peace at last: how I used tpfancontrol to stop the annoyance

[mgo]

We all know that the T43p computers (and others) have a very noisy fan. Thanks to the authors of ThinkPad Fan Control freeware it's possible to stop this agrivation, or at least cut back on the whirring sounds. I am currently using Ver 0.21 of tpfancontrol. This newer version runs tpfancontrol as a service, rather than the user needing to put a shortcut in the Startup folder, like the older version.

One side note here: When I first installed the program in WINDOWS VISTA, using install.bat I got very wierd behavior during the installation, including what seemed to be a 400 mb load-up of some files from System32! Knowing something was very wrong, I re-installed my back up image and tried again. Same strange result-the tpfancontrol contained dozens and dozens of files and was over 400 mb in size.

(By the way, installation on the same machine in XP went well, with no strange behavior).

What I did to correct the bad VISTA installation:
1: ran uninstall.bat, which removed that huge rogue folder with seemingly no damage to the OS.
2: manually installed the program, using the install.bat file as a model, rather than running the batch file as before. The .bat file contained:

"md c:\tpfancontrol
copy *.* c:\tpfancontrol
c:\tpfancontrol\fancontrol_service.exe -i
net start TPFanControl"

in four lines. I simply manually did the commands instead of runing the batch file. This worked, and the fancontrol program then installed and ran ok, but as others have mentioned the tray icon does not appear in the Vista installation.
3: In VISTA, the program must be run using Admin Rights by right clicking on the commands.

How I made my T43p virtually silent:
1: I modified the fancontrol.ini file to cause the fan to not kick in till it reached 160 degrees f. I have pasted my .ini file here for reference. With these settings, the machine's fan will run as needed under heavy load, but will remain silent when I'm just surfing or word processing.

It takes a while for tpfancontrol to take effect after bootup. In around 30 seconds, I notice that the fan speed changes, and then often stops when the machine is just idling.

The .ini file is posted below. Hope my notes help others. You may have to experiment with your own .ini settings on your individual machine.

In XP, the machine will run short bursts of fan activity when under load. In Vista, the fan will run more often, due to the higher load introduced by Vista.

During idle or light work load, the machine is warm, but not hot to the touch. Under heavy load with lots of graphic activity, etc, the machine gets very warm, but the fan is able to hold the temperature to around 190 degrees f. or less.

-hope this helps other users.

======================
//
// >>>> Fahrenheit Edition: all temperatures in °F <<<<
//
// -----------------------------------------------------------------
// ENGL:
// "Active=0" program just reads config.
// "Active=1" allow program to modify fan.
// "Active=2" program will come up in smart mode.

// DE:
// bei "Active=0" wird nur die Konfiguration ausgelesen.
// bei "Active=1" die Veränderung des Lüfterverhaltens ist aktiviert.
// bei "Active=2" startet das Programm im "Smart"-Modus.

Active=2

// -----------------------------------------------------------------
// ENGL: check temperatures every x seconds (default 5)
// DE: Überprüft die Temperaturen alle x Sekunden (Standard ist 5).

Cycle=5

// -----------------------------------------------------------------
// ENGL: Hide the program in the systray when minimizing (set to zero
// to minimize to taskbar with info displayed in the window title)

// DE: Versteckt das Programm unten rechts in der Windows-Taskleiste,
// wenn es minimiert wird. (bei 0 wird das Programm in die Taskbar
// minimiert und zeigt Informationen im Fenstertitel an.)

MinimizeToSysTray=1

// -----------------------------------------------------------------
// ENGL: The close button [X] minimized the program rather than
// ending it (End via right click in the system tray icon instead).

// DE: Der "Close"-Button minimiert das Programm, anstatt es
// zu beenden. (stattdessen beendet man es mit einem Rechts-Klick
// in der Taskleiste.)

MinimizeOnClose=1

// -----------------------------------------------------------------
// ENGL: Minimize (or hide to systray) immediately when starting
// DE: Minimiert es (oder versteckt es in der Taskleiste) beim Start.

StartMinimized=1

// -----------------------------------------------------------------
// ENGL: disable close function, useful when running as a service
// DE: Programm kann manuell (aus Versehen) nicht gestoppt werden

DisableClose=1

// -----------------------------------------------------------------
// ENGL: Temperature thresholds for turning the taskbar icon
// yellow orange red (Smart and Manual mode only and
// only together with MinimizeToTray=1)

// DE: Temperaturgrenzwerte, die das Symbol in der Taskbar gelb,
// orange bzw. rot färben. (Nur im "Smart"- und "Manual"-Modus
// in Kombination mit "MinimizeToTray=1" verfügbar.)

IconLevels=165 190 192

// -----------------------------------------------------------------
// ENGL: Beep frequency and duration (in ms) for successful
// fan state changes. (Set either or both to zero to
// disable)

// DE: Frequenz und Dauer des Piep-Signals (in ms), das eine erfolgreiche
// Änderung des Lüfterzustands ankündigt. (Um den Piepton abzuschalten,
// setzen Sie entweder einen oder beide Werte auf 0.)

FanBeep=0 0

// --------------------------------------------------------
// ENGL: If this max number of consecutive EC read errors occur
// program will switch fan back to bios mode and exit

// DE: Sobald die maximale Anzahl aufeinanderfolgender EC-Lesefehler
// erreicht ist, schaltet das Programm auf den BIOS-Modus um
// und wird beendet.

