2010 27" iMac new HDD and loud fan problems

[Evildude683]

I recently decided to add an SSD to my Mid 2010 27" iMac while keeping the original HDD for storage. I purchased part 922-9531 to be able to keep both drives. Needless to say that the installation was a fun experience.

Unfortunately, soon after I put together the machine I noticed that the fan in the lower left corner (CPU) was running really loud and likely at a higher speed. After searching around the web, I proceeded to make sure all my connectors were properly seated, again the result was the same.

I also noticed that my Mac boots just fine from the SSD running Sierra, but is unable to see the original HDD. I went ahead and re-opened mac and switched he power connectors to rule out any failures with it. The results was the same, only the SSD was visible.

Thinking somehow the drive just died on me, I went ahead and purchased a new Seagate Firecuda that would give me the speeds on an SSD with the max storage capacity of the an HDD. Same thing! The iMac never saw it and I was unable to install the OS on it, I also tried plugging it to my gaming rig with the same results. I thought I must have gotten a bad drive so I requested a replacement with Amazon and now the replacement drive is doing the exact same thing.

Either my iMac is somehow killing HDD drives, Amazon has a bad batch of Firecuda in stock or who know what.
It is worth mentioning that ssdfanctrl did not solve the issue for me.

Any advice?

 

[ThugFreak]

Deleted

 

[tommydlife]

Have you tried Mac Fan Control to manually operate the fan settings. Also, yes on the digital sensor if you want to put that in.

 

[rpmurray]

When you switched the SATA power connector did you also switch the SATA data connector?

 

[Evildude683]

Have you tried Mac Fan Control to manually operate the fan settings. Also, yes on the digital sensor if you want to put that in.

I have installed the OWC thermal sensor according to the instructions and the fan still running loud. I even completely removed the mechanical HDD.

When you switched the SATA power connector did you also switch the SATA data connector?

Yes.

I also ordered a desktop 3.5 HDD docking station and managed to finally initialize the Seagate Firecuda. I'm thinking maybe the new power cable (922-9531) may be the culprit. I may end up putting the original cable in and just using the Firecuda as my main drive if it will silence the fan.

 

[retta283]

I have installed the OWC thermal sensor according to the instructions and the fan still running loud. I even completely removed the mechanical HDD.


Yes.

I also ordered a desktop 3.5 HDD docking station and managed to finally initialize the Seagate Firecuda. I'm thinking maybe the new power cable (922-9531) may be the culprit. I may end up putting the original cable in and just using the Firecuda as my main drive if it will silence the fan.

You'll still want to try MacsFanControl to see what's going on with your HDD and other sensor temps.

I have a 2010 iMac too, and I had the same problem with a new HDD. MacsFanControl shows that some of the sensors are stuck for the HDD (don't remember specifics) and won't change temps. So I need to install a new one.

 

[Evildude683]

I have even reset the SMC hoping that’ll would clear whatever glitch may be keeping the sensor stuck to no avail.

Anyone has a clear set of instructions on how to use the MacsFanControl? All the stuff online just talks about Celsius and switching between auto and manual a few times.

 

[Evildude683]

After looking around why Macs Fan Control was showing 0 rpm for the CPU fan, I found an iFixIt forum page mentioning that this was probably due to a bad cpu fan, since the fan has a sensor inside.

Well I just replaced the fan and the new one still runs at high speed and is loud.

Anyone has any ideas?

 

[Roman78]

For the Harddisk not being recognized, could the SATA cable not connected right or just faulty. The connector is at the other side of the Logicboard, so the whole Logicboard must be removed.

To get the fan quiet, just twist the sensor cable together. So reading value is always at the lowest temp and the harddisk fan always runs at low speed. After that adjust the Harddisk fan with MacFanControl. The CPU fan should run normally after that, but you could also adjust the CPU fan with MacFanControl to gain a lower temp. At least on the 2009 this worked.

 

[Evildude683]

Hey @Roman78 will the machine boot normally and till not see the drive?

I can’t even run a hardware test by booting the Mac while holding the letter “D”, I get error message -3403D. I tried reinstalling some of the original apps including the hardware firmware from the disk that came with the iMac but it failed.

I’m starting to feel just like the Fry on your avatar.

 

[DeltaMac]

I'm pretty sure that the -3403D error means that there's some problem with your network connection (your iMac is trying to boot to Diagnostics on Apple's server. You need an open internet connection to get there) - try plugging in an ethernet cable from your router, then try that "D" again.

If you have the original DVDs that shipped with your iMac, you should try to insert disk #2 (which should have the hardware test - I think it is listed on the DVD label), and then try booting while holding the D. Should boot to the on-disk hardware test.

If the HDD is getting power, you should be able to hear it run up to speed when you first power on.
The data connectors for BOTH drives are pretty close to each other (on the back side of the logic board), so if all else seems OK, you might try swapping the data connectors. You have to tilt the logic board up to get there. That's a lot of effort for such a small task, but might tell you if there's something wrong with the power cable - the drive positions would be reversed in software, so if the data cable is bad, you should then see only the hard drive (and should be able to install boot system on THAT), and NOT the SSD.

 

[Evildude683]

I’ve tried booting while holding D with an Ethernet plugged in and nothing. I wonder if I have to reinstall whatever OS came with my machine and slowly upgrade from there. Maybe then the firmware will allow me to do the hardware test or to the very least, fix the temperature sensor issue (if due to software errors)

I have also tried booting from the disk #2, which holds apps and the hardware test firmware and nothing.

I swapped the sata connectors on the logic board and the computer booted from the SSD, as expected. My original plan was to to have dual drives but after this fiasco, I thought maybe just having one would get rid of the loud fan issues.