When sleeping, my G5's fans sound like a boeing!

Question

Level 1

0 points

When sleeping, my G5's fans sound like a boeing!

Hi all,

I recently received my dad's old work computer as a Christmas gift. It was his main tool for ~3 years, and lived in his office within a woodworking shop (lots of fine dust, lots of serious drafting and rendering usage). Mind you, dad knows his computers, and treated it very well.

Since before it passed into my hands, the computer has begun struggling with fan speed. When running relatively light stuff (youtube vids, loading email, etc.) the fans will speed up and slow down in a seemingly random pattern.

vroooooom
10 seconds of normal fan noise
vrrroooooooooommmmm!!!!
10 minutes of normal fan noise
vrooom
1 minute of normal fan noise
vrrrrroooooooommmmmmmmmmmmmmmm

Although the noise is disconcerting, it doesn't seem to conicide with any decrease in actual computer performance.

The real problem occurs whenever it goes to sleep. At that time the fans spool up, and spool up, and continue to spool up until they are running at what I imagine must be the maximum speed. They will then stay at that speed indefinitely, and can only be stopped by holding the power switch to force the machine off, as it stops responding to normal attempts to wake it up.

I have the option of taking it to a shop, but would like to ask here first. The specs are:

Model Name: Power Mac G5
Model Identifier Power Mac 7,3
Processor Name: PowerPC G5 (3.1)
Processor Speed: 2.7 GHz
Number of CPUs: 2
L2 Cache (per CPU): 512 KB
Memory: 8GB
Bus Speed: 1.35 GHz
Boot ROM Version: 5.2.4f1

Built-In Sound Card: Texas Instruments TAS3004
ATI Radeon 9650 AGP (255MB)
Added USB Slots: pcie55,2928
Pioneer DVD-RW-109 (Revision A912, Protocol ATAPI)

I believe this is a "late 2005", though I'm still a little unclear where the dividing line lies.

Thank you very much!

G5, Mac OS X (10.5.2)

Posted on Jan 19, 2010 2:30 PM

Reply

Answer 1

Jan 19, 2010 3:22 PM in response to Gorf37

That is an "Early 2005" model and is the last of the AGP-based G5s. It also uses PCI-X slots for expansion, rather than the PCI-Express slots of the Late 2005 model.

Do you have the original install disc for the machine? It should be a grey disc and this disc would have the Apple Hardware Test on it. You should run this test to see if there are any hardware problems with the machine.

Does the machine have any add-in cards?

Have you tried cleaning the insides thoroughly?

Upon restart, have you ever received a message that the machine did not shut down properly? If so, the computer will have saved a log of what caused the freeze.

Reply

Answer 2

Gorf37 Author

Level 1

0 points

Jan 19, 2010 4:04 PM in response to Steve Boultbee

Thanks, Steve,

I do have the original install disc. I will try running the Hardware Test this evening. I didn't know that PCI-X was different from PCI-Express (which gives a window into how little I know...)

In terms of add-in cards, it does have: +Added USB Slots: pcie55,2928+, which adds four USB slots, and an added Velociraptor hard drive.

I used the compressed-air hose at my dad's shop to clean the case out as thouroughly as I could when I took the computer home. However, the only thing I removed during that process was the two fans mounted near the front of the case. Dust could easily be hidden behind/within the liquid cooling quadrant in the lower back of the case.

Reply

Answer 3

Jan 19, 2010 5:21 PM in response to Gorf37

You may also want to remove the video card and give it a good cleaning, especially if it has a fan on it. They'll collect dust quite well.

You can also lightly wipe off any dust from the front of the "radiator" behind the fans you removed. Just work lightly so as to not damage the fins or push the dirt farther into the cooling system.

Do you know who the manufacturer of the USB card is? I'd suggest checking their site for updated drivers or firmware.

