T60 overheats with Vista

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TheStranger2007 · #1 Post by **TheStranger2007** » Mon Mar 24, 2008 11:37 am

This is my computer info:

Product: ThinkPad T60 2007-C4U
Operating system: Vista

Original description: T2500(2GHz), 3GB RAM (I have 2GB stick & 1GB stick), 80GB 5400rpm HD, 14.1in 1400x1050, 64MB ATI Radeon X1300, CDRW/DVDRW, Intel 802.11abg wireless, Bluetooth/Modem, 1Gb Ethernet, UltraNav, Secure chip, Fingerprint reader, 6c Li-Ion batt

Recently formatted/installed fresh copy of Windows Vista Business. Installed Service Pack 1 for Vista. Installed all other windows updates. Installed Lenovo Updates using ThinkVantage System Update 3.13 (http://www-307.ibm.com/pc/support/site. ... VSU-UPDATE).

My issue is overheating!! My computer overheats and shuts down, then when I turn it on it doesnt read from the harddrive and seems to be in a frozen state. Until I let it cool and have a fan blow on it, does it restart fine.

When I had Windows XP I think my computer would only overheat if I placed it on my bed or another sort of soft surface... which makes sense. It would never overheat while sitting on its dock station.

Now while running Windows Vista.. it overheats on the docking station. (I cant imagine the problem being the docking station too close to the laptop because the bottom of the laptop has these bumpy things which make sure it is the same distance from the docking station as it would be on a regular desk surface.)

I would not even be doing too much.. a few IE windows open/ a few chat windows. Notepad++ open.. Filezilla I think. Basically I had a bunch of apps running and listening to music too I believe (using WMP). Still, this should not cause overheating and my computer to shutdown.

So I have a way around this issue by blowing a fan at it.

The laptop already has fans on the side (which by the way are not blocked by the docking station). But I believe it is a general overheating of the machine (such as the bottom).
Also Vista is very graphics oriented so I am sure the graphics card is working very hard (it is almost the same as playing a video game on a laptop) so this might add to the heat.

Still I do not want to turn off the graphics because.. why use Vista at all?

Anyway, I dont want to get one of those fan stations that go on the bottom of your machine because then I could not use my docking station.. I think maybe the best I can do is try cleaning the fan area.. but I know this isnt the cause of the issue either (because I used vista when it first came out and I still had an issue and because other people complain of overheating with Vista).

I think theres some way to control the speeds of the fans.. to make them start running sooner and running more often than what it takes for my machine to overheat.. But I dont see why I need to meddle with these settings.. I feel like Vista or Lenovo should take care of these issues and know when/what to do its job.

If there are other posts about Vista on T60 overheating in this forum, please post the links, I will read. Is there a search feature on this site?

Thank you,

#2 Post by **erik** » Mon Mar 24, 2008 12:25 pm

TheStranger2007 wrote:Is there a search feature on this site?

it's the top center link underneath the title:

Search

if your system is overheating during normal tasks then something is wrong with the physical computer, not the OS. it shouldn't overheat while sitting on a bed regardless of OS. your fan could be clogged with dust, there could be a gap between your processor and heatsink/fan assembly, or the thermal compound could have been improperly installed. it's possible that something is wrong with your power management settings but not very likely. i'd start with the fan and go from there.

TheStranger2007 · #3 Post by **TheStranger2007** » Mon Mar 24, 2008 2:31 pm

I found a relating forum post: http://forum.thinkpads.com/viewtopic.ph ... &start=240

I think this overheating is caused by the graphics card being used a lot. I am going to try to blow air into the laptop.. I wish I could also put legs on the thinkpad.. but since I am on a docking station..that is not an option.

People also suggest putting a new heatsink? Not sure if I want to try/do that..

mgo · #4 Post by **mgo** » Mon Mar 24, 2008 2:43 pm

TheStranger2007 wrote:This is my computer info:

Product: ThinkPad T60 2007-C4U
Operating system: Vista
Recently formatted/installed fresh copy of Windows Vista Business.My issue is overheating
Thank you,

I am running Vista on three T60 ThinkPads. Vista runs about 5-10 degrees hotter because of additional services and increased video demands, but I have never had a thermal shutdown on either machine.

I even run a little program to slow the fans down to suppress fan whine, and I still do not overheat, even with intensive programs running.

My point is, Vista is not the cause of your thermal shutdowns. Vista will cause a warmer machine but not to the point of shutdown.

Make sure your fan is spinning, make sure you blow the dust out of the cooling vents and fan (gently hold the fan so it does not spin wildly if using canned air). You can access the fan by removng the keyboard.

TTY · #5 Post by **TTY** » Mon Mar 24, 2008 3:05 pm

The fan assembly has physical contact to three chips. One is the CPU, the second is the GPU and the third might be the chipset's northbridge. The thermal interface material (TIM) between the CPU and the fan assembly has to be renewed every time the fan assembly is (re-)installed. The TIM
a) between the GPU and the fan assembly and
b) between the third chip and the fan assembly consists of slabs of soft matter, these slabs can be reused and should not be removed from the fan assembly. A few members of this board have noticed that on their notebooks, the two slabs of soft TIM are protected by thin plastic foils. These plastic foils seem to function as thermal insulators. They prevent heat from passing freely from the GPU and the other chip to the fan assembly. One user removed these plastic foils and reassembled the notebook. I don't remember if the notebook ran quieter or cooler or both, but he was happy with the result.

