temporarily turn off fan, how?

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temporarily turn off fan, how?

is there a way to turn off the fan on a powerbook G4 1ghz?

Occantionaly i need to record audio using the built in micraphone on the powerbook and the fan noise is just too lound for a clean recording to be made. If there is a way to temporarily turn off the fan it would be a big help.

thanks

1 Ghz tibook, Mac OS X (10.4.5)

Posted on Jun 7, 2006 11:57 AM

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Answer 1

tjk

Level 9

51,192 points

Jun 7, 2006 12:29 PM in response to datagroove

Hi datagroove,

Aside from pulling the plug on one or both of the fans, there is no "switch" to turn them off. Neither am I aware of a software related hack to do so.

A couple of things you could try:

Prop the back of your PB up an inch or two; this allows better air circulation and keeps things cooler, delaying the fan/s turning on.

Unplug the power adapter and work while running on the battery. That normally prevents the power supply fan from kicking in, and at least on mine, seems to keep things a bit cooler/keeps the CPU fan from going on, usally about 15 minutes, depending the type of work I'm doing.

Let the PB cool off to room temp, then do your recording right away, before it gets warm enough to engage the fan (people have posted here that they go as far as to put it in the freezer for a bit, but I'd be worried about condensation afterwards, and would not recommend that).

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Answer 2

datagroove Author

Level 1

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Jun 7, 2006 12:35 PM in response to tjk

thanks for the reply tjk.
I do prop my powerbook up about an inch in the back (i have a 3rd party handle that also serves this purpose)
I have not tried unplugging, i will try that.. it just seems that my fan is always on. i have tried resetting pmu. but that did not help. Actually this laptop has been in an out of apple tech 3 times trying to address loud fan noise.

i just need a manual way to turn it off. Heck even using a isight (positioned a few feet away) is not helping. I have additional outboard gear (mics, soundcards and long cable) but the object is to be able to record with minimal to no external gear.

anyway, thanks for your help. (still hoping to stumble upon some manual means)
datagroove

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Answer 3

tjk

Level 9

51,192 points

Jun 7, 2006 12:39 PM in response to datagroove

Other thoughts: the less that's taxing your CPU, the cooler it will run. If you can afford to turn off widgets and Spotlight while recording, that will help some. Also open Activity Monitor and see what else is running that you may be able to turn off. If you don't run Background Maintenance regularly, do so.

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Answer 4

eww

Level 9

53,052 points

Jun 7, 2006 7:05 PM in response to tjk

One other thing: if Classic is running and doesn't have to be, turn it off. Classic makes one or both of my fans run nearly all the time.

There is no manual shutoff for the fan(s), with good reason. If the fans are running, it's because your Powerbook needs them to be running, and turning them off would subject it to overheating.

Resting the Powerbook's bottom panel temporarily on a sealed frozen cold pack (the sort athletes use) can help — but as tjk says, beware of condensation inside the PB. Don't do this in a humid environment.

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