fan never turns on

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Level 1

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fan never turns on

i have a macbook pro and realized in the past few weeks that my fan never comes on, causing my mac to get extremely hot. i can't think of anything that i have done in the past weeks to change whether or not my fan turns on...any ideas how to fix this?

i would really appreciate the help!

MacBook Pro, Mac OS X (10.4.11)

Posted on May 18, 2008 7:38 PM

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Answer 1

drsailer

Level 4

1,537 points

May 18, 2008 7:51 PM in response to jess16042

When you say your fan doesn't come on, how are you measuring that? If you haven't yet, install iStatPro, which is a system monitoring widget which will tell you the speed of your fans. Most MBPs have fans that idle around 2,000 rpm all the time, and then increase in speed when needed to get rid of heat. iStatpro will also tell you the temperatures in the machine, so that you can see how hot it truly is getting.

Another thing to try first, is to run the Apple Hardware Test on the install disc 1 that came with the computer. This will test all the components, including the temperature sensors and the fans in the computer. If the fans are truly not working, you'll need to call Applecare or visit the Apple store to get things fixed.

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Answer 2

jess16042 Author

Level 1

0 points

May 19, 2008 10:58 AM in response to drsailer

thanks! i installed the istat pro and it says that my fans are on at a little less than 2000rpm. i'll see if they speed up as the computer gets warmer.

my problem was that when i first got my computer i could notice when the fans sped up to cool down the computer, however lately i haven't heard the fans (or felt them blowing air out of the vents) and my computer has been noticeable hotter after running for awhile.

i'm going to dig out my installation cd and run the hardware check to see if that finds anything! thanks a lot!

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Answer 3

May 19, 2008 3:39 PM in response to jess16042

i seem noticed after 10.5 the fans dont seem to spin up as much or as often but it could just be perception on my part

as long as your machine is staying under 160*f i wouldnt expect the fans to kick full blast, they will spin up but not full blown. if you have very processor intensive things (like games) the fans spin up more.

normal tems for me (looking at cpu a in istatpro) run 118 -130 for idle/light use and up to 160-167* for the highest it will go if i have high cpu usage

-matt

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