The other day, I pushed my MacBook Pro way too hard. I ran 4 instances of MySQL 5.1, plus MySQL-Proxy. All MySQLs were in circular replication with a database of 15GB each (totaling 60GB because of the 4 instances). Each MySQL had an event triggered every second. This event executed 100 INSERTs. So, adding up the events from each instance plus replication, I created an environment with 400 INSERTs per second (average) on each server, and 1600 INSERTs per second across the whole “cluster.”
Additionally, on the same (exhausted and angry) MacBook Pro, I ran mysqlslap to simulate 800 simultaneous accesses and push MySQL usage to 10,000 QPS (queries per second).
With MySQL-Proxy, I didn’t bother separating reads and writes. No, the goal was just to distribute the load across the 4 MySQL instances in circular replication.
Suddenly, the famous NASA phrase popped into my head: “We have a lift off.” The Mac’s fan shot up to more than 7,000 RPM (confirmed by iStat). I thought to myself: either I stop torturing this machine, or I’m going to have to go fetch my Mac on the moon, or worse, it’ll melt everything on my desk!
Obvious decision: I tied the Mac to the desk, and just in case, I put a basin underneath the desk. Note: My wife would not be at all happy if my Mac melted and made a huge mess.
My brave Mac completed the mission. I managed to run my benchmark with MySQL Proxy, which served as a base for a lab test on a beefier server and later, an article.
The problem was that after all this finished, my fan stayed stuck at 6,800–6,900 RPM and wouldn’t go down. Weird!
Activity Monitor showed CPU at 8%. So, nothing justifying the fan trying to put out a fire.
iStat: CPU – OK, Temperatures – OK, I/O – OK. Fans: 6800~6900 RPM.
For those not familiar with Macs, the fan normally spins between 1800 and 2400 RPM. Above 3000 RPM it starts to get annoyingly noisy. Above 6000 RPM, you feel like throwing the Mac out the window.
Trying to lower the fan speed, I tried everything: closed all processes and programs… then I remembered an operating system where “IF YOU RESET IT, IT FIXES EVERYTHING” (sorry, I couldn’t help myself).
I reset the Mac (a sacrilege!). And bam! The fan came back even angrier. I think it thought: “You reset me, huh? Well, take this.” With nothing running, freshly reset, the fan went crazier than ever. Running wild. Insane.
In a desperate, combined panic and meltdown, I held down the power button, waiting for Jason (oops, my Mac) to die… hard… no mercy… defying all logic and rationality.
Finally! I turned the Mac back on (if it were Windows, I wouldn’t have bothered turning it back on… oops, again!) and I couldn’t believe it. Jason was gone for good. But without his place, Freddy and his haunted fan took over.
No clue! Not even smashing it helped the fan stop.
Summary of the problem: MacBook/MacBook Pro fan spins up to max speed for no apparent reason (or after stress) and doesn’t return to normal.
Solution: Shut down the machine normally. Disconnect the charger. Hold down the power button for about 5 seconds. The status light (the one on the front of the Mac) will blink. Release the button, and turn your Mac back on.
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