Does the computer lock up if the Velociraptor is removed from the computer? Until the Late 2005 models, the SATA interface on the G5s was an early adaptation, and doesn't support some features which can result in lock ups (see this Western Digital page for more info on some drives that can cause this problem). There doesn't appear to be a way to force the Velociraptor into SATA I mode, which can help with compatibility.

Reply

Answer 4

Gorf37 Author

Level 1

0 points

Jan 22, 2010 11:27 AM in response to Steve Boultbee

Thanks again, Steve,

I inspected the video card and the radiator, and they both looked relatively clean, as I did give them a good dusting when I blew the case out with compressed air. (It is of course possible that the back side of the radiator is caked with dust.)

I haven't tried working on the USB card drivers or the Velociraptor yet. I did however run a hardware test as you recommended, resulting in one Error Code:
**Error Code**
POST/0/2048DIMM2/J13,DIMM3/J14

With my limited knowledge, I take that to mean that two of my ram sticks (8*1GB) are malfunctioning?

I also saved the log after restarting from "sleeping fan death":

+Interval Since Last Panic Report: 12455 sec+
+Panics Since Last Report: 2+
+Anonymous UUID: D9C83F75-A29B-41E1-881B-8FAF35708210+

+Wed Jan 20 00:36:21 2010+

+Unresolved kernel trap(cpu 0): 0x300 - Data access DAR=0x0000000000000000 PC=0x0000000000793A3C+
+Latest crash info for cpu 0:+
+Exception state (sv=0x7d2f9500)+
+PC=0x00793A3C; MSR=0x00009030; DAR=0x00000000; DSISR=0x40000000; LR=0x00798EF0; R1=0x628EBB20; XCP=0x0000000C (0x300 - Data access)+
Backtrace:
+0x00000000 0x00798EF0 0x007A4290 0x007A42FC 0x0035CC28 0x007A86D0+
+0x0034F2F4 0x0034F6B8 0x0003F2A0 0x000B1DD4+
+Kernel loadable modules in backtrace (with dependencies):+
com.sonnettech.driver.SonnetSATA(2.1.7)@0x792000->0x7b3fff
+dependency: com.apple.iokit.IOPCIFamily(2.6)@0x643000+
+dependency: com.apple.iokit.IOATAFamily(2.0.1)@0x6fc000+
+Proceeding back via exception chain:+
+Exception state (sv=0x7d2f9500)+
+previously dumped as "Latest" state. skipping...+
+Exception state (sv=0x5a4e5a00)+
+PC=0x00000000; MSR=0x0000D030; DAR=0x00000000; DSISR=0x00000000; LR=0x00000000; R1=0x00000000; XCP=0x00000000 (Unknown)+

+BSD process name corresponding to current thread: kernel_task+

+Mac OS version:+
9J61

+Kernel version:+
+Darwin Kernel Version 9.7.0: Tue Mar 31 22:54:29 PDT 2009; root:xnu-1228.12.14~1/RELEASE_PPC+
+System model name: PowerMac7,3+

