Warm HD in Ubuntu

[emeraldgirl08]

I've noticed a difference in OS heat dissipation. In Ubuntu it seems the palm rest over the HD is noticeably warmer than XP.

Has anyone noticed that?

If anyone has an answer for this I'd really like to get to the bottom of this. It's kind of worrying wondering if my HD is going to pop out like burnt toast!

[bajaman61]

I've noticed a difference in OS heat dissipation. In Ubuntu it seems the palm rest over the HD is noticeably warmer than XP.

If anyone has an answer for this I'd really like to get to the bottom of this . . .

There is a running controversy on this topic on other fora. As I understand the current debate, Ubuntu itself does not "touch" the hard drive. But other operating systems do, and they manage the power/access to the hard drive, making it run more efficiently and at lower temperatures. Ubuntu's hands-off-the-hard drive approach by default lets the BIOS manage the hard drive's power and access settings. The claim is that the BIOS is more "aggressive" and so the hard drive is accessed/runs more frequently than under XP, for example.

This reply is to give you a flavor of the debate. I am not an expert on the topic, but, as you are, an interested linux on a Thinkpad user.

Anyone more knowledgeable on this issue?