Thinkpad Fan Noise Problem: Light at the End of the Tunnel

Tommy the cat · **Posted:** Wed Sep 09, 2009 12:48 pm

Tommy the cat wrote:

I wondered if the 'start-dialog' can be disabled. I mean this:

Running tpfc as a service didn't do the trick.

Anybody?

It would be nice if I don't have to click this dialog away each time I start windows

.

Thanks in advance.

dcouzin · **Posted:** Wed Sep 09, 2009 2:44 pm

Write StartMinimized=1 in the .ini file.

delete · **Posted:** Thu Sep 10, 2009 2:17 am

Hello,

I received my Thinkpad T500 a couple of days ago. First thing i did was to install Linux (64Studio 3.0 beta3 AMD64) on it. However, i noticed that the fan would never stop working. I installed Thinkpad Fan Control for Linux (http://www.gambitchess.org/mediawiki/in ... an_Control) and i can now control the fan speed with it. Since there is no fan profile for this model, i was wondering if someone knows at what point i should activate the fan in order to be on the safe side. For example, would it be ok to use a profile like this: http://www.gambitchess.org/mediawiki/in ... enshot.png

For now, i've set the threshold to 55 degrees Celsius for all sensors and when idling, browsing or viewing PDFs the temperature stays below 55 and the fan never starts. Is ~50 degrees a good operating temperature for the CPU?

thanks in advance

Tommy the cat · **Posted:** Thu Sep 10, 2009 5:42 am

dcouzin wrote:

Write StartMinimized=1 in the .ini file.

Thanks, again.

delete · **Posted:** Fri Sep 11, 2009 12:42 am

delete wrote:

Hello,

I received my Thinkpad T500 a couple of days ago. First thing i did was to install Linux (64Studio 3.0 beta3 AMD64) on it. However, i noticed that the fan would never stop working. I installed Thinkpad Fan Control for Linux (http://www.gambitchess.org/mediawiki/in ... an_Control) and i can now control the fan speed with it. Since there is no fan profile for this model, i was wondering if someone knows at what point i should activate the fan in order to be on the safe side. For example, would it be ok to use a profile like this: http://www.gambitchess.org/mediawiki/in ... enshot.png

For now, i've set the threshold to 55 degrees Celsius for all sensors and when idling, browsing or viewing PDFs the temperature stays below 55 and the fan never starts. Is ~50 degrees a good operating temperature for the CPU?

thanks in advance

so, for some reason, tpfancontrol has stopped working. when i run sudo tpfand it says "Fatal error: already running or /var/run/tpfand.pid left behind". I've added the line "thinkpad_acpi fan_control=1" in /etc/modules and also the line "options thinkpad_acpi fan_control=1" in /etc/modprobe.d/options. thinkpad_acpi appears in lsmod. any ideas?

bernstein · **Posted:** Fri Sep 11, 2009 6:09 pm

Hello everyone

I just found out about TPFanControl at tpfancontrol.com and it's awesome!

However since i installed it (v062, as a service) explorer.exe hangs on each logoff and shutdown... i've definitely isolated tpfancontrol to be responsible... is this a known issue?

I'm running a fresh install of WinXP sp3 on a thinkpad x60.

thanks

troubadix · **Posted:** Sat Sep 12, 2009 11:58 am

bernstein wrote:

....is this a known issue?

not yet

bernstein · **Posted:** Mon Sep 14, 2009 2:45 pm

okey i did some "testing" - well tried v0.61.... and the problem disappears! I tried several times installing & uninstalling v0.61 & 0.62 and the problem is 100% reprudictible with v0.62! For now i'm sticking with v0.61...

btw: with v0.61 the systray icon no longer shows the temperature but the fan level - which config option changes this? i couldn't find the option...

update: i also tried all config options of v0.62 but the hang doesn't seem to go away...

troubadix · **Posted:** Tue Sep 15, 2009 4:29 am

...ooops!

But no such probs here on my X61t, T61, T42, T41, T40...all WinXP SP3
may be other users can confirm the issue :?:

btw: there is no config option for the icon to show the fan level.....but always in tooltip only :roll:

newyorkpaulie · **Posted:** Sat Oct 10, 2009 6:46 am

Shimodax wrote:

Hi Folks!

