15" MacBook Pro runs hot, fan is loud, and incredibly low battery life

Question

moplumsy Author

Level 1

5 points

15" MacBook Pro runs hot, fan is loud, and incredibly low battery life

My 15" MBP was bought in March or April (can't remember) from Singapore Apple Store. Here are the stats:

MacBook Pro 15-Inch, Late 2011

Memory 8 GB 12222 MHz DDR3

Software Mac OS X Lion 10.7.5 (11G63)

Also I'm using about 1/2 of the available 750 GB of storage.

Here's what's up:

1. The fans boot immediately after the computer is turned on and never stop, making everything much too loud...like a plane is taking off or something.

2. The computer is WAY too hot. Right now I'm running Astrill, Chrome, Activity Monitor, and System Utility, and when I put my hands on the thing it feels like my fingers are going to melt.

3. The battery life, even at a full charge, is about an hour overall, which ***** for so, so many reasons.

Here's what I've tried:

1. I took it to the Shanghai Genius Bar, but I think that the language barrier is impeding my ability to really say what's wrong. I backed up, and they wiped the hard drive, re-loaded the OS and put all my old stuff back on the computer. They also deleted SOMETHING from the Preferences part of the library, but I don't know what it was. Everything runs much faster now, but the fan, the heat, and the battery are still having their issues.

2. I've checked the "all processes" CPU usage. There's nothing unusual (as far as I can tell), so I'm at a serious loss as to say why the computer is running so hard. Even with all the processing running as you see below, the fan's still blasting and I've lost 50% battery life in the past 40 minutes.

3. I've tried the fix that requires deleting com.apple.desktop.plist and com.apple.desktop.plist.lockfile. It changed the way the desktop looked and absolutely nothing else.

PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE help me! I'm a graphic designer and often run the CS6 Suite. (Currently, however, I am NOT running any Adobe programs and I'm still experiencing the problems.) It's really important that I am able to run Photoshop, Illustrator, and InDesign at once, and it CAN, but with the heat problems I'm having without ANY of the graphics stuff running, it worries me.

MacBook Pro, Mac OS X (10.7.5)

Posted on Oct 21, 2012 9:25 PM

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Answer 1

joneidi

Level 1

9 points

May 29, 2017 5:15 PM in response to moplumsy

i fixed this

if this issue is not fixed in other solutions

try this

1. take a backup from any users files ( photos, videos, documents,notes,bookmark browser, project...)

2. add a administer user account

3. go to new user

4. delete previous accounts ( delete user and any not important files)

5. import your data in new account from your backup files

this issue is fixed and MacBook is so fast and silent

and cpu process is normal and fast and battery is high life time for 7 hours

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Answer 2

Oct 21, 2012 9:32 PM in response to moplumsy

I have the same model as you and, with 16GB of RAM and a 512GB SSD I've no problems running multiple CS6 apps concurrently. If I were you, I'd first try a simple SMC reset. See if that helps with the fan speeds, heat and battery life (the reset should address all three).

If that doesn't help - I don't know what to tell you. I would download iStat Menus to get an idea of just how hot your MBP is running and how fast the fans are funning. I think that they have a 14-30 day free trial.

Clinton

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Answer 3

Oct 21, 2012 9:35 PM in response to moplumsy

You can try a fresh clean install...no old info or programs, just for a few days and see if issue persists

if it seems unrelated to software there are still some options

(I would HOPE that the genius bar did an SMC reset, but lets face it)

I would personally get a small phillips and pop the bottom case off and pull out a can of compressed air and blow it out

if that doesnt do anything if you are OUT of warranty pop the logic board out flip it over remove heatsink clean all the paste off reapply themal paste (can be found at any electronics store) reseat heatsync...if no fix then you are looking at deeper issues

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Answer 4

moplumsy Author

Level 1

5 points

Oct 21, 2012 9:38 PM in response to Entropywins

Hmmm...so do you think I'm out of options for trying software fixes? I really, really want to do everything possible before doing a clean re-install. (I'll do it if it comes down to saving the computer, but I want to try as much as possible without having to hit the reset button on my life.)

Will hit up the compressed air post-haste and report back, but since I've had the computer for around 6 months, I feel it might not be the issue.

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Answer 5

Oct 21, 2012 9:44 PM in response to moplumsy

Try the SMC reset first. You shouldn't have any debris around your fans - unless you smoke around your computer, maybe.

