F.A.Q for smcFanControl 1.23
How do install and uninstall smcFanControl?
smcFanControl is just an application. So
after downloading, and unzipping it, drag it to wherever
you want (e.g. the Application Folder). To uninstall it,
just drag it into the trash. smcFanControl installs no
startup scripts, background processes or daemons.
All changes smcFanControl does to the fan controlling get
lost after you shutdown your computer (power off, not
restart) or enter standby mode (as far as you don't have
smcFanControl running) . Minimum fan speed then falls back
to the system defaults values.
When I run smcFanControl and set a new minimum
speed, will my fan speed still increase if the CPU load
gets higher?
Yes, fan speed will increase as defined by
Apple. smcFanControl lets the fans stay in automatic mode
and just sets the minimum fan speed. However, the higher
you set the minimum fan speed, the longer it will take for
the fan speed to increase.
How can I restore the Apple defaults for fanspeed?
Move the sliders to the left and hit apply.
The lowest settings smcFanControl allows are the Apple
defaults. The minimum default speed after Apple's latest
SMC firmware update is 1000rpm for the MBP 15,4", 1500rpm
for the MB 13,3". 2000rpm for the Core2Duo MBP and 1800rpm
for the Core2Duo MB.
Why can't I set my minimum fan speed to 0 rpm?
smcFanControl only lets you set the fan
speed in the range of Apple's min and max values. Setting
it to zero is possible from the technical perspective but
could probably damage your machine.
When will the new settings for minimum fan speed
get lost?
The settings you chose for minimum fan speed
will get lost in two cases and the machine will fall back
to default values:
a) You enter standby mode and smcFanControl is not running
(If its running it watches for standby and reapplies your
settings when you wake up the machine).
b) You power off the machine. (work around that by adding
smcFanControl to your login-items and checking the "auto
apply after launch"-checkbox)
Which sensor is read out for the temperature?
It's not the sensor on the CoreDuo CPU's.
The advantage is, that there is no Kernel Extension loaded
for temperature readout and temperature should always be
reported (some CoreDuo's stop temperature reporting after
some minutes unfortunately). The sensor readout is very
close to what CoreDuoTemp reports, but its not exactly the
same cause of different sensors.
What about fan-control when I am in Windows XP
running Bootcamp?
At the moment you can not set minimum fan
speed when you are in Windows XP (cause smcFanControl is a
native OS X application). However if you set up a new
minimum fan speed in OS X using smcFanControl and then
restart into Windows XP, your settings don't get lost and
that new minimum fan speed is used on Windows XP for that
session. Some people have reported usage of this to make
their MBP cooler and not crashing when running games under
Windows XP.
Why is only the MacBook, MacBook Pro and mac mini (intel)
supported? What about the other intel-macs?
smcFanControl could technically support all
intel macs. However, I only have the detailed fan-data for
the macbooks and the mac mini and could only test it out
for those.
Will there be a version of smcFanControl for Powerbooks or
other PPC based Macs?
No, PPC based macs don't have an SMC
controller. So the approach of smcFanControl does not work.
It's possible that there are solutions to control fan speed
on PPC based macs, but I am not aware of any.
I would like to set different presets for fanspeed
from the menubar. Will this ever be realized?
The next release of smcFanControl will be a
MenuExtra instead of an application locacted in the dock.
Will there be a dashboard widget for smcFanControl?
Well, I think this is a nice idea. I am
currently working on improving smcFanControl as an
application. But maybe someone else is a good dashboard
developer. The GPL sources of smcFanControl should be a
good starting point.
Why does smcFanControl has it's own authentication
dialog and is not presenting the OS X default
authentication-dialog?
smcFanControl needs special rights for
setting the fanspeed. The OS X default authentication
dialog would appear everytime you want to set a new
fanspeed. So I tried to work around that and the way it
works is, I ask for the credentials before the OS X dialog
pops up, save the data to keychain and then pass it to the
authentication service (just for the ones who want to
know).
Wouldn't it be even better to read out the
temperature and set the fan speeds depending on the readout
than just set the minimum fan speed and let automatic fan
control as defined by apple do the rest?
Yes, that approach is even better and could
make your machine running cooler, when you are at higher
loads. BUT: I did not take this route for smcFanControl,
cause it has some risks. Adjusting the fan speed to CPU
temperature requires you have a program running in the
background (e.g. a daemon) that adjust fan speed
continuously . If that program ever crashes or becomes
incompatible cause of a System Update (or the readouts of
the temperature sensor get inappropriate) , the fans could
get set to a wrong (too low) speed and this could probably
damage the machine.
I have got a MBP and smcFanControl is reporting
0rpm for one of my fans?
In that case the fan did not report any data
to smcFanControl. It is possible that one of your fan's is
dead. Please check your computer with the Apple Hardware
Test (it's on the DVD that comes with your computer) and
see if it reports a failure with one of your fans.
smcFanControl crashes when I enter my credentials.
What can I do?
Very few users have been reporting that
issue. I could never reproduce it so far. If you have that
problem, I would be happy about a crashlog. The following
workaround has worked for many people, so its worth to try
it out.
• Create a new user account with admin privileges (you can
do that in System Preferences/Users)
• Don't login into this new account, just authenticate
smcFanControl against this account (so enter the login and
password of the new account, when smcFanControl asks you
for these)