Mac Book Pro fan comes on when recording in garage band

Question

Level 1

12 points

Mac Book Pro fan comes on when recording in garage band

This is so annoying. I'm doing reading voice recordings. After a few minutes, the computer gets so hot, that the internal fan goes on and make a humming sound on the recordings! Anyone have this problem? Is there something that you suggest that I do to prevent this from happening. I tried lifting the computer off the desk top so there would be sufficient air circulation, but it doesn't make a difference.

Thanks!

Lianda

MacBook Pro, OS X Mountain Lion (10.8.2)

Posted on Mar 11, 2013 5:40 PM

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Answer 1

Mar 11, 2013 8:03 PM in response to greenscribe

Do what the pros do, move the computer to another room.

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Answer 2

greenscribe Author

Level 1

12 points

Mar 11, 2013 8:16 PM in response to Keith Barkley

I'm a little confused - how do you record if the computer is in a different room? Do you put it in a cooler room? Take the microphone into a different room? (the cord isn't long enough)....

Thanks for your contribution.

Lianda

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Answer 3

isteveus

Level 5

4,340 points

Mar 11, 2013 9:55 PM in response to greenscribe

Are you sure you are recording from your external mic and not the built in mic, macbook pro fans should be so loud they are being picked up by a external mic. Tap on your mic and the mac's mic just to make sure.

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Answer 4

greenscribe Author

Level 1

12 points

Mar 11, 2013 10:26 PM in response to isteveus

Yes, I'm using the Snowball directional mic, but I think the humming in the computer is affecting the sound. I just don't understand why the fan only goes on during Garageband. It takes a LONG time for it to go on when I'm using photoshop - or iMovie!

Thanks,

Lianda

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Answer 5

isteveus

Level 5

4,340 points

Mar 11, 2013 10:39 PM in response to greenscribe

You probably need to get a longer usb cable to move further away. Also maybe try speaking closer to the mic.

Don't know why your garageband is making your mac so warm. Do you have other apps open?

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Answer 6

greenscribe Author

Level 1

12 points

Mar 11, 2013 10:42 PM in response to isteveus

I really need to be near the computer, because I edit as I'm doing the presentation.. The only other app I have open is Word so I can read my script. It only gets hot when I'm recording!

Do you think it would make a difference if I took more of my big garageband & movie files and put them on an external HD?

Thanks again-

Lianda

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Answer 7

isteveus

Level 5

4,340 points

Mar 11, 2013 10:50 PM in response to greenscribe

Using a external drive for the project being worked on should cut down on some of the heat being generated inside the laptop. But just storing files externally won't make a difference.

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Answer 8

greenscribe Author

Level 1

12 points

Mar 11, 2013 10:51 PM in response to isteveus

Thanks! I think I'll try that and hope it works!

Lianda

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Answer 9

léonie

Level 10

200,645 points

Mar 11, 2013 11:13 PM in response to greenscribe

The only other app I have open is Word so I can read my script. It only gets hot when I'm recording!

Word needs plenty of memory. You may want to copy your instructions to a simple text document that you can view with TextEdit, so you do not need to launch the office package.

How much RAM do you have? It may help to invest into more RAM, if your Mac is not maxed out.

If your computer is getting hot without heavy usage try the basic hardware resets: restting the SMC Controller and zapping the PRAM may help:

Resetting the System Management Controller (SMC): http://support.apple.com/kb/ht3964
Resetting your Mac's PRAM and NVRAM: http://support.apple.com/kb/ht1379

Regards

Léonie

P.S. If all fails, you may want to increase the minimum fan speed. This way it will take longer for the fan speed to increase, because the Mac will not heat up so quickly. This neat little app will let you change the minimum fan speed on any Intel based mac:

FAQ smcFanControl

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