SHoTTa35 · #6 Post by **SHoTTa35** » Mon Mar 24, 2008 3:15 pm

yeah, it shouldn't overheart that easy. My TP (info in sig) is similar to yours and my temps are normally in the 44-54C for normal stuff. The GPU is like 60+C but that's another story.

Even while doing lots of stuff on my PC i don't get overheating issues.

Put your machine in "Power Saver" mode and see what difference does it make. I run in Balanced 90% of the time and i've never had heat related issues.

arni · #7 Post by **arni** » Mon Mar 24, 2008 3:15 pm

In your case i would call Lenovo service since there must be something wrong with your hardware.

I'm using my TP with Vista for over a year now and even with TPFancontrol enabled with the fan running allways(!) at min. speed i never had any temperature issues even when running the TP for 24h.

TheStranger2007 · #8 Post by **TheStranger2007** » Mon Mar 24, 2008 4:20 pm

I have used an air can to blow into the fan once I removed the keyboard.
Here's the video for a lot of instructions for removing thinkpad hardware.. http://www-307.ibm.com/pc/support/site. ... MIGR-63959

I will let u know if this helps..

TheStranger2007 · #9 Post by **TheStranger2007** » Mon Mar 24, 2008 4:21 pm

Also can I get the links to how people are measuring all their cpu/gpu temperatures and how they are measuring their fan speeds?

Is this what people use to measure fans? (it's for t4x systems.. but a lot of times in forum i hear tpfancontrol being mentioned..)
http://sourceforge.net/projects/tp4xfancontrol/

SHoTTa35 · #10 Post by **SHoTTa35** » Mon Mar 24, 2008 4:26 pm

yeah - i use that one and that's where i get my general temps from.

mgo · #11 Post by **mgo** » Mon Mar 24, 2008 4:56 pm

TheStranger2007 wrote:Also can I get the links to how people are measuring all their cpu/gpu temperatures and how they are measuring their fan speeds?

Is this what people use to measure fans? (it's for t4x systems.. but a lot of times in forum i hear tpfancontrol being mentioned..)
http://sourceforge.net/projects/tp4xfancontrol/

TPFancontrol works well for me as a fan speed controller and temperature monitor. However, a stock out of the factory ThinkPad should not go into thermal shutdown unless there is a physical reason, not a operating system reason or software reason. (unless the software is a stress test program)

Brad · #12 Post by **Brad** » Mon Mar 24, 2008 6:57 pm

My T60p ran cool for quite some time. Suddenly it began to get hot. I removed the fan and cleaned out all the dust. Ran cool again. Then a couple of months later it began to run hot a second time. Sometimes over 180 f. Again I removed the fan and there was much dust. I noticed that the fins on the T60's are much closer together than on at least any I have seen on the T4x's and dust tends to collect which blocks the fins and reduces cooling dramatically.

So, in conclusion, keep your fan clean or replace it often.

Brad

TheStranger2007 · #13 Post by **TheStranger2007** » Mon Mar 24, 2008 7:56 pm

So far my machine is doing well after the cleaning and the part near the fan doesnt seem to be as hot as it was before...

As for fan control readings.. tpfancontrol_v018b worked from sourceforge.. but I had to run it as win xp app and run it as Admin.

My readings are...

CPU 63°C (0x78)
APS 41°C (0x79)
PCM 37°C (0x7a)
GPU 67°C (0x7b)
BAT 36°C (0x7c)
BAT 33°C (0x7e)
BUS 43°C (0xc0)
PCI 51°C (0xc1)
PWR 54°C (0xc2)

My Fan speed is 3447 RPM.

I got the following from (http://www.thinkwiki.org/wiki/How_to_control_fan_speed)
ThinkPad T60 (fan levels RPM: 1-2 = 3000-3100, 3-5 = ~3600, 6-7 = ~4500; disengaged mode works at ~5500)

# echo 0x2F 0x00 > /proc/acpi/ibm/ecdump (fan off)
# echo 0x2F 0x02 > /proc/acpi/ibm/ecdump (low speed)
# echo 0x2F 0x04 > /proc/acpi/ibm/ecdump (medium speed)
# echo 0x2F 0x07 > /proc/acpi/ibm/ecdump (maximum speed)
# echo 0x2F 0x80 > /proc/acpi/ibm/ecdump (automatic - default)
# echo 0x2F 0x40 > /proc/acpi/ibm/ecdump (disengaged)

So that seems to say my fan is going at medium speed.. because it is between 3-5.

mgo · #14 Post by **mgo** » Mon Mar 24, 2008 8:40 pm

TheStranger2007 wrote:So far my machine is doing well after the cleaning and the part near the fan doesnt seem to be as hot as it was before...So that seems to say my fan is going at medium speed.. because it is between 3-5.

