Mac Pro Smell

I just bought a new machine and have noticed a scent, but mine smells like vanilla. Seriously. It's actually really pleasant. I can only smell it if I position my nose directly over the back handle (I assume due to the fan). Should I be worried?

I assume that you have removed the plastic stickers stuck on the side pannel when you opened the side panel?!?
I discovered about those stickers many months after using my MacPro and reading several posts.

Rio.

I went through the same thing when I got my 8-core about a month ago. I called AppleCare and they were very concerned at first. They wanted me to take the unit to an Apple Store, but since the nearest one is over an hour away, I started the DOA process. On the recommendation of a second level tech, I took it to a nearby Authorized Service Center to be checked out before they declared it DOA. They guy in the service center said that every Mac Pro he has set up has the smell at first, so it appears to be normal in his experience. He thinks it is caused by a protective resin coating on the RAM PCB's and/or RAM riser card PCB's and should diminish over time as it burns away. It's been about 3 1/2 weeks now and the smell has almost totally gone, though I still get a whiff every now and then.

17" CD Macbook Pro, Mac Pro Octo Mac OS X (10.4.9) 2GB Memory MacBook Pro / 4GB Mac Pro

You may want to give AppleCare a call if the smell doesn't diminish very shortly.

I poked my head in my Mac Pro today after getting tired of the smell, and discovered the CPU heatsinks are speckled with partially-melted plastic shavings which are presumably the source of the odor. Looks quite reminiscent of a car's grille after a road trip.

The power supply also smells, but I can't see in there so no idea if it's in the same condition. I'm calling AppleCare tomorrow and will hopefully have a tech out Thursday to do... something.

You may want to give AppleCare a call if the smell
doesn't diminish very shortly.

I poked my head in my Mac Pro today after getting
tired of the smell, and discovered the CPU heatsinks
are speckled with partially-melted plastic shavings
which are presumably the source of the odor. Looks
quite reminiscent of a car's grille after a road
trip.

The power supply also smells, but I can't see in
there so no idea if it's in the same condition. I'm
calling AppleCare tomorrow and will hopefully have a
tech out Thursday to do... something.

The power supply unit is probably the culprit. I have the same problem. I'm working with a good tech at AppleCare to try and correct it. Let me know if want his number.


Mac Pro 3.0 9g Ram, Radeon X1900 xt, 4-750 Seagates, 30" Cinema Mac OS X (10.4.9) G4, G5 Desktops, 2 MacBooks

From another forum: http://forums.macrumors.com/showthread.php?t=297878&page=2

"Update: The repair shop just rang me and said that the smell comes from a chip with heatsink on the logic board and that this chip seems to be overheating. They have ordered a new logic board.

This is interesting insofar as all smelly macs that I have read about had the power supply unit replaced."

<dennis hopper>
Ahhh... I LOVE the small of Mac Pro in the morning!
</dennis hopper>

Well my MacPro is pretty big so I don't think he'd like mine.

Mac Pro 3.0 9g Ram, Radeon X1900 xt, 4-750 Seagates, 30" Cinema Mac OS X (10.4.9) G4, G5 Desktops, 2 MacBooks

No my new 8core doesn't stink, but I have an iBook older G3 that doees smell like armpits and yes stinks up the whole room. Sadly it didn't stink until I sent it back to apple for repair, this was a recall repair and after 2 years of trying to convince apple of the problem,(until they did the recall). I had already bought a new powerbook. Now we just call it old stinky and use it in emergencys. If it was a new mac I would get on the phone with apple and tell them all about it, feel free to have them contact me, I would love to get a new ibook for mmy trouble.
Thanks,
Sleeper

A relative just got a MacBook and I set it up for her. During the first few hours of use I noticed a smell and I got lightheaded. I opened some windows and let the machine run for a few more hours and it seems to have dissipated. Try putting the machine through a "burn-in" period to burn off any original residues.

Well I bought a new Mac Pro Quad 3,0 a few weeks ago. After some hours it started to smell very badly. You couldn't stay in the same room. Smelled like a sort of ammonia. I thought that it might help to run the machine under heavy load, to "burn out the problem." So I ran the machine 24 hours for 4 days in a separate room. It didn't change anything. So I called the company I bought it from. They replaced the PSU. Now after one week I ran into the same problem.

Wonder what to do now? Has anyone solved the problem?

Cheers

Udo

Thanks for the offer, Ken. The AppleCare techs I talked to (I was escalated) ultimately told me to try the Apple Store I bought it from since I was still in the return window.

The Genius there verified I wasn't crazy regarding the smell from the CPU and the plastic shavings on the heatsinks, and they ended up exchanging the whole system for me. One of the heatsinks actually looked to me like something impacted and then was dragged along it. Not good. From the way he described it, they would probably have been swapping out the entire logic board and both heatsinks anyway, so the new system was easier given the timing.

My original system was manufactured in China; the new system was manufactured in the US. The new one just plain smells like fresh electronics, nothing like the funky odor coming out of the first one.

All's well here now, and I still can't believe how quiet these machines are.

Hi Udo,

exactly the same issue with a reburbished 3.0 Mac Pro here.
The smell doesn´t go away but luckily (after 4 weeks of trying) my local Apple Certified Repair Center said that I could bring it in. Before that I was on the phone with German Apple Care and the rep said that he knows of 1 case but cannot tell me any solution.

I really recommend you to bring your Mac to an Apple repair station in order to have it checked.

kind regards
Tom

Mac Pro 3.0 Mac OS X (10.4.10)

Hi Tom,

the story so far....PSU changed, all parts inside checked, no solution, the Mac Pro still smells strange (and this means: you can't be in the same room while the machine runs....). My Apple Repair Center said, there is no bad or broken part inside, but the cables are indeed smelling chemical, the rear fan blows the bad smell into the room. But they can't change the cables, so they offered a new machine. We'll see if that solves the problem.

Any new development with your machine?

Cheers

Udo

PS. regarding the German Apple Care Center, I also talked to them and they never heard of the problem...maybe they are not able to use google and the words: mac pro, bad smell or bad odor.....otherwise they would come up with the idea, that there is indeed something going wrong with some of the machines.

I've had my Mac Pro replaced once already, the first one had the random 'turn myself off' problem. Apple had it for 1 month and didn't fix it, so I got a replacement.

Not only did the replacement take 2 weeks to get to me after the order was placed, one of the rubber feet under the processor was not fixed properly and fell out when I opened the case and then to top it off, IT STINKS!

I haven't called Apple about it because I don't want to be without the machine for a month again, but the smell hasn't gone away and it's starting to make me feel ill. The whole room smells like rotting carpet.

Apple, I know you're listening... come on, I buy lots of these machines for work, you can do better. Expect a call from me soon.

Dan.

Our Mac Pro has also had the Power Supply changed,Logic Board changed.There is less smell now,but I can still feel it.I'll wait couple of days and unless the smell goes completely away I will send the computer back to Apple.