i8kfan (and i8kmon) can't control fan on new Inspiron 1545

[oaul]

Binary package hint: i8kutils

I run 9.04 amd64.
i8kfan always returns '-1 0', and never spins the fan

$ i8kfan 2 2
-1 0

...and the fan always stay quiet.

The fans will turn on, but only until the CPU gets to about 70C. I suspect that is the bios kicking in.

i8kmon -v reports the state correctly, but it's clear that the calls to /usr/bin/i8kfan do nothing. I use the default config, and have tried other /etc/i8kmon files from forums etc.

[zanfr (fkruhm)]

any theories about what is going on ?

[oaul (pjozog)]

The I8kfan website says clearly that some laptops are not supported.
Guess I'm just S.O.L.

But the laptop's fans actually start kicking in like 10 seconds after
CPU gets to 60C, which brings it to low 40's. So it's really not that
bad. Had I knew that the temperature was actually pretty acceptable I
wouldn't have filed this bug report.

On Mon, May 11, 2009 at 4:18 AM, zanfr <email address hidden> wrote:
>
> any theories about what is going on ?
>
> --
> i8kfan (and i8kmon) can't control fan on new Inspiron 1545
> https://bugs.launchpad.net/bugs/363152
> You received this bug notification because you are a direct subscriber
> of the bug.
>
> Status in “i8kutils” source package in Ubuntu: New
>
> Bug description:
> Binary package hint: i8kutils
>
> I run 9.04 amd64.
> i8kfan always returns '-1 0', and never spins the fan
>
> $ i8kfan 2 2
> -1 0
>
> ...and the fan always stay quiet.
>
> The fans will turn on, but only until the CPU gets to about 70C.  I suspect that is the bios kicking in.
>
> i8kmon -v reports the state correctly, but it's clear that the calls to /usr/bin/i8kfan do nothing.  I use the default config, and have tried other /etc/i8kmon files from forums etc.

[zanfr (fkruhm)]

well personally i dont know what to do about it. i tried contacting Dell got
no answer about it... but i feel this constant temperature changing cannot
be good for the CPU and the GPU

On Mon, May 11, 2009 at 2:32 PM, oaul <email address hidden> wrote:

> The I8kfan website says clearly that some laptops are not supported.
> Guess I'm just S.O.L.
>
> But the laptop's fans actually start kicking in like 10 seconds after
> CPU gets to 60C, which brings it to low 40's. So it's really not that
> bad. Had I knew that the temperature was actually pretty acceptable I
> wouldn't have filed this bug report.
>
>
> On Mon, May 11, 2009 at 4:18 AM, zanfr <email address hidden> wrote:
> >
> > any theories about what is going on ?
> >
> > --
> > i8kfan (andhttp://
> en.community.dell.com/Search/SearchResults.aspx?q=inspiron+fani i8kmon)
> can't control fan on new Inspiron 1545
> > https://bugs.launchpad.net/bugs/363152
> > You received this bug notification because you are a direct subscriber
> > of the bug.
> >
> > Status in “i8kutils” source package in Ubuntu: New
> >
> > Bug description:
> > Binary package hint: i8kutils
> >
> > I run 9.04 amd64.
> > i8kfan always returns '-1 0', and never spins the fan
> >
> > $ i8kfan 2 2
> > -1 0
> >
> > ...and the fan always stay quiet.
> >
> > The fans will turn on, but only until the CPU gets to about 70C. I
> suspect that is the bios kicking in.
> >
> > i8kmon -v reports the state correctly, but it's clear that the calls to
> /usr/bin/i8kfan do nothing. I use the default config, and have tried other
> /etc/i8kmon files from forums etc.
>
> --
> i8kfan (and i8kmon) can't control fan on new Inspiron 1545
> https://bugs.launchpad.net/bugs/363152
> You received this bug notification because you are a direct subscriber
> of the bug.
>
> Status in “i8kutils” source package in Ubuntu: New
>
> Bug description:
> Binary package hint: i8kutils
>
> I run 9.04 amd64.
> i8kfan always returns '-1 0', and never spins the fan
>
> $ i8kfan 2 2
> -1 0
>
> ...and the fan always stay quiet.
>
> The fans will turn on, but only until the CPU gets to about 70C. I suspect
> that is the bios kicking in.
>
> i8kmon -v reports the state correctly, but it's clear that the calls to
> /usr/bin/i8kfan do nothing. I use the default config, and have tried other
> /etc/i8kmon files from forums etc.
>

[ETM (meyer-rice)]

This is actually a major problem for me, also on a new inspiron (the 17 inch, I think officially numbered 1750). The CPU is not that hot (usually around 40 - 50 C) but the keyboard/palm rest area is WAY TOO HOT. It's so hot that the veins in my hands swell up and become very painful (I have a condition that causes this, but still, no other laptop that I have does this). It makes the computer almost unusable. And I realize this is not necessarily the fault of Ubuntu, but flashing the BIOS is not something most users are going to be comfortable doing. It needs to be fixed, badly.

[Adam Scriven (adam-scriven)]

I am also experiencing this problem. Tried updating the BIOS to the latest version (A14) from the dell support website, but this hasn't made any difference.

[vitorafsr (vitorafsr)]

i8kutils needs i8k module to be loaded in kernel. After that, I hope i8kfan will function ok. It functions in my Dell Inspiron 15R SE-4670.

To load the module, type 'modprobe i8k' in terminal. Did it solve the problem?

[Gabriel O (gadelat+launchpad)]

It seems like i8kfan does nothing because fan control is overtaken everytime with bios. This works:

while true;do i8kfan 2 2;done

What's weird is that it immediately ups sensor tem values by 10C and then constantly raises, until you turn it off - then it immediately drops. That's different problem though...