I'm a programmer and have bought a T43 (2668 97G) a few weeks ago and was quite annoyed by the fan noise. Subsequently I have spent almost four fulls days researching this f*cking fan problem and I came up with a little tool for Windows XP.

It's working quite okay now and this was only possible with help from some daring folks who were brave enough to test it on different modesl (at first it was only tested on my own machine).

This thread documents the progress of the program and includes a link to the current version and readme in the next post (you'll always find the latest readme and download link there).

If you're interested, I suggest that you browse through the thread and of course don't ignore the readme-file.

Cheers

Markus

PS: This post was edited since the thread was open to reflect the current state of the program.

Hello... I downloaded the fancontrol program and it works fine when I'm using WinXP. Is there a version available to use with Linux? My OS can open a .deb file, so this form would be the best one for me. Thanks.

DK6400Brian · **Posted:** Sat Oct 10, 2009 7:09 pm

Just installed tpfancontrol on my Z61p, 0674-KSG, and it works like a charm. I'm simply amazed.

Running in Smartmode for now. Default settings.
Starting at Fan-0, it worked itself up to Fan-2 and is hovering at Fan-0/Fan-1.
Have had no issues.

WinXP, SP3+

scrawledinwax · **Posted:** Sun Nov 01, 2009 11:16 am

Please forgive my ignorance, but...

I recently upgraded to Windows 7 on my X61. I had had tpfancontrol running on Vista for some time and had entirely forgotten about it.

I installed tpfancontrol as described in the readme file - run an elevated cmd propmt and simply type 'install'.

Unfortunately, I can't detect any difference. The fan seems to constantly be running at a higher rate than it did with Vista. What's more it has a slight pulsing quality to it now, as if it revs up slightly every few seconds.

I performed a clean install and am essentially only running Firefox with 2 or 3 tabs open.

Any suggestions as to what I might have done wrong?

-Nav

DK6400Brian · **Posted:** Sun Nov 01, 2009 12:10 pm

scrawledinwax wrote:

Any suggestions as to what I might have done wrong?

-Nav

I have no experience with W7, but I would try to fiddle with the ini-file and see if this help, until someone with better knowledge can help.

troubadix · **Posted:** Mon Nov 02, 2009 8:59 am

scrawledinwax wrote:

.....run an elevated cmd propmt and simply type 'install'.

please download & use latest version (setup.exe):
http://staff-www.uni-marburg.de/~schmitzr/tpfc_v062.zip

scrawledinwax · **Posted:** Mon Nov 02, 2009 3:39 pm

Ah. Silly me.

Thanks.

Question for anyone - is there a resource that lets one know about the potential long-term impact of differing CPU temps? Essentially, while I find the silence blissful, I'm curious if is using TPfancontrol is/will shorten my CPU life.

-Nav

pikus · **Posted:** Thu Nov 05, 2009 7:37 am

Hello, SOS, HELP!

My work T61 was working always fine. It has been re-imaged because I got a blue screen and the registry was corrupted and the system couldn't start anymore. Still don't know the reason why this happened - nevermind.

After re-imaging it Immediately I noticed that IS VERY HOT!!!!
When I say hot I am not exhagerating. The monitor metallic port on the left side cannot be touched with hands, it's extremely hot.

Sometimes if I restart the PC when is hot, when the first WinXP logo appears it gets stucked (no matter how many times I try to reboot) I have to take the laptop in the balcony for 2 minutes (-2 degrees Celsius) and it boots up.

Why is strange???

Because there is no process using a lot of raw or processor. Processor is always around 4%. It works ok, goes up when I really use it. But it gets how doesn't matter what I do!

Degrees (they can vary, usually all the rest is much hotter - hdd is always about 47-50, so it's the only one ok):

Code:

cpu 93°C (0x78)
aps 60°C (0x79)
crd 54°C (0x7a)
gpu 89°C (0x7b)
no5 52°C (0x7c)
bat 47°C (0x7e)
bus 56°C (0xc0)
pci 64°C (0xc1)
pwr 74°C (0xc2)

The only way to start the fan working fine is TPFanControl! But after even few hours, the processor doesn't go below 88C. That's crazy.

The wind blowing in the back of the notebook is untouchable.

Please help! What can I do?
How can I understand what is going wrong?????

