nvidia graphics driver 177.80 on geforce 8400 makes fan spin all the time

Bug #280805 reported by Lonnie Blansett
148
This bug affects 9 people
Affects Status Importance Assigned to Milestone
nvidia-graphics-drivers-180 (Ubuntu)
Fix Released
Medium
Unassigned
Nominated for Intrepid by Adam Porter

Bug Description

This bug affects mainly Dell 1420 and Dell XPS M1330 laptops, but potentially also other laptops with the Nvidia GeForce 8400 graphics chipset.

Upgrading from previous versions of the Nvidia driver to 177.80 causes the fan to spin constantly or almost constantly. Reverting to 177.76 or 173 stops the incessant fan activity. This is not a problem outside an X session.

Upgrading to a newer BIOS (at least A12) seems to have stopped the fan activity for at least some users. Instructions for upgrading the Dell BIOS can be found here:
http://linux.dell.com/wiki/index.php/Tech/libsmbios_dellBiosUpdate

There is suspicion that this might be related to faulty Nvidia cards overheating, as reported here:
http://www.theinquirer.net/gb/inquirer/news/2008/07/09/nvidia-g84-g86-bad

Revision history for this message
_blue (blue) wrote :

I'm having the same issue. The fan either runs all the time or turns off and on rapidly. Driver version 177 (from the restricted drivers configuration tool), and here is output from lshw:
           *-display
                description: VGA compatible controller
                product: GeForce 8400M GS
                vendor: nVidia Corporation
                physical id: 0
                bus info: pci@0000:01:00.0
                version: a1
                width: 64 bits
                clock: 33MHz
                capabilities: pm msi pciexpress bus_master cap_list
                configuration: driver=nvidia latency=0 module=nvidia

I also have a Dell Inspiron 1420: Linux 2.6.27-6-generic #1 SMP Tue Oct 7 04:15:04 UTC 2008 i686 GNU/Linux.

Switching to nvidia version 173 fixed the problem.

Revision history for this message
Stefan Fleiter (stefan-fleiter) wrote :

Same happening here on Dell XPS M 1330 with GeForce 8400M GS.

Changed in nvidia-graphics-drivers-177:
status: New → Confirmed
Revision history for this message
Adam Porter (alphapapa) wrote :

Same with Dell XPS M1330 with GeForce 8400M GS. Version 177.76 is ok, but 177.80 exhibits the problem.

Loading just the kernel module doesn't cause it, it's only when X is running and on the active terminal that it happens.

Revision history for this message
showcaser (showcaser) wrote :

Same problem with fresh install of Intrepid Beta and updates on an XPS M1330 with 8400M GS. 173 works fine.

Revision history for this message
bubbalouie (ryan-gossink) wrote :

I can confirm this from an M1330, I am running 64 bit 8.04.1 and when I upgraded from 177.76 to 177.80 the fan got stuck on high, the only solution I have found is to regress the driver and turn the laptop off & then on (a reboot is inadequate).

Revision history for this message
Rashind (dennis-millarker) wrote :

Also running a Dell XPS M1330, here, with GeForce Go 8400M GS. However, I'm running 32-bit Intrepid beta fully updated. I have the cycling fan issue (2-4 seconds high, 1 second off, repeat ad infinitum), though the GPU temp never leaves the 50-60 Celsius range.

Reverting to the 173 series driver (the other one available via the proprietary driver manager) fixes the issue.

Revision history for this message
Supersaiyan_IV (saiyan-iv) wrote :

Running 2.6.27-7-generic kernel on intrepid beta 32-bit, Dell M1330, Nvidia 8400M 177.80 driver. Same problem. Dell fan control might fix it. Or it might be that the driver cant get info from bios, therefore puts it on max, could be one module too much/too little.

Revision history for this message
Russell Hedger (russell-hedger) wrote :

Same problem on Dell XPS M1330 with GeForce 8400M GS. Running latest 64-bit Intrepid beta with nvidia driver 177.80 installed via Envy. Previously, GPU core was idling at 41 Celsius but following a recent update, it began idling at 59 Celsius with the fan coming on loudly.

Temperature reduced to 46 Celsius by reverting to driver 173.14 although still higher than before.

Revision history for this message
Augusto (augu) wrote :

I didn't tested it myself, but for what concern XPS M1330 seems that upgrading to BIOS version A12 fixes the problem.
BUT the newer BIOS itself seems to cause the fan to be very active and noisy.

