MacBook Air Overheating

Question

Level 1

19 points

MacBook Air Overheating

Okay, so recently I installed a 480 GB SSD into my computer, and now I am having an issue with the computer completely overheats after a random interval of time (15 min to like 4 hours, so it really depends), but my computer gets to a basically frozen state where I have to force shut down, and wait for half an hour for the computer to cool down. The weird thing is, I don't really hear the fans...

Possible Ideas I think might have that caused the issue:

1. Dirty/ Broken fan

2. Malware (Stupid Parallels Desktop)

So, what do you guys think it is? And how could I fix it?

MacBook Air (11-inch Mid 2012), OS X Yosemite (10.10.3)

Posted on Apr 15, 2015 7:08 PM

Reply

Answer 1

Jan 3, 2017 4:27 PM in response to wiifan

I am having exactly the same problem with a 480GB Aura that is just under two years old, on a mid 2013 MBA 5,2. I'm sure you've figured out your problem, but I thought I'd annotate the thread for others who might have the same problem, because it was confirmation of my problem.

For others with the problem, I found that 4 hours was the necessary amount of time I needed to let it sit in order to complete a full backup without the system freezing.

My strategy has been:

1) Reset NVRAM

2) Reset SMC

3) Test the user above's SIP suggestion - I've definitely run into issues with that before

4) Run the Apple Hardware Test

5) Install the original HD and see if the problem persists

Reply

Answer 2

Kappy

Level 10

361,741 points

Apr 15, 2015 7:26 PM in response to wiifan

Runaway applications can shorten battery runtime, affect performance, and increase heat and fan acti…

Open Activity Monitor in the Utilities folder. Select All Processes from the View menu. Click on the CPU tab in the toolbar. Click twice on the CPU% column header to display in descending order. If you find a process using a large amount of CPU time (>=70,) then select the process and click on the Quit icon in the toolbar. Click on the Force Quit button to kill the process. See if that helps. Be sure to note the name of the runaway process so you can track down the cause of the problem.

Reply

Answer 3

OGELTHORPE

Level 9

57,305 points

Apr 16, 2015 3:58 AM in response to wiifan

What are the exact temperatures that are occurring?

Run an Apple hardware Test:

https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT201257

Note that an error free AHT is not definitive.

Ciao.

Reply

Answer 4

wiifan Author

Level 1

19 points

Apr 16, 2015 7:54 AM in response to Kappy

Thank you for this good tip. I will try to use this trick the next time my computer "freezes." (It can take hours to overheat sometimes so...)

Reply

Answer 5

wiifan Author

Level 1

19 points

Apr 25, 2015 6:10 PM in response to OGELTHORPE

For some reason, I can't get past the "Choose your network" screen. I have to manually type in my SSID and password, and it says I'm connected, but it doesn't move onto the hardware test.

Reply

Answer 6

wiifan Author

Level 1

19 points

Apr 25, 2015 11:21 PM in response to Kappy

FYI, when the computer freezes, Activity Monitor Freezes too.

Reply

Answer 7

Apr 26, 2015 6:44 PM in response to wiifan

What kind of SSD did you install? Apple's or aftermarket?

Was it new or used? If used, the prior owner may have sold you his lemon.

Did you install it or did a service provider do so?

I can't remember if you had to disconnect the fan during the SSD upgrade.

If so, I suspect it may be still disconnected.

Do you have iStat menu's installed to see what temperatures you are actually experiencing and where.

You can use it for free in demo mode for a few days, I think.

It will identify the temperature sensor that may be experiencing the greatest heat. It should be the CPU die.

The iStat software also has a fan controller which you can speed up your fan to lower temperatures.

If you have an aftermarket SSD installed I can see where high temperature could cause errors (and computer freezes) due to slower timing.

Apple usually over tests their products so they are more reliable and we all pay for that extra testing with higher prices.

The hard drive and RAM is where I would rather have more reliability so I usually opt for premium drives and RAM from reliable sources.

My 2012 13inch Macbook Air battery (3 years later) is now having problems and probably needs to be replaced.

The extra charging I now have to perform causes additional heat.

What is the condition of your battery?

There are many software applications that can run and put increased load on a processor and generate more heat.

Microsoft's one drive, dropbox, and internet backups are just a few.

Antivirus programs are constantly running and if scanning the drive can increase heat.

As discussed above, Apple's Activity monitor can help identify these.

The 3 hour demo version of Little Snitch may be able to help to determine excessive internet traffic.

Finally, try booting into safe mode without extensions. iStat will probably not work here.

To see if you can boot to the network drive, I would suggest a wired ethernet connection instead.

You would have to get the USB to ethernet or the lighting to ethernet adapter.

Are you using a newer operating system than you had in the past with your smaller SSD?

Reply

Answer 8

wiifan Author

Level 1

19 points

Apr 26, 2015 4:35 PM in response to Lukcresdera

I installed myself a new OWC 480 GB SSD. I did not disconnect the fan. The makers claim that their SSD is faster than Apple's. In order to transfer my data originally, I had to re download Lion, download Yosemite, then transfer data. When I transferred the data, they were on the same OS. Now I think the old one has a slightly older OS. (10.10.1-10.10.2 beta). The fans are running, so I don't think they are broken.

To be honest, I notice that when I am charging and connected to my TV via Thunderbolt, the MacBook will heat up in 10 minutes flat. When I am unchanging and just surfing the web and using word, I can go like 4 hours and nothing happens. The charging might be causing the heat, but the battery is at 89% health.

In the toolbar, I usually have 3 cloud storage services running (Dropbox, OneDrive, Google Drive) so that might be an issue.

I think my computer is just old and I have to live with this junk unless I want to buy a new PC (I do not have the cash to spend on a MacBook Pro, so...)

Reply

Answer 9

Apr 26, 2015 6:31 PM in response to wiifan

onedrive is known to use power.

I would also be suspicious of driving the TV.

Driving an external monitor uses a lot of power.

how much ram is in that system? 4gb or 8gb?

IF only 4gb you are probably doing a lot of memory swaps that wastes power.

the integrated graphics requires extra memory to drive the external monitor.

I don't use my MacBook Air to drive an hdtv.

Reply

Answer 10

wiifan Author

Level 1

19 points

Apr 26, 2015 6:50 PM in response to Lukcresdera

Ok, I downloaded iStat, and watched a 22 min episode of a show from the MacBook Air on the HDMI TV successfully, and iStat was reaching temperatures of 180ºF without the charger plugged in. Right now, my computer is ranging from 110º to 140º F without the charger. What is a temperature I should start to worry at? (Btw, this info is the computer die, and I have closed every program except the browser, finder, and istat.) Also, my MacBook has 4 GB of RAM (WHICH HAS BEEN THE BAIN OF MY EXISTENCE FOR THE PAST 3 YEARS ALONG WITH 64 GB of storage until recently.) Btw, this is my main and only computer, so this overheating thing can be a huge issue if I'm in the middle of an unsaved document, which has happened before. Thank goodness it doesn't entirely freeze and it barely lets me save, or I would've been toast on a couple of essays.

Reply