One more think... I noticed that the battery was lasting in more than 2 hours... now a little more than 1 hour without using any program to change fan speeds. So something is sucking energy to make everything hot. But what?

Any detective??

troubadix · **Posted:** Fri Nov 06, 2009 1:32 am

give ubuntu bootdisk a try http://www.ubuntu.com/GetUbuntu/download

pikus · **Posted:** Fri Nov 06, 2009 3:33 am

what to try concretely?

troubadix · **Posted:** Fri Nov 06, 2009 4:52 am

that won't change your Win Installation and makes decision whether hard- or software issue

linko · **Posted:** Tue Nov 10, 2009 10:34 pm

I wrote a script that has fixed my fan troubles really well. I was going to sell my thinkpad the fan was so maddening, but this gets rid of the annoying noise.

http://campassi.com/code/tpfs-0.4.sh

p78 · **Posted:** Sat Nov 28, 2009 9:07 am

newyorkpaulie wrote:

Hello... I downloaded the fancontrol program and it works fine when I'm using WinXP. Is there a version available to use with Linux? My OS can open a .deb file, so this form would be the best one for me. Thanks.

There's a fancontrol script/service in the lm_sensors gentoo package working great on my x40 : http://en.gentoo-wiki.com/wiki/Lenovo_T ... an_control

There are also others solutions like the one by linko or also on thinkwiki.org

cn_habs · **Posted:** Thu Dec 24, 2009 10:45 pm

I have a T61 with an Intel 965 and the fan started turning on and off recently...tpfancontrol with default settings right after installation only makes the cpu temp rise but does indeed silence the vent. Who's wrong here?

Current temps with default settings:
1 cpu 60°C
2 aps 39°C
3 crd 36°C
5 no5 33°C
7 bat 31°C
9 bus 38°C
10 pci 40°C
11 pwr 43°C

Could you help me set up tpfancontrol please? Thank you in advance.

chait · **Posted:** Wed Feb 24, 2010 11:50 am

Just installed the program. Great job!

(I have an x61s) I am playing around with the different settings and have noticed that when I End Program, even if the cpu temp is low the fan goes to full speed. Any idea why? thanks in advance.

troubadix · **Posted:** Thu Feb 25, 2010 4:04 am

When TPFC.62 ends, it will switch to BIOS controlled fan action (state before starting TPFC) by means of writing 128 (hex 0x80) to embedded controller (EC) register number 47 (hex 0x2F, fan control register). Full speed fan action would need register no.47 set to 64 (hex 40). You can check this by running RW - Read & Write-Utiliy simultaneously (screenshot).

chait · **Posted:** Thu Feb 25, 2010 10:01 am

Thank you very much for the quick and informative reply! I love this utility.

Marin85 · **Posted:** Tue Mar 16, 2010 4:36 pm

Nevermind.

EchoFox · **Posted:** Wed Apr 14, 2010 8:38 am

Right, just started using TPFC.62 today, and I like it. I pretty much only have one thing to ask.

I read that in the first version of this program, if it crashed the BIOS would not retake control of the fan. Has anything been done in more recent versions to fix this? Furthermore, has TPFC been known to crash ever; what are the chances or circumstances?

Thanks for creating something so useful.

Oh, one more thing. Would I be right in saying that the fan responds (under TPFC) to the temperature of the GPU, not the CPU? Or is it whichever one is the higher temperature?

troubadix · **Posted:** Thu Apr 15, 2010 12:24 am

1st: if TPFC crashes the BIOS will not retake control of the fan

2nd: nothing has been done in more recent versions to fix this

(we could make some effort in starting a second process controlling TPFC, seems to be not necessary until now).
3rd: TPFC has not been known to crash ever

if it would do so, thermal emergency shut down or throttling of cpu/gpu will result.

4th: the fan responds (under TPFC) to the temperature of that thermal sensor whichever finds the highest temperature.

EchoFox · **Posted:** Thu Apr 15, 2010 7:30 am

Ah, all sounds good then. My T43p has the whole whirring thing coming from the fan, and rather than get a replacement just having it not run half the time is a decent enough compromise.

Thanks for getting replying so soon.

troubadix · **Posted:** Thu Apr 15, 2010 11:37 am

suffering from noise especially on T43 it is worthwhile to give RMClock a try, too.

Thinkpad Fan Noise Problem: Light at the End of the Tunnel

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