See:
http://www.nvnews.net/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=120200
and:
http://www.nvnews.net/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=120936

I experience the problem with a XPS M1330 and the Nvidia driver installed by thier installer script. So IMO this is not an Ubuntu issue, but a Dell/Nvidia one.

Someone knows if the issue is already reported and aknowledged from Nvidia devs?

Revision history for this message
Russell Hedger (russell-hedger) wrote :

The Dell XPS M1330 model has many reports of motherboard failure due to overheating of the nvidia 8400M GPU. This has been addressed in part by the new A12 BIOS, which runs the system fan more actively, so increasing the lifetime of the GPU.

This bug is a different problem: the GPU temperature increases significantly following one of the recent ubuntu/kubuntu updates. The fan kicks in because the A12 BIOS senses the higher GPU temperature. However, the BIOS is merely trying to stop the GPU overheating, it is not the cause of the problem.

Revision history for this message
Adam Porter (alphapapa) wrote : Re: [Bug 280805] Re: Latest nvidia driver for Interpid (x64) makes my fan spin all the time.

On Tue, Oct 14, 2008 at 12:43, Russell Hedger <email address hidden> wrote:
> This bug is a different problem: the GPU temperature increases
> significantly following one of the recent ubuntu/kubuntu updates. The
> fan kicks in because the A12 BIOS senses the higher GPU temperature.
> However, the BIOS is merely trying to stop the GPU overheating, it is
> not the cause of the problem.

I have not upgraded my BIOS, I still have version A09. I don't think
the BIOS has anything to do with this.

Revision history for this message
showcaser (showcaser) wrote : Re: Latest nvidia driver for Interpid (x64) makes my fan spin all the time.

Likewise, I have not upgraded my BIOS and am still on A09. In my case, the fan cycles between high and low (a few seconds between cycles), regardless of what kind of system activity is going on. I'll have to verify temps, but this occurs the instant the driver kicks when X starts. I don't think the gpu would even have had time to heat up much above ambient by then but i'll double check.

Revision history for this message
showcaser (showcaser) wrote :

I tested the 177 driver again. Unlike the first time I tried it where the fan would cycle high and low now the fan was always running at max. This was right from startup after the computer had been off for a while. Idle temps showed 44-46 C with 177 whereas with 173 idle temps are at 51 C (but fan is nearly inaudible).

From the links to the nvidia forums I think it's clear that this is nvidia messing with fan speeds to take care of their failing hardware. I'll just wait for the next iteration of driver and hope they back off a little on the fan speed madness. Either case, I doubt there is anything ubuntu devs can do about it.

Revision history for this message
Russell Hedger (russell-hedger) wrote :

Following showcaser's post, I installed nvidia-glx-177 version 117.80-0ubuntu2 from the repositories together with latest updates. Following shutdown and restart, the GPU is now idling at 44 C. Problem seems to have been rectified.

This is on Kubuntu Intrepid, XPS M1330 8400M, running dual head with external monitor on twinview.

Revision history for this message
Adam Porter (alphapapa) wrote : Re: [Bug 280805] Re: Latest nvidia driver for Interpid (x64) makes my fan spin all the time.

On Wed, Oct 15, 2008 at 11:43, Russell Hedger <email address hidden> wrote:
> Following showcaser's post, I installed nvidia-glx-177 version
> 117.80-0ubuntu2 from the repositories together with latest updates.
> Following shutdown and restart, the GPU is now idling at 44 C. Problem
> seems to have been rectified.
>
> This is on Kubuntu Intrepid, XPS M1330 8400M, running dual head with
> external monitor on twinview.

Russell, I don't understand; is your fan still running at full speed?
Or is it back to <=177.76-style, where the fan only runs as needed?

Revision history for this message
Daniel Ellis (danellisuk) wrote : Re: Latest nvidia driver for Interpid (x64) makes my fan spin all the time.

Same issue here on a Latitude D630 with an 'nVidia Corporation Quadro NVS 135M (rev a1)'. Driver 177 causes the fan to repeatedly turn on (4 seconds) and off (half a second). Reverting to driver 173, using the Hardware Drivers application, stops the issue after a reboot. I would hazard a guess that the nvidia driver is continually increasing the fan speed to full, whilst another driver is correcting the fan speed, thus causing the intermittent changes.

Currently version 177 is marked as Recommended. If this is a common issue, and cannot be resolved due to the closed nature of this package, should the 173 driver be marked as Recommended?

