The fan of a Mac Mini Server mid 2011 is probably not working:
Question: does replacing the fan solves the problem ?
Mac mini, macOS 10.14
Ladies and Gentleman, please do not punish me.
The Mini is back running with the "old" fan.
After reading your note, den.thed, I dismantled the fan and was wondering why I did not have to detach the cable.
It was not attached. I have no clue when and why that happened.
While replacing the RAM, I did not touch the fan.
The first and last time before that the body was opened to replace one HDD right after I bought the Mini in 2011.
However, with your help, I was able to solve the problem.
Thank's a lot.
The machine has been declared obsolete by Apple and cannot be serviced:
”Apple discontinues all hardware service for obsolete products, with no exceptions. Service providers cannot order parts for obsolete products.”
Is there a way to check whether the sensor is getting a signal from the sensors other than running diagnostics, as I did ?
Or should I just give it a try and replace the fan, which is an easy task ?
PS: I am aware of that the Mac Mini is no longer being serviced.
There is no way to get a dependable reading to capture the signal to the fan. You will probably not have the right tools to do so and will not be able to create a working condition to conduct the task and run a test.
The good news is that the odds are in your favor since the fan is the most likely thing that will go out, after a period of time, vs the electrical component that sends the signal. I recommend that if the price of the Fan fits within your economic budget then do it. Keep us posted about your progress please. Thanks.
Axel F.
MacFanControl has all of the temp. sensor read-outs. If they all display a temp. reading, then your problem is most likely the fan or it’s connection to the logic board.
In addition, to prevent the Mac Mini from cooking itself, you should not run it until the fan issue is fixed.
Thank you for your support so far.
I ordered a fan and will give an update after being installed.
It might be of interest what I noticed prior to detecting that the fan is not working.
The Mini was upgraded from 4 to 16 GB two weeks ago, knowing that 8 GB are supported by Apple.
The upgrade went through without any problems.
The difference in speed was quite remarkable. But after running e.g. a video in HD format and then opening a digital darkroom app the Mini became very slow; two times the Mini shut down without notice. It took me a while to detect that the fan was causing the problem.
So, hopefully the high temperature has caused no damage.
The Mini is running so far but now waiting for the fan.
Yep, great news.
The 2011 supports 8 GB officially, but seems to work with 16 GB.
I found statements on serveral sites and gave it a try.
Replacing the fan should solve the issue in most cases. The other thing is whether the fan is getting any signal from the temperature sensors to kick ON.
Axel F.
You're welcome.
The 2011 can take 16GB.
This sounds like someone did not clean properly and now a dust bunny is jammed in the fan.
That is great news. I'm glad to hear that you were able to fix the issue.
You're welcome.
Yeah' you're good to go with 16GB.
8GB was what Apple wrote into the Spec's back in 2011.
Mac Mini fan not working
