Hello all,

I'm not sure if this should be in "Hardware" or "Software", sorry. I believe it is a hardware issue ultimately caused by a software bug.

Basically, whenever I play a Flash-based game or video in any browser, my MacBook begins to heat up massively and the fans come on at full speed. This happens on YouTube, for example.

I have re-installed the latest version of Macromedia Flash Player, but it still goes mental.

Thanks,

Peter.

That's Flash, I'm afraid.

Sorry. Talk to Adobe and complain about it. It's been throwing my laptops mental for years.

Is your MacBook in warranty Peter? If so I'd get the hardware checked out, or see if there are any hardware bugs for the range which your serial number is in...No idea how to check that though...

Yes, Apple got themselves in a pickle with my AppleCare warranty, so I am still covered for some more time.

There is one small problem though. I opened my MacBook up a few months back to disconnect the LED on the front of it. Is my warranty now void?

Thanks,

Peter.

Probably...Did you break any seals? If not then you'll probably get away with just reconnecting the LED before handing it over...

Possibly. Why did you do that?

Because Peter didn't like the flashing when it was on sleep...Remember the threads over on the old place?

I don't remember breaking any seals, but I did have to cut a wire and a few screws won't fit back into their original places correctly.


It stopped the strobing white LED on the front of the MacBook when it was asleep.

Peter.

OOohh yeah...

Sledge hammer to crack a peanut really, isn't it?

Why did you cut it? Would it not unplug at one end? That might be hard to explain...If they say anything, plead ignorance...It's never blinked, and it's your first Mac, so you never knew it should...

I tried unplugging it, but it seemed to share a connection with the infrared receiver.

The wire has been cut very neatly, so they can't prove it was me really. It's difficult to explain why some of the internal screws are missing though!

Thanks,

Peter.

Ahh, I see!



But if you have never opened it up...Surely a fault in the manufacturing process?

Whatever, it's not a fault with the Mac. It's Adobe's bloated crapware that causes the processor(s) to work overtime, overheating and fans.

Trust me, it's happened on my old PowerBook and on two MacBook Pros, so it's not a hardware fault.

It's one reason why I surfed with plugins turned off for some years.

I don't think the whole blame can be on Adobe, nothing should be able to tip the CPU into overheating, Adobe don't help, but perhaps it's a 'bug' in the OS X scheduler, allowing Flash to have so much CPU time and to work it so hard?

Okay. I only get fans kicking in while surfing when doing anything on a web site that includes Flash. Even just reading a page with Flash ads can cause the fans to kick in. I had it happen the other day when I had the old MU site in one tab, x404 in the active tab, and Safari hidden. That just shouldn't happen. It's not just Safari, either. It affects all the browsers on this machine.

It's getting so I don't like to use iPlayer because three minutes into a show the fans kick in full pelt, and stay on until I either leave the site or close Safari. I'd hate to try and watch an iPlayer show running on battery only.

The only other time I get such behaviour is when doing proper CPU intensive work, such as audio/video editing, or working in Photoshop. I don't expect a web page to cause CPU overload, and I put the blame squarely at Adobe's door, because they own and develop the Flash player. If I turn off plugins, so the ads don't load, the CPU is just ticking over.