mark
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Post by mark on Dec 27, 2008 11:24:51 GMT
Happy Christmas All The cooling fan on my MacBook is always on and at full speed, I have had the top of and the inside of the MacBook is clean, ant ideas? ? Mark
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Post by Forum Cat on Dec 27, 2008 12:59:06 GMT
Have a look at Activity Monitor.
Are there any processes running flat out?
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Post by CyberChimp on Dec 27, 2008 15:28:22 GMT
Has your MacBook's fan always done this, or is it something which has only started happening recently?
(also how old is the MacBook, and have you had it from new?)
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mark
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Post by mark on Dec 30, 2008 11:30:07 GMT
My MacBook is coming up to it's third birthday and yes I have had it from new. The fan started to run all the time about three months ago, I have taken it to the Apple Store and they blew it out to remove any dust but other than that were not to interested other than to suggest I put it in for a major diagnostic test. I haven't done that yet. I don't think there is anything running that is causing the fan to run but then I am not to sure on how to check. Although this MacBook has had a hard life it has always been looked after. My concern is that is will pack up on me if I don't stop the fan running all the time? Thanks for your help with this matter. Mark
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Post by CyberChimp on Dec 30, 2008 13:12:49 GMT
The Activity Monitor.app application should be in your Utilities folder within your Applications folder.
Once running it should open a window, most of which is taken up with a list of all the processes which are running (and details about several features of each process including it's ID, the amount of CPU resource it is using, etc). By default this list will often show processes used by your user account ("My Processes"), but drop down menu (probably labelled as "show") allows you to view all running processes ("All Processes").
Towards the bottom of the window is likely to be some details for CPU usage (it can also show other usage including System Memory, Disc Activity, etc - if it is showing any of these by default click on the CPU button). This will probably offer percentage breakdowns for CPU usage based on User and System processes (both as percentage figures and a graph).
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If your overall CPU usage is being reported as very high this could be a likely candidate to account for the constant fan. Constant high CPU usage would most likely be due to: a) having lots of (desired) applications / processes all running at the same time. b) having a rogue application / process running constantly in the background (an example of this could be something like a printer utility going bad and constantly trying far too hard to print a non-existent file to a non-existent printer).
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Let us know what the Activity Monitor.app reveals.
ps. if you do take it an Apple Store - or anywhere else for investigation it may be worth backing up your data first as a possible cure might involve clean reinstall of OS X (if you're worried about the health of your Mac now may be a good time to back up anyway just incase).
edit 31.12.2008: corrected typo
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mark
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Post by mark on Dec 30, 2008 21:45:56 GMT
Thanks for your advice CyberChimp I will let you know how I get on. Mark
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mark
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Post by mark on Dec 31, 2008 17:13:25 GMT
In the activity monitor i found "Launched" running at 524.00KB and Pboard running at 588.00KB, should I quit both of these processes ?
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Post by Forum Cat on Dec 31, 2008 18:15:07 GMT
In the activity monitor i found "Launched" running at 524.00KB and Pboard running at 588.00KB, should I quit both of these processes ? In the main widow click on the column heading that says "CPU" This will rank all of the processes in order of how much CPU they are using. Tell us what the top two or three are. There is no need to quit the processes that you mention.
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Post by CyberChimp on Dec 31, 2008 18:38:44 GMT
If the processes were being described in terms of their KB usage you are probably looking at their memory usage.
You need to be looking at CPU usage - which will give an indication of how hard the CPU is having to work. The CPU usage will normally be expressed as a percentage of the CPU's total capacity. The harder the CPU has to work (the closer it is to 100% of it's capacity being used) the more heat it will tend to generate.....
The CPU core's temperature is usually monitored by the computer. If it gets too hot the computer will tend to either reduce the CPU's maximum capacity, turn on as many fans at full pelt as it can, or switch the computer off (depending on it's settings). Lots of heat being generated by the CPU can also begin to raise the overall temperature inside the computer (especially within a laptop case). This temperature is usually also monitored (and if it gets too hot will potentially result in fans at full pelt, etc).
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If the laptop's fans are always on going at full pelt it is best to check for CPU hogging applications using Activity Monitor.app when no programmes are running (this makes it easier to spot something using lots of CPU capacity when it shouldn't be).
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Post by HeatherKay on Jan 1, 2009 10:22:50 GMT
Stoopid question: Does the problem go away if you restart?
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mark
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Post by mark on Jan 1, 2009 21:13:08 GMT
In the activity manager under CPU Print Job Manager is running at 99.9%, should I highlight and then quite process? Could this be the problem do you think? Mark
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Post by Forum Cat on Jan 1, 2009 21:35:45 GMT
In the activity manager under CPU Print Job Manager is running at 99.9%, should I highlight and then quite process? Could this be the problem do you think? Mark Yes that is your problem. Quit the process and all should be well. As I understand it the Mac is searching for a printer that it can't find in order to complete a printing task. The Chimp may have more detail but this is the blighter that is causing your problem. Cat
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Post by wierdostomps on Jan 1, 2009 21:42:21 GMT
Before quitting, it might be worth going into the print queue and seeing whether there is a job stuck in the queue for a missing or non-existent printer. If there is, delete the job before quitting. That should ensure that the problem doesn't reoccur.
Tim
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Post by CyberChimp on Jan 3, 2009 1:33:56 GMT
Before trying to sort out the Print Job Manager it may be worth getting some info from your Mac via the Activity Monitor.app, just incase you need it (a) to help sort the problem out (b) incase a similar problem occurs again in the future (in which case you - or someone else - can compare the details)......
Open Activity Monitor.app. Single left click on Print Job Manager process (so that it becomes highlighted) in the main part of it's window. Now that you done this, Activity Monitor.app should give you the option to Inspect Process. There may be a button on the top left of your Activity Monitor.app window titled "inspect", alternatively you will probably be able choose "Inspect Process" from "view" at the top of the screen.
If the mini window which pops up includes an option called "Open Files and Ports" click on this and it will give you a list of gibberish which includes all of the individual files on your computer which are in use and connected to the process. Left single click anywhere in the list. After that, select all (by pressing the command key - the one with a squiggle on next to the space bar - at the same time as your "a" key) and the whole of the list should get highlighted. Next, press the command key and "c" key together to copy the gibberish to your clipboard. And finally open TextEdit.app and paste the gibberish into a document, then save the document (with a name that will mean something to you) in a new folder somewhere you'll remember.
take a breath
Go back to Activity Monitor.app. Make sure that Print Job Manager is still highlighted and this time you want to Sample Process. There may be a button on the top left of your window, alternatively it should be one of the options available from "view" at the top of your screen. This should pop up another window of gibberish, but this time there should be a button titled "save". If you click the "save" button it should give you the option to choose where to save to (the same folder as you created for the previous text document is probably the best place).
You can now close Activity Monitor.app (and all it's popped up windows), breath a sigh of relief and pour yourself a drink!
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If you're lucky, then force quitting the Print Job Manager from Activity Monitor.app may fix things once and for all (keep your fingers crossed while doing so).
If the roaring fan re-appears again however the next time you restart the computer then the chances are that some software / drivers will need deleting (and depending on if you actually have the relevant printer(s) possibly re-installing).... this is in part what all the previous palaver with getting details about the process from Activity Monitor.app was for.
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mark
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Post by mark on Jan 3, 2009 18:10:57 GMT
Yipee we have done it, the fan has stopped. Thank you all for your help in solving my problem, I can now surf in quite. Thanks again. Mark
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