Ubuntu – How to change CPU fan speed on ThinkPad

12.04cpufanfancontrolthinkpad

I checked this post on AskUbuntu, but like the OP my BIOS does not have a setting for 'smart fan'. My BIOS though has something similar called 'Thermal Performance' wherein it's already set to maximum performance.

But using Hardware Sensors Indicator my fan speed barely reaches 3000 RPM (it's usually stuck around 2600 to 2700 RPM) compared to the indicated RPM of my laptop which is 5400 RPM.

There is a fan control setup for 10.04 specifically for Thinkpad here but I don't want to risk it since it's meant for a rather outdated distro already.

Is there a way change the fan speed if I can't access it through BIOS?

I'm using ThinkPad R61i 12.04 64-bit, 160 GB HDD, Intel T5870, 4 GB RAM.

Best Answer

If you want direct control via the ThinkPad driver then the following wiki page is very helpful:

http://www.thinkwiki.org/wiki/How_to_control_fan_speed

Related Solutions

Fan Control – How to Manually Turn On CPU Fan

You can do this with the tool

pwmconfig

This tool is normally used to save a configuration file for fancontrol. But you don't have to do so. You can just start the tool, than it will put all fans on full speed, sowing there current speed like this:

Giving the fans some time to reach full speed...
Found the following fan sensors:
  hwmon0/device/fan1_input     current speed: 2129 RPM
  hwmon0/device/fan2_input     current speed: 1679 RPM
  hwmon0/device/fan3_input     current speed: 0 ... skipping!
  hwmon0/device/fan4_input     current speed: 0 ... skipping!

After that you just skip (Ctr+C) the tool without saving anything.

To install the tool, you can use the following command:

sudo apt-get install fancontrol

Ubuntu – ThinkPad T440s fan speed

The fan should work at full speed from time to time. When your machine gets hot, the fan will run at top speed to cool it down again. This is a Good Thing® and you should not try to change it.

If you feel that it is happening too often, that it occurs even when the machine is not hot, you might need to tweak the default temperature thresholds. There is a nice little program, ThinkPad Fan Control that lets you do that for ThinkPads.

You should also read the How to control fan speed page on http://thinkwiki.org which is the site for Linux on ThinkPads.

Best Answer

Related Solutions

Fan Control – How to Manually Turn On CPU Fan

Ubuntu – ThinkPad T440s fan speed

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