Upgrading to High Sierra causes iMac to continuously overheat and restart

Question

Level 1

11 points

Upgrading to High Sierra causes iMac to continuously overheat and restart

I have a Mid 2010 iMac and since upgrading to High Sierra my computer keeps restarting. The main issue seemed to be that the new OS is overheating my CPU, because before it restarted, a loud alarm would sound and my mac would be very hot to the touch. Today it restarted a few times, and there was no alarm and it actually wasn't that hot, so I don't know what's going on?

Either way, High Sierra has made my iMac practically inoperable. Anyone else having this problem? Suggestions?

iMac, OS X Yosemite (10.10.2)

Posted on Sep 27, 2017 8:25 AM

Reply

Answer 1

den.thed

Level 10

93,908 points

Sep 27, 2017 10:54 AM in response to rckwell

Open Activity Monitor, in your Applications Utility folder and look for any failed or high CPU Processes.

see > Use Activity Monitor on your Mac - Apple Support

Or optionally if you can, run an EtreCheck report and post back here with the results.

see > http://etrecheck.com/

Reply

Answer 2

DrBx

Level 1

9 points

Dec 10, 2017 3:50 PM in response to rckwell

Similar problem, mid 2013 Mac Pro desktop, upgraded to High Sierra 3 days ago, since then the computer has repeatedly become very hot to the touch and crashed. Turning off the mains power for a few minutes makes it possible to reboot, and there seems so far to have been no loss of data or damage to peripheral ext hard disk drives.

Activity Monitor shows heavy use of uploading daemon, and Littlesnitch s/w shows this data is going to Apple in California. At the same time Photos is uploading many GBs of photos to iCloud.

It looks as though the uploading of data and images is responsible for the overheating and constant crashes, so I‘ve paused the photos upload and tried to track down as many of the automatic reports to Apple as I can, to turn them off. Photos will restart sending data after a while, so it needs to be checked on. In particular, this process continues while in Sleep mode, if the browser is on.

So my temporary fix is always to turn off Safari before putting the machine into sleep mode, and during ordinary use, to pause the photos upload. I installed a hardware monitoring app too but it doesn’t alarm on overheating.

Not elegant, but so far so OK. And I really hope Apple fix this. Never happened with previous OS’s on the MacProdesktop, though I often had overheating problems with MacPro laptops.

Reply

Answer 3

rckwell Author

Level 1

11 points

Sep 27, 2017 7:34 PM in response to den.thed

EtreCheck version: 3.4.5 (455)

Report generated 2017-09-27 22:32:10

Download EtreCheck from https://etrecheck.com

Runtime: 3:01

Performance: Good

Click the [Lookup] links for more information from Apple Support Communities.

Click the [Details] links for more information about that line.

Problem: Computer is restarting

Hardware Information:ⓘ

iMac (21.5-inch, Mid 2010)

[Technical Specifications] - [User Guide] - [Warranty & Service]

iMac - model: iMac11,2

1 3.06 GHz Intel Core i3 (i3) CPU: 2-core

8 GB RAM Upgradeable - [Instructions]

BANK 0/DIMM0

2 GB DDR3 1333 MHz ok

BANK 1/DIMM0

2 GB DDR3 1333 MHz ok

BANK 0/DIMM1

2 GB DDR3 1333 MHz ok

BANK 1/DIMM1

2 GB DDR3 1333 MHz ok

Handoff/Airdrop2: not supported

Wireless: en1: 802.11 a/b/g/n

Video Information:ⓘ

ATI Radeon HD 4670 - VRAM: 256 MB

iMac 1920 x 1080

Disk Information:ⓘ

ST1000DM003-1ER162 disk0: (1 TB) (Rotational)

[Show SMART report]

EFI (disk0s1 - MS-DOS FAT32) <not mounted> [EFI]: 210 MB

Macintosh HD (disk0s2 - Journaled HFS+) / [Startup]: 999.35 GB (176.00 GB free)

Recovery HD (disk0s3 - Journaled HFS+) <not mounted> [Recovery]: 650 MB

OPTIARC DVD RW AD-5680H ()

USB Information:ⓘ

USB20Bus

hub_device

Lexar JD Secure II +

JD Secure II + disk1: (16.04 GB)

Lexar (disk1s1 - MS-DOS FAT32) /Volumes/Lexar : 16.04 GB (13.01 GB free)

