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Arty · Mar 24, 2004, 06:23 AM

After updating to 10.3.2 I was quite unhappy with the way the fan quickly turned on and stayed on on my Powerbook 867Mhz 12".

I applied the patch "Silent Night" to revert back to the previous fan behaviour and (after futzing around to get it installed & working) all is well.

Can anyone tell me what happens if I install 10.3.3? Will the fan come on as frequently again? Can you re-install the patch or manually install the 10.3.1 kext?

Thanks

dhc · Mar 24, 2004, 07:18 AM

I use my 12" G4 powerbook on top of a Koolsink - and while running 10.3.2 the fan hardly ever came on, nor did the machine feel overly hot. Last week I installed the 10.3.3 update only to find frequent fan activity - even while performing 'simple' tasks (writing an email, with no other apps open.) The fan would kick in anywhere between 48C and 52C. I'm not sure if the fan activation parameters are different - there are many who claim it remains the same as in 10.3.2. However - the update DID seem to make my machine work harder and reach those activation points sooner rather than later. Despite the nice touches in 10.3.3 (finder window - networking etc), I have backed up and returned to 10.3.2 where I will stay until this issue is resolved by either Apple or a third party.
Hope this is of some help.

dhc · Mar 24, 2004, 07:31 AM

Incidently - Although I have not tried it personally, I've heard that the Silent Night patch does not work with 10.3.3.

Arty · Mar 24, 2004, 10:16 AM

Originally posted by dhc:
I use my 12" G4 powerbook on top of a Koolsink - and while running 10.3.2 the fan hardly ever came on, nor did the machine feel overly hot..

I am guessing you have a 1Ghz model? They didn't seem to suffer the "always on" fan problem in 10.3.2 from what I have read.

iREZ · Mar 24, 2004, 10:24 AM

I dont know what you guys have going on with your powerbooks. I've had my comp for 3 months now and I've never had a fan come on while doing 'simple' tasks. All I know is I would rather just pop on a few headphones rather then applying a patch to stop it, the fans are coming on for a reason aren't they?

dhc · Mar 24, 2004, 01:38 PM

I dont know what you guys have going on with your powerbooks. I've had my comp for 3 months now and I've never had a fan come on while doing 'simple' tasks. All I know is I would rather just pop on a few headphones rather then applying a patch to stop it, the fans are coming on for a reason aren't they?

Thats great, but in your opinion (as per the thread) is the fan on more frequently in 10.3.3?

Arty - Yeah, I'm running a 1ghz. I'd heard so many complaints regarding the fan issue that I assumed it was across the whole range..Sounds like I'm one of the lucky ones.

Arty · Mar 25, 2004, 08:26 AM

Originally posted by iREZ:
I've never had a fan come on while doing 'simple' tasks. All I know is I would rather just pop on a few headphones rather then applying a patch to stop it, the fans are coming on for a reason aren't they?

Under 10.3.1 my Powerbook got warm if working hard (and only occasionally "hot" if really pushing it- ripping multiple CDs in a row, burning, etc.)

With 10.3.2 the fans came on moments after booting up from a cold start and never really turned off (just lowered the speed a bit)

While the fans aren't exactly "noisy" I much prefer working with a (virtually) silent Powerbook i.e. no fans.

From what I've read, it looks suspiciously like 10.3.3 may crank up the fans again. Seeing as 10.3.2 works fine for me, I guess I won't upgrade until I see a definitive answer on this issue

naderby · Mar 25, 2004, 09:41 AM

15" 1.25Ghz, 1GB SD

Whenever my fan comes on its for one of two reasons:

I'm doing something very intensive. To resolve this I stop doing my intensive task and the fan stops after a short while of cooling.
There is a rogue 'process' or application that has caught itself into some sort of loop. To identify which is reponsible I run 'Activity Monitor' and usually spot one running at around 90% CPU. I force quit this application and sure enough, minutes later the fan goes off.

For me, this happens regularily as both the Finder and InDesign2 often run into problems and find themselves running intensively for no particular reason. I am undecided if it is a font issue yet.

Maybe this happens more often in 10.3.3 which would explain the frequency of problems.

My fan only comes on at 62C.

macintologist · Mar 25, 2004, 09:45 AM

If you just ran MenuMeters and Temperature Monitor in the menu bar, you would be able to see exactly when your fan will come on. Instead of having to guess whether or not an app is sucking up all the CPU just run MenuMeters and you'll see if ur CPU is working excessively when it shouldn't be.

naderby · Mar 25, 2004, 03:44 PM

Originally posted by macintologist:
If you just ran MenuMeters and Temperature Monitor in the menu bar, you would be able to see exactly when your fan will come on. Instead of having to guess whether or not an app is sucking up all the CPU just run MenuMeters and you'll see if ur CPU is working excessively when it shouldn't be.

Thanks. Quite good itn't it? Wonder if it itself uses many resources?