure out what's wrong with it so that it doesn't happen again.

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Why does the fan run for long periods on macbook pro

why does the fan run for long periods on macbook pro?

to keep the internal components of you mac at a safe operating temperature.

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?

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.

Why is my fan running so loud?

I purchased my 13" macbook pro about 2-3 weeks ago, But have noticed just recently my fan running quiet loud and constantly. I have done two smc resets that didn't change anything, checked my activity monitor to find nothing wrong, and checked my exhaust rpm and temperatures which were perfectly normal. Does anyone have any other information that would help me fix this frustrating problem?

sebbynowak wrote:
I purchased my 13" macbook pro about 2-3 weeks ago
You are still under warranty. Call Apple Care. Make sure you get a case number as all repairs have an additional 90 days of warranty.
#1 - You have 14 days from the date of purchase to return your computer with no questions asked.
#2 - You have 90 days of FREE phone tech support.
#3 - You have the standard one year Apple warranty.
#4 - If you've purchased an AppleCare Protection Plan, your warranty last for 3 years. You can obtain AppleCare anytime up to the first year of the purchase of your computer.
Take FULL advantage of your warranty. Posting on a message board should be done as a last resort and if you are out of warranty or Apple Care has expired.

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

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.

Is it bad to have the fan running loud all the time

the fan on my macbook runs loud and long at times. is this bad for the machine?

Is it possible to have 2 threads running at the same
time at different times eg 1 repeats every 20
miliseconds and the other 40 for example. Yes.
http://java.sun.com/docs/books/tutorial/essential/concurrency/index.html

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.).

Apple macbook won't boot up and only fans running loud

Hi,
I am having a big problem in my laptop, it's not display anything, and when i press on power button only fans running aloud, and the charger, battery working!
please help me!

I live in Palestine
Unfortunately, we do not have an agent or a local Apple store.
do you help me identify the problem exactly?
thanks

Why is my fan running continuously?

Hello,
I recently took my macbook pro to the Apple Authorized Servicer to get it worked on. Apparently the flex cable for the hard drive was bad, which caused my computer to not boot up when powered on. That issue was resolved, but literally 24 hours after getting my laptop back, it started having other problems.
My computer had many syptoms that were listed here: http://support.apple.com/kb/HT3964
Mostly these were the symptoms:
The computer's fans run at high speed although the computer is not experiencing heavy usage and is properly ventilated.
The computer doesn't respond to the power button when pressed.
Battery indicator lights, if present, appear to behave incorrectly (on portables that use non-removable batteries).
The MagSafe power adaptor LED doesn't appear to indicate the correct activity.
The display would flicker while trying to boot up, then the whole system would turn off.
For a while, my computer would not even turn on at all. Now my computer seems to startup properly everytime. The battery indicator lights still do not function, but I can use the computer and all of my data is still as it was.
The main issue that still persists is that the fan runs at high speed all the time. My CPU usage is low, I checked in activities monitor, and nothing was out of the ordinary. I am not running any high CPU applications. And according to iStat, all the temperatures within my computer are running under 100 degrees.
I'm pretty sure I successfully reset the SMC, as when I held down the Shift-Control-Option keys with the power button, the LED on my magsafe changed colors, as noted it would in the instructions.
I would appreciate any and all help, as I am in Africa and another trip to the local Apple Authorized Servicer would be quite a hassle.
Thanks!

The fan should always be running. Install another temperature/fan speed application to verify;
http://www.bresink.com/osx/TemperatureMonitor.html
Try a hardware test:
http://support.apple.com/kb/ht1509
You may have to use OPTION D to start it.
Ciao.

G5 won't wake from autosleep, fan runs loudly, ever since Leopard install

I recently installed Mac OS X v10.5.0 Leopard and 10.5.1 update on my G5. Sometimes when the computer puts itself to sleep the G5 fan starts running full out and does not seem to stop. Usually I am able to wake the computer up from sleep just by moving the mouse or pressing any key. But when the fan starts running hard I am not able to get the computer to wake up again.
Energy Saver settings are one hour for computer, 15 minutes for display, and "Put hard disks to sleep..." is checked. The problem does not arise when the screen goes to sleep or when the hard drive rests, only when the computer itself goes to sleep and then only occasionally.
This problem did not occur ever under v10.4.11 or earlier. In fact I hardly ever hear the fan running. Thus I am suspicious that it is somehow related to the Leopard install.
I have noticed other posts similar to mine, but no apparent solutions. Some posts mentioned a Logitech mouse upgrade being necessary but I am using a Microsoft 3000 Wireless Optical Mouse and no software is needed for it to function.

