Linux Galaxy

Slackware64 iMac 2007 Redux

Posted on Sep 14, 2024 by kingbeowulf


A year ago, I refurbished a vintage 2007 iMac: 1TB SSD and new(-ish) power supply and it has been working pretty good for the most part.

Installing Slackware64-15.0 on an iMac 2007

Two issue still remain: Bluetooth (BT) and a tendency for the power supply over heat. I still haven't found a solution yet to the BT driver; this will wait for the next Slackware stable release "when it's ready; real soon now."

The mid 2007 iMac did have a tendency to overheat. Having poked around inside, there just isn't enough air flow to cool the power supply which can run extra hot under load. We can adjust the fan speed manually as root, once you figure out which fan cools both the CPU and the power supply. For example:

1# echo 1 > /sys/class/hwmon/hwmon3/device/fan3_manual
2# echo 1500 > /sys/class/hwmon/hwmon3/device/fan3_output
3# echo 2000 > /sys/class/hwmon/hwmon3/device/fan3_output

I was about to cobble something together when I stumbled across a great little daemon to do it all for me. So, why reinvent the wheel?

mbpfan: Adjust fan speed using the applesmc module

mbpfan is a great, simple program to tweak the fan curves when running Linux an a macbook or an iMac.

https://github.com/linux-on-mac/mbpfan

For Slackware (there are other distros?), you can build a nice installable package,

http://slackbuilds.org/repository/15.0/system/mbpfan/?search=mbpfan

For example, to run mbpfan at system boot, add it to /etc/rc.d/rc.local

1# mbpfan daemon to keep power supply from over heating (iMac 2007)
2# see /etc/mbpfan.conf
3/usr/sbin/mbpfan

Then edit /etc/mbpfan.conf as needed:

1in_fan3_speed = 1500
2max_fan3_speed = 3300
3
4# temperature units in celcius
5low_temp = 50			# if temperature is below this, fans will run at minimum speed
6high_temp = 60			# if temperature is above this, fan speed will gradually increase
7max_temp = 75			# if temperature is above this, fans will run at maximum speed
8polling_interval = 1	        # default is 1 seconds

You may need to experiment a bit for your particular Mac.

Have fun!


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