+System uptime in nanoseconds: 1321891552704+
+unloaded kexts:+
+com.apple.driver.Apple02DBDMAAudio 2.5.8f1 - last unloaded 3303107974+
+loaded kexts:+
+com.sonnettech.driver.SonnetSATA 2.1.7+
+com.apple.filesystems.autofs 2.0.2 - last loaded 918991120+
+com.apple.driver.AudioIPCDriver 1.0.6+
+com.apple.driver.AppleHWSensor 1.9d0+
+com.apple.driver.AppleCPUVoltage 1.5.2d0+
+com.apple.iokit.IOFireWireIP 1.7.7+
+com.apple.ATIRadeon9700 5.4.4+
+com.apple.driver.AppleTopazAudio 2.5.8f1+
+com.apple.driver.AppleTAS3004Audio 2.5.8f1+
+com.apple.driver.AppleVSP 2.2.2+
+com.apple.driver.AppleUSBDisplays 2.0.2+
+com.apple.driver.AppleThermal 1.0.1f2+
+com.apple.driver.AppleK2Fan 1.0.10f1+
+com.apple.driver.AppleSCCSerial 1.3.2+
+com.apple.driver.AppleSlewClock 1.5.2d0+
+com.apple.driver.AppleHWClock 1.5.2d0+
+com.apple.driver.AppleFCU 1.3.2b0+
+com.apple.driver.AppleFan 1.0.10f1+
+com.apple.driver.AppleADT746x 1.0.10f1+
+com.apple.driver.AppleADM103x 1.0.10f1+
+com.apple.driver.PowerMac7 2PlatformPlugin 3.4.0d0+
+com.apple.driver.AppleMaxim6690 1.9d0+
+com.apple.driver.AppleTexasAudio 2.5.8f1+
+com.apple.driver.AppleTexas2Audio 2.5.8f1+
+com.apple.driver.AppleDACAAudio 2.5.8f1+
+com.apple.driver.AppleK2Driver 1.7.2f1+
+com.apple.driver.AppleI2S 1.0.1f1+
+com.apple.driver.AppleAD741x 1.9d0+
+com.apple.driver.AppleLM7x 1.9d0+
+com.apple.driver.AppleUSBHIDMouse 1.2.3f1+
+com.apple.driver.AppleHIDKeyboard 1.0.8b1+
+com.apple.driver.AppleFileSystemDriver 1.1.0+
+com.apple.driver.AppleUSBMergeNub 3.4.3+
+com.apple.driver.PioneerSuperDrive 2.0.7+
+com.apple.iokit.SCSITaskUserClient 2.0.9+
+com.apple.driver.XsanFilter 2.7.91+
+com.apple.iokit.IOATABlockStorage 2.0.5+
+com.apple.iokit.IOATAPIProtocolTransport 1.5.2+
+com.apple.driver.AppleUSBHub 3.4.0+
+com.apple.iokit.IOUSBUserClient 3.3.1+
+com.apple.driver.ApplePMU 2.5.6d2+
+com.apple.driver.AppleK2SATA 1.0.4f2+
+com.apple.driver.AppleGPIO 1.3.0d0+
+com.apple.driver.AppleVIA 1.5.1d1+
+com.apple.driver.MacIOGPIO 1.3.0d0+
+com.apple.driver.AppleCPUThermo 2.0.0a0+
+com.apple.driver.AppleMPIC 1.5.3+
com.apple.driver.@

And I'm not ashamed to admit that it's all greek to me. Any suggestions? I will investigate the USB card driver and velociraptor interface, and have considered resetting the SMU and buying a new internal clock battery, as those items seem to come up in a lot of threads regarding trouble with G5's and fans.

Thanks again for your help!

Gorf

Reply

Answer 5

BDAqua

Level 10

250,445 points

Jan 22, 2010 1:15 PM in response to Gorf37

With my limited knowledge, I take that to mean that two of my ram sticks (8*1GB) are malfunctioning?

Yes, and if that doesn't cure it it looks like your SATA card was involved in the crash, but that could be a RAM problem also.

Reply

Answer 6

Jan 22, 2010 3:08 PM in response to Gorf37

**Error Code**
POST/0/2048DIMM2/J13,DIMM3/J14

This code is telling you that the RAM DIMMs in slots J13 & J14 have failed the test. Sometimes, it's just that the DIMMs need to be removed and reseated. Of course, it could mean that they've actually failed as well.

The kernal panic report's backtrace is telling us that it's your SATA card, not the USB card, that caused the panic. Based on the driver version listed in the panic report, it's definitely out of date. Sonnet's website lists 2.2.0 as the latest version.

I'd try reseating the RAM and seeing if that fixes the Apple Hardware Test error. Then, update the drivers for the SATA card as that will hopefully fix the kernal panics you're having.

Reply