t42 fan running constantly with new bios SOLVED- bug !!

[steelie69]

i'm the guy who noticed that after updating to the latest system bios from IBMs website the cpu fan is constantly running, even though it used to almost never run.

after downloading a copy of CPU-Z (from cpuid.com) i have discovered the cause. the new bios forces the CPU to remain at FULL CLOCK SPEED no matter what the settings you put in the battery maximizer.

no matter if you set it to slow or adaptive, the CPU stays locked at full speed. it never wavers.

to confirm this, I re-installed the previous bios and the battery maximizer works perfectly and allows you to set the CPU speed again like it always has.

this is a HUGE bug in the latest bios. i can't believe IBM missed something this glaringly huge.

wow.

[jdhurst]

I do not run Battery Maximizer at startup. I have the newest BIOS (3.14), the newest EC (3.04), and the newest power management driver (1.30). I use the standard ThinkPad power properties and from that list I use ThinkPad Default. My CPU always runs at 600MHz (Mobile Meter) unless I run something that causes it to rise and then the fan runs on high for a bit. Otherwise, the new BIOS has not changed fan behaviour for me, but I do accept what you say about Battery Maximizer. I never figured out what BMM did that I don't get with the standard power management software (that really would make a difference). ... JD Hurst

[steelie69]

with battery maximizer you can set the CPU to never run faster than its slowest setting (600mhz) or never run slower than full speed (1700mhz in my case)

without battery maximizer, the CPU adjusts automatically based on the load. this results in the fan spinning up when you open a window in microsoft word, for example, when you could keep things silent by just running at slow speed constantly.

also when running games, the CPU speed will jump back and forth, resulting in jerky performance. its nice to be able to force it into full speed before you launch into a game of half life 2, for example.

I do not run Battery Maximizer at startup. I have the newest BIOS (3.14), the newest EC (3.04), and the newest power management driver (1.30). I use the standard ThinkPad power properties and from that list I use ThinkPad Default. My CPU always runs at 600MHz (Mobile Meter) unless I run something that causes it to rise and then the fan runs on high for a bit. Otherwise, the new BIOS has not changed fan behaviour for me, but I do accept what you say about Battery Maximizer. I never figured out what BMM did that I don't get with the standard power management software (that really would make a difference). ... JD Hurst

[Sasha]

Steelie69

It is not so on my machine. I have BIOS version 3.14 and EC version 3.04 for my controller. My CPU's performance was set to 600MHZ in both AC and battery power modes and both Mobilemeter and CPU-Z confirm that my processor is running at 600MHz. I have also set the same in my BIOS.

The fan on my Thinkpad doesn't normally run at high unless I am doing something CPU-intensive that drives my CPU temp above 47 deg C, at which point my fan kicks into high speed mode.....

[Leon]

but Sasha, are you running Batter Maximizer??

[Marc_G]

Here's a followup question:

When running on AC, how can I get the CPU to run in an adaptive mode? I'm running a T42P (1.8GHz) and it shows at 1.80 in Mobile Meter all the time when plugged in. On battery it will drop down.

Much of the time when I'm on AC, I don't need 1.8 GHz (heck, I probably don't need 0.6). Of course when I crank up a power-hog app, I want it to kick into high gear.

I'm running essentially the IBM preload as far as power management, battery maximizer, etc.. Working on updating 2 months worth of drivers over the next few days to get to the latest.

Marc

[gazingwa]

you "upgraded" your 60gb 7200 rpm to an 80gb???? what rpm??? 5400 isn't exactly an upgrade

[Leon]

if you need the space more than the speed, it is......

[Marc_G]

Hi Gazingwa-

I'm with Leon. My need is for space, more so than real-but-often-marginal-in-practical-life speed increases.

Actually, for the short term, I'm using a 4200 RPM 80 GB drive. It is certainly slower than the 7200 RPM drive was! So when I get my final 80 GB 5400 RPM drive, it will seem zippy by comparison to what I've got now.

The 60 GB 7200 RPM drive, encased in the Ultrabay Slim adaptor, will do nicely for rapid backups of critical partitions prior to each trip I take. I'm a "road warrior" type, paranoid about having good backups.