Any time you have power management or sleep/wake problems, a good first step is to reset the low level controller that handles that stuff in your Mac. For intel-based Macs this is the SMC. For Power-PC based Macs this is the PMU.
Go to the main Support page here and, in the search field at the top LEFT of that page, search for "reset SMC" or "reset PMU" as is appropriate. In the list of Knowledge Base articles returned, find the instructions specific to your model of Mac. It is not hard to do in any case, but you do need to find the right instructions for your Mac. Note that resetting a PMU will likely require you to manually correct the Date and Time (System Preferences / Date & Time) the next time you log in.
While you are at, also reset Parameter memory (PRAM). PRAM holds copies of certain system settings for rapid access, and if it gets out of whack all sorts of odd things can happen. The instructions for resetting PRAM are the same for all Macs. Shut Down the computer. Locate the 4 keys Apple-Option-P-R. Press and hold all 4 of those keys and, while doing so, press and release the power button. Keep those 4 keys held down until you hear the SECOND startup chime, then release them. Your computer will continue to boot up normally.
Once you log in, go to Applications / Utilities / Disk Utility. Select the line in the column on the left showing the name of your main hard drive. Then click on Verify Disk in the panel on the right. Be patient, this will take a while and the progress bar may not advance until the very end. If Verify Disk finds any problems you will need to boot directly from your Leopard Install DVD (hold the "c" key while booting and insert the disk shortly after pressing and releasing the power button) and, instead of proceeding with a new intall, run Disk Utility from the menu bar. Once again select you main hard drive, but this time do a Repair Disk.
Once Verify or Repair Disk shows no problems, go back to Disk Utility while booted from your main hard drive (if necessary) and this time do a Repair Disk Permissions. Once again, be patient. This will take a while (20 minutes or so) and the progress bar may not advance until the very end. This may produce a variety of messages, but if it finishes with "Permissions Repair Complete" you are good to go.
Now Restart the computer and, once logged in, run Applications / Disk Utility / Console. Select "All Messages" in the column on the left. If this is the first time you've done this, Console will take a while getting organized -- initially the message list may be empty.
Now try commanding your computer to Sleep and then Wake from sleep. Check the Console messages to see if any problems are reported.
--Bob

Why is the fan running all the time and loud all of a sudden

The fan on my computer starts running after about 5 minutes of being turned on or waking up. It continues to run and is very loud. Is there a fix for this problem?

Try:
Intel-based Macs: Resetting the System Management Controller (SMC)
Resetting your Mac's PRAM and NVRAM
Boot into Safe Mode then back into normal boot.
Repair the Hard Drive and Permissions - Yosemite, Mavericks, Mountain Lion or Lion
Boot to the Recovery HD:
Restart the computer and after the chime press and hold down the COMMAND and R keys until the menu screen appears. Alternatively, restart the computer and after the chime press and hold down the OPTION key until the boot manager screen appears. Select the Recovery HD and click on the downward pointing arrow button.
Repair
When the recovery menu appears select Disk Utility and press the Continue button. After Disk Utility loads select the Macintosh HD entry from the the left side list. Click on the First Aid tab, then click on the Repair Disk button. If Disk Utility reports any errors that have been fixed, then re-run Repair Disk until no errors are reported. If no errors are reported click on the Repair Permissions button. Wait until the operation completes, then quit Disk Utility and return to the main menu. Select Restart from the Apple menu.

Why is my fan so loud? Lenovo G510

Hi,
I can see a big sticker on my laptop that says "SILENT FAN".
Yes, the fan was silent in the first few days and now it is just loud.
I can't even study with this laptop near me it is too distracting.
At the beginning it seemed that the fan is not even working because it was so weak (or maybe it really didn't work?)
Now I just can't concentrate because of the annoying fan buzz...
What can I do ? How do I silence it?!
**Edit : Something to mention : The fan is not as loud as when playing a game for example (Because I did play a game to check and it's much louder) > I'm talking about the lower annoying noise.. this noise did not exist at the beginning?! Only 2 weeks old Laptop?

EDIT: Looks like what's causing it is that a plugin of Google chrome browser named "Shockwave flash" is using alot of CPU.
I don't know why is Shockwave Flash using so much CPU but that's causing about 70% CPU usage and then the fan speed to increase
**Is there a way to manually control the fan speed? maybe I can manually lower the speed without causing overheating issues because sometimes it seems like the fan increases its speed when not really necessary.

Why are my fans so loud and my macbook pro so hot?

I have a 15" MacBook Pro. I've had it since a little bit before Christmas and the fan has always been so loud and the laptop itself, as well as the charger, tend to get VERY hot VERY quickly. I'm keeping it elevated so it's not being suffocated but it doesn't seem to help. I've already checked Activity Monitor and nothing is running up my CPU very much and I'm out of options. Any help is appreciated!! It's driving me crazy!!

Those are very, very high temperatures and very high fan speeds just trying to cool things down.
Now - which applications or processes are turning up the heat? Open Activity Monitor (Applications>Utilities) and select "All Processes" and sort by CPU %:
Then post your screenshot (http://support.apple.com/kb/PH4391) using the little camera icon in the composition bar at the top of your reply.
Clinton

Why is my fan running loudly?

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