[DL_AMG]

I search the site and can't really find the solution...so here I go...

New here and enjoy the new (used with 2yr AppleCare remained) TiBook 1G very much but with one little problem...Fan Noise when plug into AC adapter.

The TiBook is nice an quite when it is on the battery and the (1st)fan will not turn on unless heavy use. 2ndary fan has never turn on under battery power. When I plug the AC adapter to Tibook, the 1st stage fan will kick in in about 1 min and 2ndary fan will kick in in about 3-4 mins without doing anything...just leave the Tibook on.

My Mac friend has 2 Tibook 400 and 687 and when he upgraded my TiBook to OSX (had it for a week) and notice the same issue...but he said maybe 1G will run hotter...

I brought my laptop back to 2 different Apple Stores to check and both say is normal...I guess 1G TiBook really run HOT?! Even without doing anything, just sitting. I even lower the CPU performance to reduce(same as battery setting) with same result.

Any of you experience the something or any advise?

edit: My 2.5 yr old Vaio is quieter when it come to fan noise...

[waxcrash]

Your situation is odd. I have a TiBook 800 MHz and a TiBook 1 GHz. Of the two, the 800 MHz is louder. My 1 GHz is quiet. The only time I get the fans to come on is when I'm playing a graphic intensive game (Warcraft III, Halo, Ghost Recon, Sim City 4) but when doing normal work like e-mail and web browsing the fan doesn't come on. Even when I'm doing my graphic work (Photoshop, Illustrator, QuarkXPress) the fan doesn't come on. It makes no difference whether I'm plugged in or running off the battery.

[DL_AMG]

So that's not normal then...why Apple Store Genies keep saying is normal??

[southtdi]

First what version of OSX are you running? That seems to make a difference. I have a Ti 867mhz and the fan problem has come and gone related to the version of OSX installed. I started with Jaguar version 10.2.6 and had no fan problem until I upgraded to Panther. Each version, except 10.3.2, has got the fan running a bit quieter but I have found that you need to reset the PMU every so often to help keep it down.

You also need to realize sonething about titanium. Is it an insulator not a consuductor of heat. At least not in the smae sense as aluminum. Due to this the outside will probably be a littel cooler (still warm) than the Albook but the Albook will be cooler internally since aluminum is a far better conductor of heat. Not that big of deal but something to be aware of.

I recommend resetting the PMU and see if that helps. I have found that makes a big difference when I start hearing the fan run more than I think it shluld be.

Here are the instructions on how to di it from the apple support pages.......

PMU Reset Instructions

Select the one that says "PowerBook G4 (DVI) and PowerBook G4 (1GHZ/867MHZ)" and it will tell you exactly how to do it.

[waxcrash]

Originally posted by southtdi:
You also need to realize sonething about titanium. Is it an insulator not a consuductor of heat. At least not in the smae sense as aluminum. Due to this the outside will probably be a littel cooler (still warm) than the Albook but the Albook will be cooler internally since aluminum is a far better conductor of heat. Not that big of deal but something to be aware of.

Another thing to also keep in mind is where you place your PowerBook. Is it flat on a desk? I use an iCurve, so the bottom of my PowerBook 1 GHz is exposed and can achieve maximum cooling.

[DL_AMG]

southtdi,
Thanks for the information and tips. I will try to reset the PMU to see if it will improve. When I got the TiBook, it was on a 1 yr old OS (I'm new to Mac). Within 2 wks, my Mac friend had reinstalled everything with new OSX Panther. The Fan(s) kick-in time has no different between the 2 OSs.
Last night was first time that both fans started on awake from sleep and the TiBook is plugging on AC for charging (orange light). So I guess when my TiBook see the AC plugged the Fan(s) will turn. Now I always running on my battery whenever I can to avoid the fan(s) noise. I installed an utility to see the CPU temperature and the 1st fan will kick in as low as 89F when AC but on Battery the 1st Fan won't even kick-in until it reach 94F.
The highest temp I saw on TiBook is 117F with AC plugin..doesn't sound too hot at all.
I do see the TiBook does go hotter quickly with AC plugging and usually stop around 105F.

waxcrash,
Thanks for the tips too.
I did try to elevate my machine like my Viao which come with a small legs. No help...the CPU temp doesn't show any temp difference.

I will try the PMU tonight...not too much hope tho.

[southtdi]

I ouwld actualy expect some improvement with the PMU. Also check the CPU settings in the System Preferences under the energy settings. Could be the CPU is set to "highest" performance. Automatic is usally where it is set.

Do be aware that pluging into ac power does have an effect on teh fans. What you describe isn't correct but that is what mine did until the more recent updates with Panther and resetting the PMU occasionally.

[Dr.Michael]

Originally posted by DL_AMG:

1st Fan won't even kick-in until it reach 94F.
The highest temp I saw on TiBook is 117F with AC plugin..doesn't sound too hot at all.
I do see the TiBook does go hotter quickly with AC plugging and usually stop around 105F.

These temps are too low for the fan to start.
Please check with Activity Monitor, how the load of your cpu is. You find the program in /Applications/utilities/.
If your cpu load is low (below 10%) and your fan is runnning then somthing is wrong.

