User profile for user: Dazzmatic
Dazzmatic Author
User level: Level 1
9 points

"Whooping" Mac Mini (Late 2012)

My Mac Mini has been misbehaving for a while and I haven't been able to find out how to fix it yet, although I seem to have stumbled upon a work-around for the time being.


The problem is that sometimes, the mac will make a rising 'whooping' sound (literally like a child's whooping cough), then the fan accelerates to full speed, spins down again, goes quiet, then the cycle begins again. It was an occasional problem, but now occurs continuously.


I installed 'Macs Fan Control' software, and it shows the fan going from 0 to full speed, then back to 0 again in the cycle.


I believe it may be due to the fact that I upgraded the awful stock 5,000 RPM HD to a Samsung 850 EVO 500GB SSD. I wish Apple provided some decent 'official' upgrades.


I've now set 'Macs Fan Control' to run at system startup, and updated the settings to monitor 'CPU core 1'. The fan now never goes through its crazy roller-coaster ride and the fan/temp is normally around 2,500RPM/43C - pretty normal.


Hardware diags only report this error, which is probably due to the non-standard SSD upgrade: 4HDD/11/40000000:SATA(0,0)


Thanks in advance for any help.

Mac mini, iOS 11.3.1

Posted on May 13, 2018 6:49 AM

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User profile for user: den.thed
den.thed
User level: Level 10
97,234 points

May 13, 2018 4:55 PM in response to Dazzmatic

I concur with tbirdvet, because I've upgraded a dozen or so Late 2012 Mac Mini's with various SSD's and never had a single fan or hardware issue.


I did have a problem keeping the SATA ribbon cable connected to logic board on a couple and ended up putting a small thin piece of foam tape between the cable connection and the black plastic cowling to help hold the connector on.


At this point, I con only suggest going back in and double checking all of the SATA and Temp sensor connections. Especially, all of the Temp sensor cables, because those must be connected and in working order to properly control the fan speed.


In addition, 1800 rpm is the default fan speed for a Late 2012 Mac Mini.

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User profile for user: Dazzmatic
Dazzmatic Author
User level: Level 1
9 points

May 27, 2018 6:26 AM in response to tbirdvet

Thanks to everyone for the helpful replies!


Upon inspection I found that the small connector with approx. 5 wires that is located right next to the RAM DIMM socket had a problem.


The pin nearest to the RAM socket had become dislodged from the plastic connector housing and was protruding. I used a small pair of needle-nose pliers to gently push it back home.


The Mac Mini is now functioning normally.

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"Whooping" Mac Mini (Late 2012)

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