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MythicGuitar Author

Level 1

0 points

My early 2008 MacBook is running at an unusually hot temperature?

MacBook information.

Version - 10.5.8

Processor - 2.1 GHz Intel Core 2 Dueo

Memory - 2 GB

Year - 2008

Problem - Almost instantly after I turn on my MacBook, which appears to be in decent physical condition and has been kept in a mostly dust free environment, the temperature rises to 95 - 100C.

I use no more than 5 applications per session, as my MacBook is mainly used for browsing the internet.

As of this writing, my MacBook has an average temperature of 96C, and is physically hot to the touch. The room temperture is roughly 24C.

The vents are clear of dust, and I use canned air every couple of months.

I'm really running out of ideas. Can you guys offer any suggetions? I'm far out of warranty, and am not willing to purchase another Mac at full price.

Help?

MacBook, Mac OS X (10.5.8)

Posted on Nov 20, 2011 2:42 AM

17 replies

Nov 20, 2011 10:12 PM in response to actionmarker

Thank you. I'm going to try running an AHT.

Nov 21, 2011 10:00 AM in response to MythicGuitar

Your Mac is definitely having an overheating issue if it is running at temperates over 60-70c, fan running at full RPM straight away at startup, and you've checked in the Activity Monitor that there are no processes running at 100% CPU that would cause the fan to speed up in such a way. This alone indicates you have a hardware issue.

This overheating problem is exactly the problem I had with my white MacBook late 2006. I took it to an Apple Store and the technician replaced the logic board (replacing the CPU/Heatsink/Fan) which fixed the problem. Hoovering the machine myself made absolutely no difference.

You should probably just send the Mac to a technician as you've already said you're not comfortable opening it yourself. Your AHT results will likely show nothing wrong, as your hardware is actually functioning correctly (in the sense that you've not mentioned anything you can't do on it) it's just that the machine is dissipating too much heat. As i've also said before, it will likely be a thermal paste issue.

My early 2008 MacBook is running at an unusually hot temperature?