Success. Your results are very close to my numbers on my own T60. Looks like the cleaning job cured the problem.

The version of fan control you are running is quite old, but it will work on Vista, often by trying twice to start it up using "Run as admin", to overcome the WinIO error, as I recall.

SHoTTa35 · #15 Post by **SHoTTa35** » Mon Mar 24, 2008 11:52 pm

not that i want to stir up anything but here's my data:

CPU 45°C (0x78)
APS 34°C (0x79)
PCM 34°C (0x7a)
GPU 64°C (0x7b)
BAT 29°C (0x7c)
BAT 28°C (0x7e)
BUS 37°C (0xc0)
PCI 43°C (0xc1)
PWR 43°C (0xc2)

FAN = 3439RPM (Ac plugged in)

As you can see my CPU under Vista Balanced profile just browsing the net for the past few hours is pretty low. My room temp is also about 70F. It's been sitting on the desk the whole time with no special fans near it or anything.

I always use that older version to check my settings. I didn't do anything other than using those compressed air cans to clean out the fan when i removed the keyboard. Not sure what could be the cause but your area could be warmer than mine. We still have 30-40F (at night) outside temps.

TheStranger2007 · #16 Post by **TheStranger2007** » Thu Mar 27, 2008 7:41 pm

mgo wrote:
Success. Your results are very close to my numbers on my own T60. Looks like the cleaning job cured the problem.

The version of fan control you are running is quite old, but it will work on Vista, often by trying twice to start it up using "Run as admin", to overcome the WinIO error, as I recall.

Where do I get the new version?

And I think it has solved the problem.. no overheating yet

Been using it for a week or so I believe now without problems

mgo · #17 Post by **mgo** » Thu Mar 27, 2008 9:14 pm

TheStranger2007 wrote:
mgo wrote:
Success. Your results are very close to my numbers on my own T60. Looks like the cleaning job cured the problem.

The version of fan control you are running is quite old, but it will work on Vista, often by trying twice to start it up using "Run as admin", to overcome the WinIO error, as I recall.

Where do I get the new version?

And I think it has solved the problem.. no overheating yet Been using it for a week or so I believe now without problems

There is a very long thread on this site "light at the end of the tunnel" or something similar and if you go to the last page there will be a download link by the author. If you get nowhere with that, I could send you a zipped copy. It is freeware and I am using it on all my machines with success. I do not run it as a service, just start it manually. Vista does not complain about this version at all.

TheStranger2007 · #18 Post by **TheStranger2007** » Fri Mar 28, 2008 1:18 am

http://staff-www.uni-marburg.de/~schmitzr/tpfcserv.zip
http://staff-www.uni-marburg.de/~schmitzr/tpfc_v042.zip

Those are the two links i found in the forum: "Thinkpad Fan Noise Problem: Light at the End of the Tunnel" http://forum.thinkpads.com/viewtopic.ph ... ght+tunnel

Neither of which worked well in Vista.. crashed with some missing dll issue:

"This application has failed to start because TVicPort.dll was not found. Re-installing the application may fix this problem."

mgo · #19 Post by **mgo** » Fri Mar 28, 2008 2:50 am

TheStranger2007 wrote:http://staff-www.uni-marburg.de/~schmitzr/tpfcserv.zip
http://staff-www.uni-marburg.de/~schmitzr/tpfc_v042.zip

Those are the two links i found in the forum: "Thinkpad Fan Noise Problem: Light at the End of the Tunnel" http://forum.thinkpads.com/viewtopic.ph ... ght+tunnel

Neither of which worked well in Vista.. crashed with some missing dll issue:

"This application has failed to start because TVicPort.dll was not found. Re-installing the application may fix this problem."

TVicPort is some sort of interface that allows fan control to work with windows, including Vista. It must be installed first, then fan control can be run manually by clicking the tpfancontrol.exe. You can make a shortcut for that to your desktop for manual starting. read all the text files that come with the program for proper installation information.

TheStranger2007 · #20 Post by **TheStranger2007** » Mon Mar 31, 2008 3:36 pm

I went here to download TVicPort
http://www.entechtaiwan.com/dev/port/index.shtm

TheStranger2007 · #21 Post by **TheStranger2007** » Mon Mar 31, 2008 4:43 pm

Once TVicPort was installed.. the fanctrol v42 worked both on my xp machine (t60p) and also on my vista machine (t60p).

My readings when I just powered up my machine from sleep.

1 cpu 58°C (0x78)
2 aps 28°C (0x79)
3 crd 31°C (0x7a)
4 gpu 62°C (0x7b)
5 bat 19°C (0x7c)
7 bat 19°C (0x7e)
9 bus 32°C (0xc0)
10 pci 40°C (0xc1)
11 pwr 46°C (0xc2)

You can see my gpu is still pretty cool at 62... but it will probably go up to 69.. as i posted before.

Still I think blowing with air can helps.. and from now on when I get heating problems I will run fancontrol to see how hot my system is.. and if its above 70C, then I will use air can to blow at the fan.

Thanks everyone for your help

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