iMac fan running at high speed during sleep or shutdown

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iMac fan running at high speed during sleep or shutdown

iMac late 2012. Just installed Catalina and the very next time iMac went into sleep mode, fan came on at high speed. Also in shutdown mode fan comes on immediately at high speed. Tried SMC reset about a dozen times, tried PRAM reset 3 times, on activity monitor accountsd was using up a lot of CPU time so forced quit, tried reinstalling Catalina. So far no success. Tried to run diagnostics but when I press D at restart get just a white screen. My only solution so far is to turn off sleep mode. I can live with this but obviously would like to fix the underlying problem.

iMac 21.5″, macOS 10.15

Posted on May 30, 2020 8:00 AM

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Answer 1

Top-ranking reply

rkaufmann87

Level 10

145,246 points

May 30, 2020 8:06 AM in response to PhilipA100

When you reset the SMC were all external peripherals disconnected? If you did not take that step, please do and then reset the SMC 2-3 times back to back and test. Your problem may be caused by one of your peripherals.

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Answer 2

rkaufmann87

Level 10

145,246 points

May 30, 2020 12:43 PM in response to PhilipA100

If the SMC reset doesn't do it, please check the air intakes and vacuum them to get as much dust out as possible. If the problem persists after the cleaning then please post an EtreCheck report per the instructions below:

Please navigate to the Mac App Store or navigate to www.Etrecheck.com and download the free version of EtreCheck. Once you have you downloaded the app and installed it, please run the report and save it. This report will help us get a good idea what has been installed on your system and help us be able to diagnose what may be wrong.

When you have your report, you can attach it when you reply to this message and we can then review it and help you determine what is needed to get your system running well again.

For instructions on how to download your EtreCheck report and attach it to your reply to this message please click https://discussions.apple.com/docs/DOC-250000211

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Answer 3

BDAqua

Level 10

245,645 points

May 30, 2020 5:46 PM in response to PhilipA100

Delete these files & restart...

~/Library/LaunchAgents/com.jdibackup.ZipCloud.notify.plist

~/Library/LaunchAgents/com.jdibackup.ZipCloud.autostart.plist

~/Library/LaunchAgents/com.epicgames.launcher.plist

~ tilde indicates hidden Home Library.

Apple hid the Users' Library folders...

Method 1:

From the Finder, select the Go menu at top of the screen, and choose Go to Folder.
In the window that opens, enter ~/Library, and click Go.

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Answer 4

PhilipA100 Author

Level 1

9 points

May 30, 2020 9:27 AM in response to rkaufmann87

thanks yes i disconnected everything except keyboard and mouse and power. Not for all the attempts but at least 2-3 times. I can try again. My SMC reset involves shut down, unplug for about 15 secs, reconnect, wait 5 secs and reboot. That is all I've seen online how to do it for an iMac.

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Answer 5

BDAqua

Level 10

245,645 points

May 31, 2020 11:42 AM in response to PhilipA100

Hmmm, nothing obvious...

To find out if it's system wide or user specific, try this...

Open System Preferences>Users & Groups, unlock the lock, click on the little plus icon, make a new admin account, log out & into the new account.

Does it work in the new account?

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Answer 6

PhilipA100 Author

Level 1

9 points

Jun 2, 2020 3:44 PM in response to BDAqua

I did a reinstall of Catalina earlier and didn't help.

However, I just noticed a change. In sleep mode the high-speed fan comes on but then goes off after ~ 1 min. That is different than when it first started, when the fan stayed on permanently in sleep mode.

In shutdown mode the fan stays on permanently.

I can live with this. I don't put it into shutdown mode often and when I do I can just unplug to turn off the fan.

Thanks for the suggestions but for a 8-year old iMac I'm just going to live with this issue.

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