If the SMC reset doesn't work, download iStat Menus and tell us your highest temps and how fast your fans are running. 8GB should be plenty of RAM to run 4-5 CS6 apps at the same time.

Clinton

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Answer 6

moplumsy Author

Level 1

5 points

Oct 21, 2012 10:18 PM in response to clintonfrombirmingham

Did the SMC reset. (Of COURSE there's no way to confirm it actually worked, but since my computer still sounds like a plane is about to take off I'm assuming it didn't help.) Off to iStat Menus. Will report back. Thanks for your help, guys!

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Answer 7

Oct 21, 2012 10:21 PM in response to moplumsy

Nope - if your fans are still running high - and you'll be able to tell with iStat Menus just how high - then the SMC reset didn't work.

Call back...

Clinton

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Answer 8

moplumsy Author

Level 1

5 points

Oct 21, 2012 11:01 PM in response to moplumsy

Well, according to the iStat menus, my CPU temperature is running at 189 degrees F and the fans are going at 4775.

Battery health is at 97%.

I am at a COMPLETE loss as to what is draining the battery and pushing everything to the max. Is there something in this iStat Menus app that could help me figure that out?

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Answer 9

Oct 21, 2012 11:10 PM in response to moplumsy

189ºF is a bit warmer than you want - my CPU is just now at 145ºF - but your fans are going ballistic. Your 'normal' fan temps are around 2000rpms - mine are both at around 2400rpms just now. 4775 rpms is just unacceptable.

You can 'control' your fans using a couple of different apps, but I wouldn't try that. Since the SMC reset didn't work, I'm afraid that your just going to have to make another trip to the Apple Store. Something's just not right.

I wouldn't worry too much about battery health - it will fluctuate and 97% isn't bad. It's just that temp that's a tad high and those fans that are out of control (but serving to keep the heat down).

Sorry,

Clinton

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Answer 10

Oct 21, 2012 11:25 PM in response to moplumsy

Just took another look at iStat Menus (I've only had it for a couple of days - I used to use the old iStat Pro widget) and it seems as if you can make fan speed defaults and use them instead of relying on your MBPs sensors to take care of the fans... see...

Might want to use that 'medium' speed (there by default as I know I didn't add it) and keep an eye on your temps. If you start heating up to much, go back to the 'Default'.

Clinton

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Answer 11

ChongLi

Level 1

8 points

Oct 25, 2012 12:03 AM in response to moplumsy

Did this start right after you patched to 10.7.5? My early 2011 17 MBP is doing the same thing. CPU is at a constant 25%, Temp 196deg, Fans at 5500!!! Seemed to all start after I patched it from 7.4 to 7.5...

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Answer 12

ChongLi

Level 1

8 points

Oct 25, 2012 1:17 AM in response to ChongLi

So I rebooted to a backup a couple days old and I don't have any high CPU usage, High fan speed, or hot temps... Right before I hit update I said... should I make a backup right now... naaa, what could go wrong with a 10.7 update... It at the EoL anyway... Always Make the Backup....

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Answer 13

Nov 26, 2012 6:26 PM in response to moplumsy

I'd like to get some help on this too, I just downloaded iStat Menu, restarted my computer and immediatly opened to check the statuses, I'm ONLY running Safari (two tabs opened) and the iStat Menu application, my fans are running at 5,472 RPM, and the temperatur is at 172F; I've attempted the SMC reset (and also have resetted the PRAM) but nothing seams to make a difference.Occasionally I attempt to put the computer to sleep and let lay on a table, but I come back only to see the fans are running just the same and the bottom just as hot; I've also shut it down and kept it off for a couple of house, but the second I turn it on the fans go back to the way it was, and the heat suddenly appears; any help?

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Answer 14

moplumsy Author

Level 1

5 points

Nov 26, 2012 6:29 PM in response to Oramasalexander

Yay! I finally got it sorted! Took it to the Apple Store...it spent ALL NIGHT getting a hardware/software diagnostic...they called me the next day and said it was the "Send to Kindle" app that was causing the problem. They deleted it and lo and behold, all behaviors/fan speeds/battery life is back to normal.

Yay!

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Answer 15

Nov 26, 2012 6:36 PM in response to moplumsy

I don't have that app downloaded, nor too many ( other than Adobe CS5, iLife, Office, Aperture & Final Cut, and a couple games )

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