fans not reacting to overheat

magnethead · Jul 1, 2011

My GF has a 19" MBP that she recently bought at the university auction. It's fine for internet browsing, but if we pull up netflix/youtube/ect, the CPU pegs to 100C and stays there. Last night it ran bouncing between 100 and 101C for 45 minutes before the screen stopped responding, but the audio kept playing.

I've read that the CoreDuo's ran hot, but what shocks me, is that the fans aren't responding to the heat. They're at 2600 RPM (floating +-50 RPM as fans will do) whether she's in firefox or netflix.

I wouldn't be surprised if it is packed in dust. I just blew a couple pounds of dust out of our DLP TV 2 weeks ago, and I build my own desktops, I'm no stranger to dust. How hard would a MBP be to blow out?

Thanks.

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bobtomay · Jul 1, 2011

There's no such thing as a 19" Mac notebook - 17" is largest size they make.

You can click on the Apple at the top left - About this Mac - to see what processor it has - click More Info - to see all sorts of stuff.

everymac.com - great site to visit to find all sorts of info about any mac

ifixit.com - to find tear down and parts replacement tutorials

(90+C will not be unusual - would guess you're probably right about it being clogged with dust though)

BrianLachoreVPI · Jul 1, 2011

Dust could definitely be a contributor to the slightly excessive heat. You might try an SMC reset Link and see if the fans respond normally after that. They definitely should be cranking at those temps.

magnethead · Jul 1, 2011

bobtomay said:
There's no such thing as a 19" Mac notebook - 17" is largest size they make.

I'll look next time I see her, but i'm pretty sure it's 2" bigger than my 17", and definitely about 5 pounds heavier (I can lift mine one-handed, but not hers)?

So the SMC is like MAC's version of BIOS?

Animechick · Jul 1, 2011

Babe, you are not taking my Mac apart, I'll take it to a Apple store or something. I love you but no.

Also its a 2007 model and yes it's 17" we downloaded the SMC fan application on it to make the fans turn faster, and I can get them up to around 5,000rpm and the max I've seen the temp is 102C°. I use a small personal fan under it as well to try and cool it down when I get impatient.

McYukon · Jul 1, 2011

Another tip, Apple - Find Out How - Mac Basics - Capture Screen Shots

Nervousness · Jul 3, 2011

Was the computer ever exposed to humidity? My computer's SMC has also been refusing to spin up the fans, more so recently than ever, and I want to know if it could be related to the humidity it was exposed to throughout its life. Of course, you might not know this if you bought it used at that auction.

Some people are concerned about SMCfancontrol may wear out the fans prematurely, but I'm not sure how much evidence there is of this. I know that I could buy a replacement fan for $60 and probably replace it myself, so it seems worth the risk compared to the possibility of cumulative thermal damage to the rest of the computer. You might want to look into how difficult it would be to replace a fan in your model.

I have the late 2008 15" unibody, 5000 RPM works very well and is much quieter than the max of 6000, but at this speed it shouldn't go above 90 C. Maybe you do have dust buildup.