MaxReadErrors= 10

// --------------------------------------------------------
// ENGL: Log2File=1 enables, Log2File=0 disables
// writing to fancontrol.log

// DE: Log2File=1 aktiviert, Log2File=0 deaktiviert
// Schreiben nach fancontrol.log

Log2File=1

// --------------------------------------------------------
// ENGL: list (separated by comma) of sensors to ignore when
// determining the max. temperature. (Use upper case,
// e.g "IgnoreSensors=XC1,BAT")

// DE: Liste der Sensoren, getrennt durch Kommata, die bei der
// Ermittlung der Maximaltemperatur ignoriert werden. (Verwenden
// Sie Großbuchstaben, z.B. "IgnoreSensors=PCI,BAT".)

IgnoreSensors=

// ---------------------------------------------------------
// ENGL: List of 3 letter sensor names
// DE: Liste von Sensorname (jeweils 3 Buchstaben)

SensorName1=CPU
SensorName2=APS
SensorName3=PCM
SensorName4=GPU
SensorName5=BAT
SensorName6=X7D
SensorName7=BAT
SensorName8=X7F
SensorName9=BUS
SensorName10=PCI
SensorName11=PWR
SensorName12=XC3

// --------------------------------------------------------
// ENGL: temperature levels with associated fan levels
// (for the fan to come back, temperature must fall
// down to previous level). There may be more or
// less levels in this list. The first one should
// have a fan speed of zero and is the "turn off"
// temperature.
//
// Fan speed of 64 is extreme and may be an *unsupported*
// and *damaging* mode. A fan speed of 128 setting is
// not really a fan speed in itself but will instead switch
// fan control to BIOS mode (0x80). The idea of this
// is to let the program get out of the way and let the
// BIOS handle extremes.(and then switch back to smart if
// the temperature is okay again)

// DE: Im Folgenden sind die Temperaturpegel samt den jeweils
// zugeordeten Lüfterstufen aufgelistet. (Sobald die Temperatur in
// den Bereich eines niedrigeren bzw. höheren Pegels wechselt, wird
// die Lüfterstufe automatisch angepasst und folglich verringert bzw.
// erhöht sich die Geschwindigkeit des Lüfters.) Diese Liste kann
// weniger oder auch mehr Stufen beinhalten. Sinngemäß sollte die
// erste Stufe die gewünschte Temperatur definieren, bei der sich
// der Lüfter ausschaltet (Lüftergeschwindigkeit 0)
//
// Die Lüftergeschwindigkeit 64 ist ein Extremwert und könnte somit
// eine von IBM nicht unterstützte und sogar schädigende Betriebsart
// darstellen. Die Lüftergeschwindigkeit 128 ist an sich keine eigene
// Geschwindigkeitsstufe, sondern gibt stattdessen die Kontrolle
// des Lüfters an das BIOS (BIOS mode, 0x80) zurück. Der Hintergrund
// dieser Einstellung ist die Möglichkeit, das Programm auszuschließen,
// um Extemfälle wieder vom BIOS steuern zu lassen. (Sobald sich die
// Temperatur wieder im Normbereich befindet, wird erneut der Smart
// Modus aktiviert.)

Level=160 0
Level=162 1
Level=172 2
Level=190 62
Level=192 128
===================

[Harryc]

Thanks for the information. Question, how did you happen to choose 160 degrees f as the fan kickoff point? That sounds a tad hot to me.

[mgo]

Thanks for the information. Question, how did you happen to choose 160 degrees f as the fan kickoff point? That sounds a tad hot to me.

160 deg (f) is the cut off temperature for no fan activity but with just warm to the touch operation. I am also using Custom power management with Adaptive CPU setting most of the time. I have also run the CPU with Max Performance with the same .ini settings with no problems. To test cooling I ran Windows Movie Maker to put a load on the system. You may want to experiment and see what works on your particular machine and usage.

[Harryc]

Ok thanks. 160*F (71*C) is about 20*C hotter than my CPU currently runs at idle/full speed, and 30*C warmer than it runs at idle/stepped down. So if I decide to use this utility I think I'll start with 52*C as the fan trip point and work up from there. I have a new long fan on the way, so if that doesn't fix the fan noise I will be back to this thread.

[agarza]

mgo, I think in the long run your CPU would be ruined because the fan activates at 72C (162F). Could you T43p users post the FRU number of your long heatsink. I think I have a T43p long fan heatsink installed on my T42p and is indeed noisy and pulsating, but ATM don't know the FRU.

My temps:
CPU 49°C (0x78)
APS 51°C (0x79)
PCM 40°C (0x7a)
GPU 53°C (0x7b)
BAT 40°C (0x7c)
BAT 35°C (0x7e)

Fan running in level 1, should stop at the 50C mark, then again in 52C in level 1. Hot hot climate here.

[MartinB]

Where do you find ver. 0.21 of TPfanControl?

[mgo]

Where do you find ver. 0.21 of TPfanControl?

Try this link:

http://staff-www.uni-marburg.de/~schmitzr/tpfcserv.zip

-regards,
mgo

[mgo]

mgo, I think in the long run your CPU would be ruined because the fan activates at 72C (162F)..

Ok, thanks for the word of advice. This is one reason why I posted my article...to get comments and suggestions...

-mgo

[sagara]

mgo - thanks for that link. I tried v.0.18 and it always stopped because of some probable 'software interrupt', which was a problem as it usually stopped with no fan running. But this v.021 works fine, even with NHC running as well.

Robert