Apple Internal Memory Card Reader

Apple Inc. BRCM2046 Hub

Apple Inc. Bluetooth USB Host Controller

USB20Bus

hub_device

Apple Inc. iPhone

Apple Computer, Inc. IR Receiver

Apple Inc. Built-in iSight

System Software:ⓘ

macOS High Sierra 10.13 (17A365) - Time since boot: about 10 hours

Configuration files:ⓘ

/etc/hosts - Count: 14

Gatekeeper:ⓘ

Mac App Store and identified developers

System Launch Agents:ⓘ

[not loaded] 9 Apple tasks

[loaded] 177 Apple tasks

[running] 103 Apple tasks

System Launch Daemons:ⓘ

[not loaded] 36 Apple tasks

[loaded] 188 Apple tasks

[running] 106 Apple tasks

Launch Agents:ⓘ

[not loaded] com.adobe.AAM.Updater-1.0.plist (? ffb65062 17b9373f - installed 2015-03-19) [Lookup]

[loaded] com.adobe.CS5ServiceManager.plist (? 40cdc1ff 21868ea0 - installed 2015-03-19) [Lookup]

[loaded] com.carbonite.launchd.carbonitealerts.plist (? 21f61fa7 82d4604d - installed 2017-09-27) [Lookup]

[running] com.carbonite.launchd.carbonitestatus.plist (? bb5f817b d13283dd - installed 2017-09-01) [Lookup]

Launch Daemons:ⓘ

[loaded] com.adobe.SwitchBoard.plist (? 68cad67 0 - installed 2015-03-23) [Lookup]

[loaded] com.adobe.fpsaud.plist (? 2afb3af7 225fb24b - installed 2017-06-09) [Lookup]

[not loaded] com.apple.installer.cleanupinstaller.plist (? 1963bf56 0 - installed 2017-09-26)

[running] com.carbonite.launchd.carbonitedaemon.plist (? e953575f 61b5c707 - installed 2017-09-01) [Lookup]

User Launch Agents:ⓘ

[loaded] com.adobe.AAM.Updater-1.0.plist (? 6a3cceca 17b9373f - installed 2015-03-23) [Lookup]

[loaded] com.dropbox.DropboxMacUpdate.agent.plist (Dropbox, Inc. - installed 2017-08-10) [Lookup]

User Login Items:ⓘ

Macs Fan Control Application

(/Applications/Macs Fan Control.app)

com.adobe.SwitchBoard.monitor.plist MachInit - Hidden

(/etc/mach_init_per_user.d/com.adobe.SwitchBoard.monitor.plist)

Mach Init items are deprecated

Internet Plug-ins:ⓘ

FlashPlayer-10.6: 26.0.0.126 (installed 2017-06-13) [Lookup]

QuickTime Plugin: 7.7.3 (installed 2017-09-21)

Flash Player: 26.0.0.126 (installed 2017-06-13) Outdated! Update

iPhotoPhotocast: 7.0 (installed 2015-03-17)

JavaAppletPlugin: 15.0.1 (installed 2015-03-17) Check version

3rd Party Preference Panes:ⓘ

Carbonite (installed 2017-09-01) [Lookup]

Flash Player (installed 2017-06-09) [Lookup]

Time Machine:ⓘ

Time Machine not configured!

Top Processes by CPU:ⓘ

15% Safari

8% com.apple.WebKit.WebContent

3% hiutil

1% WindowServer

1% kernel_task

Top Processes by Memory:ⓘ

702 MB kernel_task

252 MB mds_stores

234 MB Adobe Illustrator

199 MB assistant_service

193 MB Safari

Top Processes by Network Use:ⓘ

Input Output Process name

296 KB 67 KB com.apple.WebKit.Networking

30 KB 21 KB mDNSResponder

5 KB 8 KB apsd

6 KB 1 KB com.apple.Safari.SearchHelper

3 KB 2 KB netbiosd

Top Processes by Energy Use:ⓘ

13.18 MacsFanControl

3.12 com.apple.WebKit.WebContent

1.06 Safari

0.80 launchd

0.78 WindowServer

Virtual Memory Information:ⓘ

4.39 GB Available RAM

702 MB Free RAM

3.61 GB Used RAM

3.71 GB Cached files

0 B Swap Used

Software installs:ⓘ

Carbonite: (installed 2017-09-01)

Install information may not be complete.

Diagnostics Information:ⓘ

2017-09-27 12:25:54 Last shutdown cause: -62 - System unresponsive

2017-09-27 12:01:33 com.apple.WebKit.WebContent High CPU use [Open] [Details]

2017-09-27 09:49:55 CarboniteDaemon.app High CPU use [Open] [Details]

Reply

Answer 4

Dec 10, 2017 5:45 PM in response to DrBx

I wonder if it’s this new file system in High Sierra. It’s totally fine in my mid-2012 air, which came with an SSD. But my early 2011 mbp seems to get hotter and worse with each developer update. The regular updates were just as bad so I switched to developer updates in case the fix is faster. I’m really starting to worry stuff inside this thing is going to melt. Yet, I really don’t want to clean install El Capitan, which is what I will go back to. That OS was the most optimal for my mbp.

