G4 desktop blower is always blowing

R

RonaldMacDonald

Registered
I just bought a new iMac and it is really quiet. But I don't intend to retire my old G4 desktop. The olny thing that bothers me is the blower. It is always on even if I am not working on the machine. When I put it to sleep the blower goes off.

I have another G4 desktop (slightly older) which is no where near as noisy. Can anyone suggest something?
 
If it is one of the quicksilver/MDD G4 towers they were just noisy I am afraid.

You can clean them though, which sometimes allows them to run quieter. You can buy a can of compressed air. If you go this router remember to a: always keep the can right way up or you end up spraying propellant. b: always use short bursts of air, and c: block fans from spinning before you spray them or they can cause damage.
 
I'll give that try. I have an air compressor!

However, I rather suspect that the problem is that it thinks the machine is hot even when it is not. I called Apple and they said it is too old to fix. No parts. One way or other, they'll get your money!
 
OK, so which G4 is it? In general we are more able to help if people provide specs/details of their hardware and the issues they are having. :)

All of the Quicksilver/MDD G4s were from before Panther (10.3). The very last MDD shipped with Jaguar (10.2)

I had a "Sawtooth" G4 myself, of the older greyish case design, specifically a 400mhz AGP machine, and it ran semi-loud (i decommissioned it about 6 months ago) - if your machine is of that type then it shouldn't be exactly quiet (and the fans do always run at reasonable volume) but it is not as loud as the legendarily vacuum cleaner-liek MDD/QS machines.

You might be able to replace some of the fans with quieter ones though, depending on which model you have. I _think_ apple used fairly generic fans and modern ones are much much quieter.
 
Is there a way to recognize a Quicksilver/MDD? If I am not mistaken, there were some machines that had all silver fronts for a short time. I think those came out a little after mine. I am at home now. I can check more tomorrow.

How many fans are there? I will have to check which one makes more noise. Perhaps replacing one or more of them is the solution.
 
The MDD Macs have what appear to be two optical drive doors front and center of the machine, and they're chome (mirrored) in color.
http://lowendmac.com/ppc/mdd-power-mac-g4-dual.html

The Quicksilvers do not have this, and are flat gray on front.
http://lowendmac.com/ppc/quicksilver-power-mac-g4.html

The MDD machines are known to be quite noisy. If you're a tinkerer or a mechanical hacker, you can swap out fans with lower decibel fans, or perhaps even hack together a new, quieter power supply. Unless you're versed in electrical kinds of things (ground wires, voltages, etc.), thought, it isn't a process for the faint of heart.
 
Based on ElDiabloConCaca's links, it looks like I have an MDD. My secretary must be using the Quicksilver (not sure why they call it that - should be the other way around - I think). Anyway, her blower is much more quiet than mine. Also, my MDD is very loud at startup. The musical chime you hear when the MDD starts is loud enough to wake up the dead.

Can anyone tell me what specs I should shot for on the new replacement fans?
 
Hi again.

There si a guide to replacing the case fan at http://www.info.apple.com/usen/cip/pdf/g4mirror/fan_power_supply.pdf

And a guide to replacing the power supply fan at http://www.xlr8yourmac.com/systems/...s/noise_reduction/g4_ddr_noise_reduction.html

These look like fairly serious operations though, you may find them daunting if you are not used to poking around inside machines. I would suggest investing in a static wrist strap and static mat as well to reduce the chances of frying some other part of the machine.
 
As it turns out, both machines are MDD. One is much louder than the other. I am planning to retire one so perhaps I should just swap the fans. I am used to repairing 2000 watt linear amplifiers with the power turned on so this should not be too difficult for me.

Yesterday I used a vacuum cleaner to clean it but today I used the air compressor. Wow, the dirt that came out of it! Reminded me of photos they show after a person uses a colon cleanser!
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top