Details have been discussed before: look here for instructions how to replace the fans with quieter units:
http://forums.macnn.com/showthread.p...;highlight=fan

and here for the general discussion:
http://forums.macnn.com/69/mac-notebooks/201914/powerbookfan-driving-me-crazy/

Good luck,
Michael

[southtdi]

Great tip!!!! I'll have to check and see which one I have. It' snot that loud but I am stil curious. One thng I noticed, the original person to figure this out put the price at $15 and now the price has gone up to $45.

[iBorg]

Originally posted by waxcrash:
Your situation is odd. I have a TiBook 800 MHz and a TiBook 1 GHz. Of the two, the 800 MHz is louder. My 1 GHz is quiet. The only time I get the fans to come on is when I'm playing a graphic intensive game (Warcraft III, Halo, Ghost Recon, Sim City 4) but when doing normal work like e-mail and web browsing the fan doesn't come on. Even when I'm doing my graphic work (Photoshop, Illustrator, QuarkXPress) the fan doesn't come on. It makes no difference whether I'm plugged in or running off the battery.

Actually, not so. After getting my Ti 1GHz December, 2002, I corresponded with many others here in these fora with this same concern, and it is/was widespread (search this forum - you'll find that "Ti fan noise" threads dominated topics 1 1/2 years ago!). It appears that some Ti's have fans running almost constantly (mine does, although it's very quiet compared to other laptops, especially Dell, which my son has .... gone over to the dark side, poor lad .... ), while others almost never run. The only ones that Apple have generally "fixed" (although many came back with the same "fan problem" unchanged) were very loud, with owners comparing them to "vacuum cleaner loudness."

When plugged into AC, both fans run on mine constantly. On battery, sometimes only 1 fan runs, but often both, even if my Ti is only browsing the internet, or even idle. Again, the fans are fairly quiet, and I don't notice them unless I'm reminded about it.

The good news for me (and for DL_AMG, it appears) is that my Ti never gets hot, never even uncomfortably warm, as compared to numerous complaints heard about how "hot" the Al-Books get - it's a trade-off, and the price paid for titanium vs. aluminum casing.



iBorg

[iBorg]

Originally posted by DL_AMG:
I installed an utility to see the CPU temperature and the 1st fan will kick in as low as 89F when AC but on Battery the 1st Fan won't even kick-in until it reach 94F.
The highest temp I saw on TiBook is 117F with AC plugin..doesn't sound too hot at all.
I do see the TiBook does go hotter quickly with AC plugging and usually stop around 105F.

I'm not aware of any utility that can monitor temperature on the Ti Books, since our Ti's lack the sensor that make this possible on other models, e.g. the more recent AlBooks, and on previous models, e.g. Pismo. What utility are you using?



iBorg

[DL_AMG]

Haven't had the chance to reset the PMU...but did manage to setup my 18" LCD next to my TiBook...nice.
iBorg,
The utility I use call Temperature Monitor. I think I downloaded from VersionTracker website. Do a search there you will find it.
You are right about my TiBook...it never over heat to a point that I can't touch the bottom. It only get so hot once when my wife laying my Tibook on the bed surfing and cover comforter around the Tibook which block all the ventilation! It only reach 140F.

Dr.Michael, thanks for the links. Look like the Fan need to be replace on my for sure. That 2nd Fan really killing me when it start to scream.

[DL_AMG]

After reset the PMU, the AC (2nd) fan (the one next to the power button and the loud one) will start when Temp reach 96.8F. But somehow the CPU fan/1st step fan (the one next to the USB port) didn't start at all. I will guess the PMU reset had help the CPU fan but not the AC fan.

Now I'm getting use to the fan noise a little bit ...

[iBorg]

Originally posted by DL_AMG:

iBorg,
The utility I use call Temperature Monitor. I think I downloaded from VersionTracker website. Do a search there you will find it.

Hmmmmm ...... when was your Titanium 1GHz manufactured? It's been my impression that NONE of this generation PowerBooks ( the last model of Titaniums, the 1 GHz) has the internal sensor to allow processor temperature monitoring (mine doesn't, manufactured 11/02) I d/l'd Temperature Monitor, and all it says is that it can't find the temp - same for a couple of other popular temp monitors utility sharewares I've tried. Did a subsequent run of Titaniums change this? Or do you have an Aluminum PowerBook?

As for resetting the PMU, if you do a search on these fora, this was mentioned as one of several (hopeful) solutions for excessive fan noise 1-2 years ago, and although a few people thought that it might have helped, this wasn't found to help many (including me).

If anyone finds something new, I'd be glad to try it, too.



iBorg

[DL_AMG]

Originally posted by iBorg:
Hmmmmm ...... when was your Titanium 1GHz manufactured? It's been my impression that NONE of this generation PowerBooks ( the last model of Titaniums, the 1 GHz) has the internal sensor to allow processor temperature monitoring (mine doesn't, manufactured 11/02) I d/l'd Temperature Monitor, and all it says is that it can't find the temp - same for a couple of other popular temp monitors utility sharewares I've tried. Did a subsequent run of Titaniums change this? Or do you have an Aluminum PowerBook?

I had just discuss this with my friend...you are correct, I'm mistakly took the "HD" temperature and thinking is the "CPU" temperature read out. I guess TiBook has very limited sensors...only 1. This is my 1st mac/Tibook so please excuse me.
I read some people actually replacing the fan to cut down the nosie...I'm thinking tower that direction now...
DL