Reply

Answer 5

jontalk

Level 1

11 points

Sep 27, 2017 10:44 AM in response to rckwell

Curious which processor, how much RAM and which version you have. Mine is a 27", i5 2.7 gHz, version 12.2 with 8 GB RAM. The only software installed is Office 2016 along with a couple of apps from the app store. I'm currently running Sierra and all is well so I don't want to update and have any problems

Reply

Answer 6

pHarps

Level 1

4 points

Nov 3, 2017 12:09 PM in response to Utsava

The same is happening with my mid-2010 iMac and my 2011 MacBook pro since I updated 2 days ago.beeps, shuts down, then restarts.

I now don't trust my computers at all... plus the size of the backup required has increased, so it is failing to back up and won't over-write old files.

Solutions?

Reply

Answer 7

Nov 19, 2017 6:14 AM in response to pHarps

High Sierra is overheating my Early 2011 MacBook Pro. I've stayed on developer beta updates hoping that it will get addressed faster than regular updates, but it's getting pretty bad waiting for any of these updates to work. This computer never worked better than after upgrading to 16GB RAM and a 1TB SSD and El Capitan. Sierra worked ok. High Sierra feels like it's killing it. I'm thinking of downgrading to El Capitan. It's annoying because High Sierra also made lots of older apps not work and a downgrade will have me losing those anyway.

I'm conjecturing that overheating Early 2011 laptops are near to being Apple's lowest priority to even looking into the problem or making a statement about it irrespective of whether they will do anything about it. The thing is, it might be as simple as a background app running that isn't compatible, which is why I wish they would say something about this before I drastically rewrite my hard drive with an older OS.

Reply

Answer 8

vanished

Level 1

4 points

Dec 2, 2017 3:12 AM in response to rckwell

I made a mistake and upgraded my iMac Mid 2010 to High Sierra and now I have the same problem, My iMac dont stay active for more than 30 minutes without restarting itself .... I see the problem is around since September?

are they going to do anything about it?

Reply

Answer 9

Sep 27, 2017 12:07 PM in response to rckwell

I have the same iMac and after a clean install of macOS High Sierra it keeps restarting with 9 Beeps (3 short, 3 longer, 3 short)

Reply

Answer 10

rckwell Author

Level 1

11 points

Sep 27, 2017 7:32 PM in response to kristianfrommaastricht

So you know the problem too...hopefully there's a solution out there.

Reply

Answer 11

rckwell Author

Level 1

11 points

Sep 28, 2017 5:07 AM in response to rckwell

It is also restarting in Sleep Mode now, when overheating is at a minimum.

Reply

Answer 12

Nov 3, 2017 12:49 PM in response to pHarps

Same here, mid 2011 iMac, just installed High Sierra now its running hot, fans kicked on at first then stopped, now very hot to touch, was running just fine before upgrade.

Reply

Answer 13

Utsava

Level 1

4 points

Oct 31, 2017 8:22 AM in response to rckwell

I seem to have a similar problem. late 2009 iMac recently upgraded to High Sierra. It seems to get real hot, one time beeped (thermal shutdown?), but has been randomly rebooting ever since the upgrade. Reboots will generally work fine, after a slow rebooting process, but I've lost all faith in this computer being reliable. Anyone know the cause or likely remedies?

Reply

Answer 14

rckwell Author

Level 1

11 points

Sep 28, 2017 5:05 AM in response to rckwell

EtreCheck version: 3.4.5 (455)

Report generated 2017-09-27 22:32:10

Download EtreCheck from https://etrecheck.com

Runtime: 3:01

Performance: Good

Click the [Lookup] links for more information from Apple Support Communities.

Click the [Details] links for more information about that line.

Problem: Computer is restarting

Hardware Information: ⓘ

iMac (21.5-inch, Mid 2010)

[Technical Specifications] - [User Guide] - [Warranty & Service]

iMac - model: iMac11,2

1 3.06 GHz Intel Core i3 (i3) CPU: 2-core

8 GB RAM Upgradeable - [Instructions]

BANK 0/DIMM0

2 GB DDR3 1333 MHz ok

BANK 1/DIMM0

2 GB DDR3 1333 MHz ok

BANK 0/DIMM1

2 GB DDR3 1333 MHz ok

BANK 1/DIMM1

2 GB DDR3 1333 MHz ok

Handoff/Airdrop2: not supported

Wireless: en1: 802.11 a/b/g/n

Video Information: ⓘ

ATI Radeon HD 4670 - VRAM: 256 MB

iMac 1920 x 1080

Disk Information: ⓘ

ST1000DM003-1ER162 disk0: (1 TB) (Rotational)

[Show SMART report]

EFI (disk0s1 - MS-DOS FAT32) <not mounted> [EFI]: 210 MB

Macintosh HD (disk0s2 - Journaled HFS+) / [Startup]: 999.35 GB (176.00 GB free)