For my work I use VMWare, and just loaded about 15 GB of virtual machine files onto this big old disk. The 60 GB drive just didn't cut it in terms of storage. The extra 20 GB the 80 drive gives me is the difference between having cramped partitions that are a pain to defrag, and nice elbow room on an orderly system.

Speed versus space: to each their own.

Marc

PS: Yes, I DO drive a MINIVAN

[daeojkim]

Here's a followup question:

When running on AC, how can I get the CPU to run in an adaptive mode? I'm running a T42P (1.8GHz) and it shows at 1.80 in Mobile Meter all the time when plugged in. On battery it will drop down.

Much of the time when I'm on AC, I don't need 1.8 GHz (heck, I probably don't need 0.6). Of course when I crank up a power-hog app, I want it to kick into high gear.

I'm running essentially the IBM preload as far as power management, battery maximizer, etc.. Working on updating 2 months worth of drivers over the next few days to get to the latest.

Marc

To do this you have to add a new power scheme for AC. By default there is no adaptive mode for AC. I had to add a new setting called it "adaptive" and selected adaptive for CPU.

After this my comp runs at 600 most of the time untill I do something intensive, then it will go up to 1.7Ghz, 800MHz, 1GHz, etc according to need. My CPU temperature is at 41 degrees most of the time and HD at 32.

[Sasha]

but Sasha, are you running Batter Maximizer??

Yep!! the latest version (Ver 1.37)

If Bill OKs it, I can post a BMP of the CPU-Z capture, showing my processor clock at 598.1MHz on AC.

[Kenn]

T42p with newest bios and ECP update, always been running Battery Maximiser before and after update.

No problem with speedstep I currently run Very slow (600Mhz) on battery, and Adaptive on AC. It does as it's advertised using Actual Measurement on Mobile Monitor. I see it jump between 600-1.8Mhz as I work.

I've been keeping a very close eye on this because I want to see if anything is possible to get "Very slow" working at 200MHz again. Right now, there is no difference between "Slow" and "Very Slow" in Battery Maximiser.

[Marc_G]

Thanks guys!

I'm running on Adaptive on AC now. T42P is running 10 degrees cooler (43 C) and jumping between 600,800,1800 MHz as needed. No apparent effect on application speed. SWEET!

[astpaul]

I found your past. I have the same problem.
My fan is always on even if i am with the latest updates and my CPU is in adaptive mode (temp is currently at 43c).
I don't remember having the fan always on before updating BIOS and such.

"SOLVED" is written on the subject but i don't quite understand what is the actual solution. Event after reading the entire post!

[Marc_G]

FWIW, I'm still running the "old" BIOS 3.13, and my fan runs essentially all the time, but at a low setting so I would really have to try to hear it, unless the temperature climbs pretty high (~55C). I can feel a slight rush of air coming out the left side vent. Right now my MobileMeter temperature is at 40 C and the HD is at 29 C.

I don't consider this operation faulty.

I'm having some trouble working up the courage to update the BIOS, though, in fear that maybe the fan will be noisier...

Marc

[astpaul]

in fear that maybe the fan will be noisier...

From my experience it doesn't but it seems that you can always go back to an earlier BIOS. Someone could confirm?

[zver17]

i am a bit confused with the power-saving features.

before we start, my T42 has been clean-reformatted by my company using their winXP cd (without any IBM software), but I am free to manually add stuff if I want. so far i only added the HDD shockprotection. I wonder whehther its worthwhile adding battery maximiser (or anything else for that matter).

when unplugging the power cord, the CPU currently goes into what i understand is adaptive mode, with the cpu switching between 0.6-1.7GHz based on load (sometime, going to 1.7 when opening word, which makes no sense to me). but i wouldnt expect this mode to be considerably less battery efficient then just running @ 0.6GHz at all times, right? Is the battery maximiser the only way to ensure that the cpu gets fixed at 0.6GHz on battery or is this achievable using winXP(pro) or some BIOS setting? Are there any advantages at all to the adaptive mode?

thanks in advance.

[slasko]

Hello

Ive tryid to make an AC adaptive mode in the batteri maximizer but it dont seem to work? My cpu runs at maximum (2.1GHz) all the time. I have bios v3.15 and maximizer v1.30