CPU fan not working properly: kernel/drivers/char/i8k.ko not autoloaded

[Tor Harald Thorland]

Dell Inspiron 9300 Laptop, with Xubuntu Gutsy Kernel 2.6.22-14-generic
The laptop has 2 fans, only one is running, but the speed controll looks like it is not working.
Under Ubuntu gutsy earlier and in Windows XP the fan can speed up so it sounds like a helicopter takeoff.
Now in Xubuntu I almost passed out when I did see a temperature of 79degrC and the glue on the rubber feets underneath was loose...

[Tor Harald Thorland (linux-strigen)]

Attached dmesg

[Tor Harald Thorland (linux-strigen)]

A workaround while we wait for something to happend is to:
1. Load the sudo insmod /lib/modules/2.6.22-14-generic/kernel/drivers/char/i8k.ko
2. Then run gkrellm to controll the fans.

[Tor Harald Thorland (linux-strigen)]

and now in Ubunu Hardy alpha 5 with updates it gets even worse.
Now after some time the keys and mouse starts to get sticky and a few moments later the computer freezes and the power button or removing the battery is the only option to get it turned off.

The solution here as well is to manually insmod and load gkrellm as mentioned earlier.

I found it really strange that it's still only my computer suffering from this.. and this is both in the xubuntu and now in ubuntu hardy....

[dustrial (acmeyer)]

CPU UNCOOLED PLS HELP!!!!!!!!!!!!

hi,
there is no cpu-fan activity on my centrino laptop ( or at least its too slow to notice)
=> result: laptop becomes VERY hot

temp: was no problem in feisty or gusty

system:
acer TM 290 series with Kubuntu hardy (beta) and kde 4.
(system is just some days old)

lm_sensors cant find sensors:

i8k.ko doesn't work ether ...

$ locate i8k.ko
/lib/modules/2.6.24-12-generic/kernel/drivers/char/i8k.ko
/lib/modules/2.6.24-14-generic/kernel/drivers/char/i8k.ko
/lib/modules/2.6.24-15-generic/kernel/drivers/char/i8k.ko

$ uname -r
2.6.24-15-generic

$ sudo insmod /lib/modules/2.6.24-15-generic/kernel/drivers/char/i8k.ko
insmod: error inserting '/lib/modules/2.6.24-15-generic/kernel/drivers/char/i8k.ko': -1 No such device

thx thx thx!!!

[dustrial (acmeyer)]

[...]
regarding lm_sensors

$ sensors
No sensors found!
Make sure you loaded all the kernel drivers you need.
Try sensors-detect to find out which these are.

$sensors-detect
        [...]
Sorry, no sensors were detected.
Either your sensors are not supported, or they are connected to an
I2C or SMBus adapter that is not supported. See doc/FAQ,
doc/lm_sensors-FAQ.html or http://www.lm-sensors.org/wiki/FAQ
(FAQ #4.24.3) for further information.
If you find out what chips are on your board, check
http://www.lm-sensors.org/wiki/Devices for driver status.
$

thx again

[dustrial (acmeyer)]

i read a lot about ppl with this problem, and it seems like this sometimes is too much fan speed or to less in gusty/hardy ...

[Daniel Hahler (blueyed)]

It appears that i8k.ko does not get loaded automatically (anymore?) for the reporter (Tor).
Tor, does a more simple "sudo modprobe i8k" also fix it for you after reboot?
Is it still a problem in Hardy for you (with the latest kernel and modules)?
It's likely then that it fails, because the module has moved from "/lib/modules/`uname -r`/kernel/drivers/acpi" or "/lib/modules/`uname -r`/kernel/ubuntu/acpi" to the new directory and therefore does not get autloaded by /etc/init.d/acpid anymore.

[dustrial (acmeyer)]

i did this two days ago:
"$ sudo aptitude safe-upgrade"
and will update twoday

$ sudo modprobe i8k
[sudo] password for USER:
FATAL: Error inserting i8k (/lib/modules/2.6.24-15-generic/kernel/drivers/char/i8k.ko): No such device

$ locate i8k
[...]
/lib/modules/2.6.24-15-generic/kernel/drivers/char/i8k.ko
[...]

full locate:
$ locate i8k
/lib/modules/2.6.24-12-generic/kernel/drivers/char/i8k.ko
/lib/modules/2.6.24-14-generic/kernel/drivers/char/i8k.ko
/lib/modules/2.6.24-15-generic/kernel/drivers/char/i8k.ko
/usr/include/linux/i8k.h
/usr/share/locale-langpack/en_AU/LC_MESSAGES/kmilo_delli8k.mo
/usr/share/locale-langpack/en_CA/LC_MESSAGES/kmilo_delli8k.mo
/usr/share/locale-langpack/en_GB/LC_MESSAGES/kmilo_delli8k.mo
/usr/src/linux-headers-2.6.24-12/include/linux/i8k.h
/usr/src/linux-headers-2.6.24-12-generic/include/config/i8k.h
/usr/src/linux-headers-2.6.24-12-generic/include/linux/i8k.h
/usr/src/linux-headers-2.6.24-15/include/linux/i8k.h
/usr/src/linux-headers-2.6.24-15-generic/include/config/i8k.h
/usr/src/linux-headers-2.6.24-15-generic/include/linux/i8k.h

[Daniel Hahler (blueyed)]

dustrial, you probably need another kernel module for your hardware. If the "insmod" failed for you, modprobe will fail, too. You need to find out, which module you require.

