Filed under: Software Update, Apple, MacBook
MacBook SMC Firmware Update 1.0
Attention MacBook owners: fire up Software Update to get the latest MacBook SMC Firmware Update. From the updater: 'The SMC Firmware Update adjusts fan behavior in the MacBook. The updater application will be installed in the /Applications/Utilities folder. Please follow the instructions in the updater application to complete the process.'
Could this spell the end of the Mooing MacBooks? Only time can tell.
Thanks to everyone who sent this in.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
Will said 6:07PM on 8-17-2006
My moo is gone and my macbook runs 15 degrees cooler!!!!!
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Fraser said 6:15PM on 8-17-2006
When you install, it spins the fan very fast, and the quickly reboots (very quick!)i'll have 2 wait and see if my cow has moooved on (sorry, had to be done)
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Raz 4 life said 6:46PM on 8-17-2006
Wow, that was the fastest reboot I've ever seen! My fans are starting up at a lower temp now, which kinda sucks. But if it spells the death of my cow, then so be it!
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Cycomachead said 6:48PM on 8-17-2006
yea the fan spins at full speed, and very noisy during the instal, which made me think it was fan related
According to MacWorld it does fix the Moo
well I never noticed when mine Mooed, well I did, but it didn't bother me
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John said 7:01PM on 8-17-2006
Finally, sending the moobook to pasture. The fan is on low speed continually, far less annoying then the mooing. I was ready to throw the computer through the window.
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wilson britman said 7:02PM on 8-17-2006
I just installed it on my MacBook, which has mooed constantly since I bought it (early July). The installation was a breeze. I turned off every other machine in the room, and after ten minutes of use, no mooing! The fan seems to spin up much earlier, but at least it's constant. I do wonder what effect that will have on battery life.
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Ringo said 7:21PM on 8-17-2006
yippi! the moo is gone, but what about the whine?
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Sean Murphy said 7:27PM on 8-17-2006
Is this for MacBook Pros too?
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Tony C said 7:30PM on 8-17-2006
It didn't show up as available from my Software Update, but then again I had to do the last MBP SMC update manually...
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Daniel Brauer said 7:49PM on 8-17-2006
The moo was a constant spin-up, spin-down cycle, right? If that's the case, then it probably took as much or more power to maintain as constant motion.
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StarLabs said 8:08PM on 8-17-2006
Just installed it on my MacBook. I didn't have the mooing problem, but it seems to cool down the MacBook *significantly*
I was idling at 64C. After the update, its idling at 54C-56C, and I can't hear the fan here at work (admittedly, not the quietest environment). HUGE improvement!!
Note to updaters: after I updated the SMC firmware, my computer booted up to a black screen. Resetting the PRAM fixed that. Just an FYI if it happens to you - don't panic.
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Cycomachead said 8:19PM on 8-17-2006
well my overall temps are cooler!!!!
but when I opened my MacBook from sleep, it mooed right away-1st time it's ever done that
But I should also say when mine mooed it would be like the fan would spin up for a second the down mooo________mooo_______mooo but it only happened sometimes, after I had been using it for a while.
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Mo said 8:19PM on 8-17-2006
My MacBook didn't suffer from the mooing, but I installed the update anyway. After the installation of the update, the fans sped up to ‘medium-pelt’ (the way it runs if you do a Windows Update in Parallels!) and now have settled on a sort of ticking-over level. I can hear the fan—just—and couldn't before, but that's perhaps because I'm listening for it.
It certainly feels cooler underneath, though.
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Thorn said 9:40PM on 8-17-2006
Sean/Tony --
This is for MacBooks, not the MacBook Pros. The SMC Firmware for the MacBook Pros came out a few months ago.
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Dylan said 2:49AM on 8-18-2006
I updated the SMC firmware even though I belive my MacBook (Black) performance has been near to perfect. Since the update the Macbook runs much cooler.
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Fraser said 3:07AM on 8-18-2006
oh, by the way, i have Vista installed, with EFI gone, and the firmware installed perfectly...
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Chris Coleman said 3:18AM on 8-18-2006
I don't know what this moo is that people talk about. My fan barely ever comes on. My machine barely makes a peep. I have had that black screen at startup several times now, and zapping the pram fixed it for me each time. I wish I knew what the hell was causing that. I went to the SOHO Apple store on Monday to ask, but the damn Genius Bar was totally booked for the rest of the day by 3 p.m.
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Hiram said 3:23AM on 8-18-2006
Yes, the 'moo' is gone on my 1.83 MacBook, and operating temperature is maybe 10º C lower, but now the fan is always on, even at 99% idle and 47º C temp. I don't think that's a real improvement.
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Mike said 8:33AM on 8-18-2006
ugh too bad my macboo is out getting it's logic board replaced
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Alan said 9:37AM on 8-18-2006
I recently got a 2.0ghz white macbook, and I never noticed the mooing, the temperature going @ 100% cpu was no higher than 67 degrees, and since I never had the mooing and I can't really say the SMC did anything but it feels cooler :P
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