[X31] Absolutely baffled: fan speed on a fresh install

[Txiasaeia]

I've got two hard drives for my X31: one is the stock 40GB 4200RPM that came with the Thinkpad, the other is a Seagate 80GB 7200RPM that I picked up last year. I have a factory default installation on the 40GB, and I just finished a fresh install on the 80GB. Now, this is what I don't understand: on the 40GB factory default drive, the system is dead silent. The fans will ramp up under heavy CPU load, but otherwise nothing. CPU temperature at idle is 60C. On the 80GB fresh install, however, the fan is constantly blowing, but the CPU temperature is in the low 40's. If I use the Thinkpad T43 Fan Control (0.18) utility to attempt to turn the fan off, it simply won't. I can manually ramp it through steps 0-7, but while it's very loud at 7, it's still on at 0. On the other hand, the fan is definitely off on the factory install drive, even though the temperature creeps up into the mid 60's.

Ideally, I'd like to use the 80GB drive and have the fans off unless the temperature gets above 70C or so. If Thinkpad T43 Fan Control won't turn the fans off, and if underclocking in NHC does nothing, what am I missing? Aside from factory install vs. fresh install, the only other difference is that the fresh install (loud and cool) is using the absolute latest drivers from Lenovo, whereas the factory install (quiet and hot) is using drivers from maybe a year ago. Is there a specific device driver or utility I can use from a year ago to replicate the quiet and hot behaviour on the 80GB hard drive?

[tomh009]

Very strange indeed ... my X31 (with a 7200 rpm 7K100) will not turn the fan on until around 60C, which means hardly ever. And that's without any fan control software, though I do run NHC to undervolt the CPU.

[Txiasaeia]

Very strange indeed ... my X31 (with a 7200 rpm 7K100) will not turn the fan on until around 60C, which means hardly ever. And that's without any fan control software, though I do run NHC to undervolt the CPU.

Did you do a clean install on the 7200 drive, or did you use the factory restore disks?

[billp117]

Why not try cloning the 40 GB drive to the 80 GB drive. Seagate has an excellent free software to do this job. Sounds to me to be worth the try.

[tomh009]

Did you do a clean install on the 7200 drive, or did you use the factory restore disks?

I cloned from the previous HD, which in turn had been cloned from the factory disk.

[Txiasaeia]

Sounds like an excellent idea. I'll have the factory install disks later next month, but I'll definitely give the cloning idea a go. Looks like the Seagate version is based on Acronis True Image, too. I'll see how it works.

[rek]

You might be missing one of the power management drivers or something

In my experience X31s are very, very quiet machines and will only start their fan under extended high load.

[Bob_760]

Are you sure the fan is running and you aren't just hearing the HDD? Long long ago When I upgraded my T30 from the origonal HDD to a 7200RPM HDD I thought the fan was running all the time at first but then i realized that it was just the HDD. Also I recently fresh installed XP on my X31 and with NO IBM Software at all the fan worked fine. All I have on it now is the LAN/Modem drivers and the Bluetooth software/driver. Works great and the fan hardly ever comes on. Anyway so feel for air coming out and I think you'll find it's just the HDD.