Re: fan on Pismo's

all ideas and suggestions (beyond the sarcastic ones
thank you;-)

Well, I'd suspect a RAM fault, possibly even though Apple has replaced
it...but well, if you've got access to different RAM, I'd go ahead and
try it. If you've got access to another Pismo, I'd swap components one
by one (RAM, then CPU, then other components) and see whether or not the
problem travels with one of them.



Learned a lesson there. F W I W, *Do Not Ever* discard your original
RAM. Every time it went into the shop it was " . . . and since you don't
have the Apple RAM we'll have to test that for you", *sigh*. I a fit of
generosity I'd given it away . . . I've replaced the HD thinking that
since the machine only seemed to freeze on more intensive work (Video but
not writing HTML) it could have been the circuits on the Drive heating up
but no. The old drive works perfectly in an external case. Given the age
of the machine I'm reluctant to invest more than a few schekels in other
parts. I'm sure you understand.



Also, you don't have to use the internal fan to verify the "it's the
heat" hypothesis. You can use an external fan to cool the machine. If
that's enough to make it stable, then you've got a good idea that it's
the heat. However, that doesn't necessarily mean that the internal fan
is not operational. It's quite possible that your machine is unduly
sensitive to heat as a result of other factors.




As I aluded to prior, I've gone as far as removing the keyboard and
running the machine. The last time I ran the thing like that (if memory
serves me) it ran nearly at will for quite a long time and if it did go
into k-panic it wasn't for a long time.

Ok, I think that it's safe to call it a heat-related issue. The next
question is "does the internal fan run? I know, we've been here before,
but bear with me... ;-)

The complicating factor is that if some part is defective, it might not
be getting hot enough to turn on the fan but still be hot enough to
cause a kernel panic. We'll ignore this possibility for now.

If you're running the machine without the keyboard, you might be able to
look at the fan to see whether it's running. The Pismo fan is pretty
quiet, and I could not reliably hear mine running, particularly if the
DVD drive was in use. My usual method of determining whether the fan was
running was to stick a piece of paper into the slot until it got slapped
by the blades.

Now then, I once did have an overheating issue with my Pismo. I got on
the phone with Apple, and we ended up resetting PRAM and the PMU, and
that solved it. In my case, the fan simply wasn't turning on, and the
machine would freeze while playing a DVD. I don't think that this will
be the case on your machine though.

Another thing to check: there's a heat pipe running from your CPU to a
heat-sink. It's the thick copper "wire" that you see. It that has cracks
in it, it will be _much_ less effective at doing its job. If that's
cracked, you're done. If not, it might also be worth replacing the
thermal transfer paste on the CPU assembly to improve heat transfer away
from the CPU. Thermal paste is cheap.

Maybe this will do it. If not, well I'll try to think of something else
in the meantime!

I'm on it. I've called a local supplier for the tape but they wouldn't
sell me any . . .I'll ask the guys in IT if they have a wad of paste or
know hwere to get it.

I have replaced the fan from . . . can't remember where (PBFixit?) they
seemed reliable and had decent take-apart guides. Now, I'm no dummy.
I've replaced 3 starters in one day because mine died and two that I
bought from a parts store were toast in the box (yes, now I have a tester
for that). I will admit that I failed to test the new $9.00 fan (no
tester for these) before I installed it. So I could have a sour fan
again.
I dragged myself to the machine this past weekend to fire it up (cooler
house in the winter) to see how long it would take to fail now and well .
.. . I have a no start condition. This machine drives me nuts. My elderly
Wallstreet boots on command and runs OS X 10.2.x like a champ. 8 years
old! This Pismo is going to wind up as one of those hacked machines doing
service as a digital picture frame when I get it going. Thinking about
it, I'd like to send it to live with my old Epson 750 Photo. I
helicoptered that into the transfer station from 30 feet outside the door.
*sigh*
Still appreciating your efforts on my behalf.
Mark
.

Relevant Pages

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