[post-genius bar] iMac fan issue persists

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Level 1

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[post-genius bar] iMac fan issue persists

i started experiencing fan issues with my 2008 iMac recently - the fans go into extremely loud overdrive any time i streamvideo online or use my music recording software, sometimes even when editing photos. after resetting the PRAM failed to fix the issue, i brought it in to the apple store. they took a look (reset the PRAM again actually), removed some extraneous software and then kept it overnight for testing. when i called to check in, they said it had failed the hard drive fan test but that the interior was extremely dirty and dusty. they vacuumed it out for me and it passed the test. i brought it home and was extremely disappointed to find that the fan issue persists. i know this is a problem that plagues many machines, so i just wanted to see if anyone had any ideas before i brought it in again.

cheers.

iMac, Mac OS X (10.5.8)

Posted on Nov 9, 2011 7:55 AM

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Answer 1

BGreg

Level 6

17,552 points

Nov 9, 2011 8:01 AM in response to vraveen

While you said you/the store reset the PRAM, did anyone reset the SMC? One of the issues an SMC reset fixes is fans running at high speed even at low system utilization:

Shut down the computer.
Unplug the computer's power cord.
Wait fifteen seconds.
Attach the computer's power cord.
Wait five seconds, then press the power button to turn on the computer.

Have you run the Apple hardware test? Find your original OS X gray-faced disks that came with the system, insert the 2nd disk (should say 'AHT Version x.x' in small print on the label), and reboot holding the alt/option key down (or reboot holding the D key). Choose the Apple hardware test, and choose the extended test when prompted. If it kicks out an 'MOT'/'HDD' error, there's still an issue with the hard drive fan.

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Answer 2

vraveen Author

Level 1

0 points

Nov 9, 2011 5:46 PM in response to BGreg

unfortunately the SMC reset did not resolve the issue. no idea where my original OS X discs are... i'll have to hunt those down. or bring it back in to confirm that there is still an issue with the hard drive fan. thanks.

any other suggestions welcome...

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