F.A.Q for iCyclone 0.7
How do install and uninstall iCyclone?
iCyclone is just an application. So after downloading, and unzipping it, drag it to wherever you want (e.g. the Application Folder). To uninstall it, just drag it into the trash. iCyclone installs no startup scripts, background processes or daemons.
All changes iCyclone does to the fan controlling get lost after you shutdown your computer (power off, not restart) or enter standby mode (as far as you don't have iCyclone running) . Minimum fan speed then falls back to the system defaults values.
When I run iCyclone and set a new minimum speed, will my fan speed still increase if the CPU load gets higher?
Yes, fan speed will increase as defined by Apple. iCyclone lets the fans stay in automatic mode and just sets the minimum fan speed. However, the higher you set the minimum fan speed, the longer it will take for the fan speed to increase.
How can I restore the Apple defaults for fanspeed?
Simply in preferences active Reset defout settings and quit iCyclone. The minimum default speed after Apple's latest SMC firmware update is 1000rpm for the MBP 15,4", 1500rpm for the MB 13,3". 2000rpm for the Core2Duo MBP and 1800rpm for the Core2Duo MB.
Why can't I set my minimum fan speed to 0 rpm?
iCyclone only lets you set the fan speed in the range of Apple's min and max values. Setting it to zero is possible from the technical perspective but could probably damage your machine.
When will the new settings for minimum fan speed get lost?
The settings you chose for minimum fan speed will get lost in two cases and the machine will fall back to default values:
a) You enter standby mode and iCyclone is not running (If its running it watches for standby and reapplies your settings when you wake up the machine).
b) You power off the machine. (work around that by adding iCyclone to your login-items and checking the "auto apply after launch"-checkbox)
Which sensor is read out for the temperature?
It's not the sensor on the CoreDuo CPU's. The advantage is, that there is no Kernel Extension loaded for temperature readout and temperature should always be reported (some CoreDuo's stop temperature reporting after some minutes unfortunately). The sensor readout is very close to what CoreDuoTemp reports, but its not exactly the same cause of different sensors.
What about fan-control when I am in Windows XP running Bootcamp?
At the moment you can not set minimum fan speed when you are in Windows XP (cause iCyclone is a native OS X application). However if you set up a new minimum fan speed in OS X using iCyclone and then restart into Windows XP, your settings don't get lost and that new minimum fan speed is used on Windows XP for that session. Some people have reported usage of this to make their MBP cooler and not crashing when running games under Windows XP.
Will there be a version of iCyclone for Powerbooks or other PPC based Macs?
No, PPC based macs don't have an SMC controller. So the approach of iCyclone does not work. It's possible that there are solutions to control fan speed on PPC based macs, but I am not aware of any.
I would like to set different presets for fanspeed from the menubar. Will this ever be realized?
The next release of iCyclone will be a MenuExtra in the statusBar.
Will there be a dashboard widget for iCyclone?
Well, I think this is a nice idea. I am currently working on improving iCyclone as an application. But maybe someone else is a good dashboard developer, os if interessed contact developer.
Why does iCyclone has it's own authentication dialog and is not presenting the OS X default authentication-dialog?
iCyclone needs special rights for setting the fanspeed. The OS X default authentication dialog would appear everytime you want to set a new fanspeed. So I tried to work around that and the way it works is, I ask for the credentials before the OS X dialog pops up, and cheking "save in the keychain" box save the data to keychain and then pass it to the authentication service (just for the ones who want to know).
I have got a MBP and iCyclone is reporting 0rpm for one of my fans?
In that case the fan did not report any data to iCyclone. It is possible that one of your fan's is dead. Please check your computer with the Apple Hardware Test (it's on the DVD that comes with your computer) and see if it reports a failure with one of your fans.
iCyclone crashes when I enter my credentials. What can I do?
Very few users have been reporting that issue. I could never reproduce it so far. If you have that problem, I would be happy about a crashlog. The following workaround has worked for many people, so its worth to try it out.
• Create a new user account with admin privileges (you can do that in System Preferences/Users).
• Don't login into this new account, just authenticate iCyclone against this account (so enter the login and password of the new account, when iCyclone asks you for these).