Recovery HD (disk0s3 - Journaled HFS+) <not mounted> [Recovery]: 650 MB

OPTIARC DVD RW AD-5680H ()

USB Information: ⓘ

USB20Bus

hub_device

Lexar JD Secure II +

JD Secure II + disk1: (16.04 GB)

Lexar (disk1s1 - MS-DOS FAT32) /Volumes/Lexar : 16.04 GB (13.01 GB free)

Apple Internal Memory Card Reader

Apple Inc. BRCM2046 Hub

Apple Inc. Bluetooth USB Host Controller

USB20Bus

hub_device

Apple Inc. iPhone

Apple Computer, Inc. IR Receiver

Apple Inc. Built-in iSight

System Software: ⓘ

macOS High Sierra 10.13 (17A365) - Time since boot: about 10 hours

Configuration files: ⓘ

/etc/hosts - Count: 14

Gatekeeper: ⓘ

Mac App Store and identified developers

System Launch Agents: ⓘ

[not loaded] 9 Apple tasks

[loaded] 177 Apple tasks

[running] 103 Apple tasks

System Launch Daemons: ⓘ

[not loaded] 36 Apple tasks

[loaded] 188 Apple tasks

[running] 106 Apple tasks

Launch Agents: ⓘ

[not loaded] com.adobe.AAM.Updater-1.0.plist (? - installed 2015-03-19) [Lookup]

[loaded] com.adobe.CS5ServiceManager.plist (? - installed 2015-03-19) [Lookup]

[loaded] com.carbonite.launchd.carbonitealerts.plist (? - installed 2017-09-27) [Lookup]

[running] com.carbonite.launchd.carbonitestatus.plist (? - installed 2017-09-01) [Lookup]

Launch Daemons: ⓘ

[loaded] com.adobe.SwitchBoard.plist (? - installed 2015-03-23) [Lookup]

[loaded] com.adobe.fpsaud.plist (? - installed 2017-06-09) [Lookup]

[not loaded] com.apple.installer.cleanupinstaller.plist (? - installed 2017-09-26)

[running] com.carbonite.launchd.carbonitedaemon.plist (? - installed 2017-09-01) [Lookup]

User Launch Agents: ⓘ

[loaded] com.adobe.AAM.Updater-1.0.plist (? - installed 2015-03-23) [Lookup]

[loaded] com.dropbox.DropboxMacUpdate.agent.plist (Dropbox, Inc. - installed 2017-08-10) [Lookup]

User Login Items: ⓘ

Macs Fan Control Application

(/Applications/Macs Fan Control.app)

com.adobe.SwitchBoard.monitor.plist MachInit - Hidden

(/etc/mach_init_per_user.d/com.adobe.SwitchBoard.monitor.plist)

Mach Init items are deprecated

Internet Plug-ins: ⓘ

FlashPlayer-10.6: 26.0.0.126 (installed 2017-06-13) [Lookup]

QuickTime Plugin: 7.7.3 (installed 2017-09-21)

Flash Player: 26.0.0.126 (installed 2017-06-13) Outdated! Update

iPhotoPhotocast: 7.0 (installed 2015-03-17)

JavaAppletPlugin: 15.0.1 (installed 2015-03-17) Check version

3rd Party Preference Panes: ⓘ

Carbonite (installed 2017-09-01) [Lookup]

Flash Player (installed 2017-06-09) [Lookup]

Time Machine: ⓘ

Time Machine not configured!

Top Processes by CPU: ⓘ

15% Safari

8% com.apple.WebKit.WebContent

3% hiutil

1% WindowServer

1% kernel_task

Top Processes by Memory: ⓘ

702 MB kernel_task

252 MB mds_stores

234 MB Adobe Illustrator

199 MB assistant_service

193 MB Safari

Top Processes by Network Use: ⓘ

Input Output Process name

296 KB 67 KB com.apple.WebKit.Networking

30 KB 21 KB mDNSResponder

5 KB 8 KB apsd

6 KB 1 KB com.apple.Safari.SearchHelper

3 KB 2 KB netbiosd

Top Processes by Energy Use: ⓘ

13.18 MacsFanControl

3.12 com.apple.WebKit.WebContent

1.06 Safari

0.80 launchd

0.78 WindowServer

Virtual Memory Information: ⓘ

4.39 GB Available RAM

702 MB Free RAM

3.61 GB Used RAM

3.71 GB Cached files

0 B Swap Used

Software installs: ⓘ

Carbonite: (installed 2017-09-01)

Install information may not be complete.

Diagnostics Information: ⓘ

2017-09-27 12:25:54 Last shutdown cause: -62 - System unresponsive

2017-09-27 12:01:33 com.apple.WebKit.WebContent High CPU use [Open] [Details]

2017-09-27 09:49:55 CarboniteDaemon.app High CPU use [Open] [Details]

Reply