My CPU fan runs all the time in Linux

What works, and doesn't, for you. Be specific, and please include Puppy version.
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chris062689
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My CPU fan runs all the time in Linux

#1 Post by chris062689 »

My CPU Fan constantly spins no matter what, it only does this in linux, any kind of linux, always happens.

I've tried EVERY kind of boot option imaginable, and it's beginning to urk me, because...

One) It could ruin my hard-drive and overload my PC
Two) It's annoying.

Would there be any way to regulate the fan to turn on ONLY when in the presence of heat?

Are any other people having this kind of problem?

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Flash
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#2 Post by Flash »

Other than discharge the battery (assuming you're talking about a laptop) and wear out the fan, it can't hurt your computer for the fan to run all the time. I will say that the inside of a computer gets full of dust when a fan blows air into it, so you might have to open it up more often to clean it out.

If I remember right, the problem of laptop fans running at full speed has come up several times in the forum. I think it has something to do with acpi, but don't quote me. :) I don't know if it was resolved. Have you tried using the forum search?

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BlackAdder
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#3 Post by BlackAdder »

Presumably your machine is a notebook/laptop.
There have been a couple of threads relating to ACPI. The latest is here, and is a good summary of how to get ACPI working with Puppy.
The steps described have been working for me, but ACPI has been described as having been designed by a bunch of monkeys on LSD, so this may not work for everyone.

HTH.

chris062689
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#4 Post by chris062689 »

It's not a laptop.
[b]Currently Dual-Booting:[/b]
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Flash
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#5 Post by Flash »

Then what is it?

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rarsa
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#6 Post by rarsa »

Some desktop motherboards come with windows drivers (or bios) to regulate the fan speed depending on temperature.

If your mother board depends on Windows drivers (as it is the case with some intel boards), you could go the motherboard's manuracturer web page and search for a linux daemon.

One thing is for sure: The fan spinning won't affect your HDD or overload the motherboard. Why would it do that? It's like saying that because your car radio is too loud your tires are gona get flat. (unless of course, your computer is sensitive to noise).

I agree that the fan noise is anoying.
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keenerd
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#7 Post by keenerd »

He might mean his hard drive won't stop spinning, and is just calling disk noise "fan noise".


Chris,

If that is the case, you can make your hard drive (assuming it's /dev/hda) spin down with

hdparm -S12 /dev/hda

The number after S is the number of seconds, by fives. So 12 (times five) is sixty, or one minute.

You'll need to add that line to the end of /etc/rc.d/rc.local to make it permanent. Otherwise, it is forgotten on the next boot.

GuestToo
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#8 Post by GuestToo »

some desktops use acpi ... mine does, for example

chris062689
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#9 Post by chris062689 »

I know it's my cpu fan, because it's tacked onto my motherboard. I don't know why it keep s on spinning, but I still do not know how to solve this problem. I know it's my CPU fan. Since I opened it up and it's the fan right next to my motherboard. It does this in any other linuxes.

Is there any way I could pinpoint the problem?
(How do I turn the thing off, and only let it turn on when my computer gets hot? Since I know in windows, the fan used to get louder (means it's running faster?) when the computer got hot.
[b]Currently Dual-Booting:[/b]
Puppy Linux 1.08
Windows XP Home
---------------------
Puppy Linux needs more organization skills!
Puppy Linux needs less build-in programs!
Free Puppy from it's many useless programs!
---------------------

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MU
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#10 Post by MU »

There is a Intel speedstep utility for Linux, to control CPU-speed, Fan and more.
But it is just supported by Kernel 2.6.
So you had to try the K26-Kernel, which is currently only available for Puppy 107: http://dotpups.de/puppy-releases/1.0.7/

There might be a Pupp2-K26 -Iso in the next days, as Barry currently tests it.

I don't know, if speedstep runs by default, or needs a module, so you had to google for that.

Mark

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rarsa
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#11 Post by rarsa »

How do I turn the thing off, and only let it turn on when my computer gets hot?
Did you even read my post where I sugest going to your MotherBoard manufacturer website?
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Sage
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#12 Post by Sage »

Is this thread a wind-up? Does the chipset have a fan, too?

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