Loud PowerMac dual G4

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Hello everyone:

I purchased a used PowerMac dual G4 (867 MHz) about 2 years ago. It is a fantastic machine, and I love it, but it is LOUD. I have found a few articles on the web over the past couple of years, and it appears that Apple was fixing these things back when they were under a year old. (This machine was built Dec 2002.) I cannot find any Apple Stores in my area that even know what to do.

I assume I need to put in some new fans and get rid of the old ones. Does anyone out there know about this issue?

Thanks a lot.

Craig Smith
 

Ric

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Hi there and welcome...

are you happy making these sort of mods...depending on the replacement fans you get you may need to solder a few joints...

...what's it like if you leave the case off ;-)

regards

Ric
 
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Ric:

It has a hinged side opening. When it is open, one can hear the air moving from the fans, but the dull humming is about the same as when closed. The air movement is quiet and normal.

I am comfortable soldering and splicing; none of that worries me. My only worry is going after the wrong source. I just had a thought. Is is possible that the hard drive itself is making this hum?

I installed a secondary internal drive about a year ago, so I am confident that I can install a new primary drive and get it working if need be.

Thanks for the quick response.

CAS
 

Ric

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Hi there,

yes it could possibly be the drive, can you boot of the second drive ?

If you can; unplug the primary drive, and boot, see how it sounds.

I have an old B/W G3 the drive in that makes a horrific sound...

regards

Ric
 
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Ric:

I have not installed the OS on the secondary drive. I use it mainly for holding my iTunes library and my digital photos and iMovie projects. There is still about 97 G available. Is it possible to install the OS onto the secondary drive without losing all my stuff on that drive? (I have it backed up anyway, but you know.) Can I then tell the Mac to boot from drive 2, and completely disconnect number 1 to check for the loss of noise?

CAS
 

Ric

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First, before the soldering iron gets warmed up...make sure everything is backed up ! Just in case.

The fact that you have two drives means that you could, if you wanted to install a second version of the OS onto that drive. Then if the primary drive were to fail you could boot off drive two and start your repairs...

...anyway, you could unplug the power cable to drive one and reboot using the install dvd then listen, you may want to do this first with the drive 'in' so that you have a sound reference point !

At least then you should be able to hear the difference, without to much trouble.

Leave putting the OS on drive two for now, but yes you can install it without destroying the data thats already there.

The only other thing I can think off is if you go to the energy saver control pane, does it give you an option to "put the hard drive to sleep" when possible...if it does leave the case open and select that option, quit out of all running apps and wait for the drive to spin down...

...and you post the model number of your Mac it will be easier to find alternate 'Fans' with that, Apple Menu about this Mac-->more info

Just the model number not the serial number.

regards

Ric
 
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Ric:

Model number is M8570. I have the sleep when possible already set, and as can be expected, it shuts right up when asleep. Sometime in the next few days, I will back up the main drive (I have an external drive for that), unplug it, and boot from the Tiger disk. I think that will be the quickest method to determine resonance of the primary drive.

You have been a tremendous source of useful information so far, Ric, and I am truly grateful. I am one of the administrators of Macscripter.net, and we just put a link to your site on ours last week. I really like the look of your site and commend you for it. I will have a report ready in a few days on how things went over here across the pond.

CAS
 

Ric

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Have done a bit of digging around and it seems like the PSU is in part the culprit...

Quite a few mods have been done but haven't found anyone that seems to of had a worthwhile success ?!@£

xlr8yourmac.com has some old threads about your particular Mac but couldn't find anything that 'definitely' works...

There's a cooling kit here , not sure if it's still available and I don't think it would be cheap...

Thanks for the link and the kind comments ! Just giving something back to the community, "Open Source Mac Help".

Maybe a good pair of headphones...

regards

Ric
 
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Ric:

Do you mean the power supply? That sounds nasty.

Incidentally, I have a set of noise cancelling headphones that I use when working on that machine, but I hate wearing them, and the unit is in my office, so I am in and out all day long. I find I now put the thing to sleep just to get some peace and quiet for an hour or two during the day. I really adore all the power, but am growing tired of the noise. I will still look into the hard drive issue we discussed earlier, but what about just replacing the power supply? Is that even possible?

Hey, I enjoyed the link to the Swedish site; I learned the language while serving there as a missionary back in the early 1980's.

I'll have a report ready in a few days.

CAS
 

Ric

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Yes, sorry the Powersupply, from what I can see, yours may have two little fans in it that give off a lot of noise.

It could be replaced, but it starts to get to the point of replacing all the Fans and the power supply...starts to get a bit costly !

You could build a sound proof box and stick it in that ! I remember years ago seeing similar things for old dot matrix printers. Although you might end up with a heat build up issue.

In one of my old offices years ago I put some very noisy Sun Sparcs and there drives into some cupboards, it cancelled the noise problem, but there was a build up heat in the cupboards. So I modded the cupboards, and put in four 240v fans into the cupboard walls, this drew the air through the cupboards enough to keep the drives and computers cool. The fans that I used in the cupboard walls were virtually silent so it got rid of the noise.

The top of the cupboards were drilled to allow the monitor and keyboard cables through, with the excess space around the hole plugged with some foam. We didn't have bluetooth keyboards and mice back then !

I would be tempted to get a little two or three drawer unit depending on what you have already and stick it in that, probably be a lot cheaper, and without risk of blowing it up.

Hey, I enjoyed the link to the Swedish site; I learned the language while serving there as a missionary back in the early 1980's.

Sounds like you have a few good stories to tell us !

regards

Ric
 
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Ric:

I finally had some time to seriously investigate this issue. It is definitely the power supply. I am a veterinarian, so I opened the case, turned it on, and used my stethoscope. Some of the components near the powersupply (hard drives) are emitting a low frequency hum, but I believe that is due to the miniscule vibrations emitted from the loud power supply. On the stethoscope, it is LOUD.

I am to the point that I want to completely swap that baby out for a new, and hopefully, quieter model. Here is the data:

SN: RR23905228MWXA
Apple P/N: 614-0183
Samsung seems to be the manufacturer, PSCF401601A(C) is the number immediately following their name.

I would appreciate any information that you or anyone on this bbs has about locating a replacement part. I have no qualms about doing the job, I just need to know how to locate the proper item.

Thanks for all the suggestions, and have a Merry Christmas.

Craig Smith
 
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Ric:

I installed a new power supply I ordered through www.applepalace.com, and it solved the noise issue extremely well. There is still the typical soft hum associated with all 'big box' machines, but the roar is gone. The price was good, also, $182 US total for part and shipping.

Thank you for your time and advice. Do you think I should try to repair the old power supply or just trash it?

Craig
 

Ric

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Hi Craig,

Sorry for not replying to your earlier posts, have been away on Christmas hols...

Glad you've got a new one and that it's quieter !!!

As for the old power supply, depends on your time and interests !

I would possibly just box it up and keep it (about twenty various computers boxed in my (and parents !) loft's !)

You never know when you may need it !

Happy New Year

Regards

Ric
 

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