[manefraim (lealvona)]

FROM: https://wiki.ubuntu.com/InstallingUbuntuOnADellVostro1700

For CPU, Fan and Temp monitoring

sudo echo i8k >> /etc/modules
sudo echo options i8k force=1 >> /etc/modprobe.d/i8k.modprobe

The options i8k force=1 is needed because the Vostro is not in the i8k module list for supported systems.

[Tor Harald Thorland (linux-strigen)]

Hi,

I have now swapped my inspiron 9300 for a xps M1710....
And guess what.. Still fan problem.
Insmod does not work, and fails with a -1 No such device error.

On the XPS I guess the temperature is what crashes my screen (with nvidia go 7950GTX), leaving it white and flickering (This happens occasionally, and putting it in standby for a while fixes it..)
It is DAMN hot!!

So here Im stuck again.. the inspiron will soon be fixed for another problem so I can test that one again..

[Tor Harald Thorland (linux-strigen)]

Hi,

Found this tread in the forums, after searching thru lots of them. Look in the bottom section and you find a solution with
sudo modprobe i8k force=1
http://ubuntuforums.org/archive/index.php/t-472567.html

That one did work on the Dell XPSM1710.
Not sure why i8k did not load without the force thought...

Finally some cooling! So now it's only to see if the screen behaves.

[Loïc Minier (lool)]

As I understand it, the issue is that the module isn't loaded because it believes it can't handle this hardware but it can; this means that tables of supported devices need to be updated in the kernel, hence I'm reassigning to the "linux" package as this is not an acpid issue.

Please confirm whether this is still an issue in Ubuntu 8.10, thanks.

[rejeesh (avrejeesh)]

I have this issue in 8.10
some times when i log in fan is not running and cpu reaches 65C and when I reboot it may start running.
when operated in battery power fan nevr run and the CPU reaches at 65C.

thanks
Rejeesh.

[Stefan Bader (smb)]

Can someone confirm this issue on the latest Jaunty beta. If "modprobe i8k force=1" works and makes the fan working, there should be some info in dmesg from the module about the vendor and model ignored. Could someone post this? Thanks

[debankur (ghosh-debankur)]

I have an inspiron 1525 with Kubuntu Jaunty 64 bit. the i8k module loads up fine but it doesn't work, the fan doesn't turn off until it is almost near the trip point and the the system shut down.
With Vista on this same laptop, the fan kicks off fine and the system stays cool.

I started having this problem with intrepid but on jaunty, it is worst.

dellfand also doesn't work.

Can some help me fix the problem ?

[Stefan Bader (smb)]

You mean the fan does not turn _on_ until the trip point is nearly reached, right? Can you sample the output of /proc/i8k while doing some load? Like run the following in one terminal

while true; do cat /proc/i8k; sleep 2; done | tee i8k.log

and then run this in another terminal:

while true; do continue; done

The temprature output should rise, abort the second loop before it gets too hot. Then please post the logfile here.

[debankur (ghosh-debankur)]

Please find the details below.

lsmod | grep i8k
i8k 15256 0

uname -a
Linux ritu-tp 2.6.28-11-generic #42-Ubuntu SMP Fri Apr 17 01:58:03 UTC 2009 x86_64 GNU/Linux

lsb_release -a
No LSB modules are available.
Distributor ID: Ubuntu
Description: Ubuntu 9.04
Release: 9.04
Codename: jaunty

I was running the 2 loops in 2 terminal and a flash movie in full screen. Please find the log attached. Let me know if you need some more additional informations.

[Stefan Bader (smb)]

This shows the problem well. What I found though is that i8k alone does not control the fan. It only offers an interface to it. It is i8kutils that allows to do that. Otherwise it seems to me the BIOS is in charge of controlling the fan. Testing the here with an 1535 it looks like it normally stays cool even without controlling the fan and changing the speeds will get adapted by the bios. But you could try whether i8kfan works for you.

[Jeremy Foshee (jeremyfoshee)]

This bug report was marked as Triaged a while ago but has not had any updated comments for quite some time. Please let us know if this issue remains in the current Ubuntu release, http://www.ubuntu.com/getubuntu/download . If the issue remains, click on the current status under the Status column and change the status back to "New". Thanks.

[This is an automated message. Apologies if it has reached you inappropriately; please just reply to this message indicating so.]

[Charlie Kravetz (cjkgeek)]

We'd like to figure out what's causing this bug for you, but we haven't heard back from you in a while. Could you please provide the requested information? Thanks!

[debankur (ghosh-debankur)]

Since I upgraded to Lucid, I didn't see this problem any more. I am not sure what fixed it but my laptop fan is working great in Lucid.

right now I am at kernel version 2.6.32-24-generic and I didn't see this problem any more.

[Charlie Kravetz (cjkgeek)]

This bug report is being closed due to your last comment regarding this being fixed with an update. For future reference you can manage the status of your own bugs by clicking on the current status in the yellow line and then choosing a new status in the revealed drop down box. You can learn more about bug statuses at https://wiki.ubuntu.com/Bugs/Status. Thank you again for taking the time to report this bug and helping to make Ubuntu better. Please submit any future bugs you may find.