Revision history for this message
Russell Hedger (russell-hedger) wrote :

>Russell, I don't understand; is your fan still running at full speed?
>Or is it back to <=177.76-style, where the fan only runs as needed?

The fan is now quiet and the GPU running cooler.

Incidentally, I never experienced a problem with the fan switching on and off rapidly. On my system, the GPU started running hot with the fan coming on loudly following a system update a few days ago. The only way I could get it to run cool and the fan quiet was by reverting to the 173 driver and stopping and starting the system. Today, I tried again with the 177 driver and the system is running cool with quiet fan.

I have been running the A12 BIOS the whole time - maybe this is why my symptoms have been different?

Revision history for this message
showcaser (showcaser) wrote :

I initially had the intermittent high/low fan issue, but my latest efforts have the fan constantly running at max.

I was encouraged by Ruseell's post and so thought I would give 177.80-0ubuntu2 a quick try. Reloaded the repos and saw the ubuntu2 driver. Installed, reboot, same problem (fan running constantly at max), temps at idle now in the low/mid 50's. I then proceeded to update everything else. Went through a "partial upgrade", reboot, same thing. Couldn't continue from there cause that last upgrade broke the wireless.

I agree that the bios is probably the difference (I'm on the A10 not A09 as previously mentioned). I am just hesitant to update the bios as I don't like an update that diminishes system performance (battery time/noise) as a result of the manufacturers mistakes. But in all fairness I don't know the severity of the changes (as a result of A12) and if I would really notice much.

Revision history for this message
Peter Miller (szr4321) wrote :

I can confirm that updating the BIOS helps. I've had exactly the same fan problems as described above, and after updating the BIOS from A04 to A13 (which was the newest available at the Dell support site) the fan runs as usually again. However you need Windows / DOS to update the BIOS.

Revision history for this message
Loki (diego-fernandez-fernandez) wrote :

Updating the bios has helped me too. My system is a DELL XPS m1330 wich had the same problems described above till I update the bios to A12.

I have to add that there is no need to have any other OS installed to update your bios, just follow the official DELL how-to at http://linux.dell.com/wiki/index.php/Tech/libsmbios_dellBiosUpdate

Revision history for this message
bubbalouie (ryan-gossink) wrote :

The BIOS update has fixed the problem quite nicely for me, for those concerned about the fan being on 'all' of the time, I would subjectively say it now make less noise than it did with the A11 BIOS.

Revision history for this message
Adam Porter (alphapapa) wrote : Re: [Bug 280805] Re: Latest nvidia driver for Interpid (x64) makes my fan spin all the time.

On Sun, Oct 19, 2008 at 22:26, bubbalouie <email address hidden> wrote:
> The BIOS update has fixed the problem quite nicely for me, for those
> concerned about the fan being on 'all' of the time, I would subjectively
> say it now make less noise than it did with the A11 BIOS.

How does it compare to the original BIOS, like A09?

Revision history for this message
bubbalouie (ryan-gossink) wrote : Re: Latest nvidia driver for Interpid (x64) makes my fan spin all the time.

From memory A10 was very quiet compared to A09 (mine was shipped with A09), but the temps were kind of scary, A11 I think was comparable to A09...

In any case you should be able to regress a BIOS using the Linux tool, I did this to convert from A10 back to A09, so it may work if you find the noise to be a bit much (Though I doubt this will be the case)...

Revision history for this message
James (james-ellis-gmail) wrote :

Upgrading to A12 via the Dell instructions really quietened things down for me. Nvidia 177 in use, previous bios A10.

Remember to run those command Dell supplies as sudo.

The only thing that was a problem in the BIOS update was a screen getting rainbow lines in it for about 10 seconds.

Revision history for this message
jon latorre (moebius-etxea) wrote :

I upgraded mi XPS1330 BIOS following the dell instructions and that solves the problem. Thanks to everybody :)

Revision history for this message
cengopon (pognonec) wrote :

Same problem: Dell XPS1330, after upgrading to Ibex, sounded like trying to take off the desk using its fan. BIOS is A10. I simply went back to the nvidia 173 driver, and peace came back after rebooting.

Revision history for this message
Lonnie Blansett (lonnie) wrote : Re: nvidia graphics driver 177 for Interpid (x64) makes fan spin all the time with old bios

Well, I've updated my 1420's bios from A00 to A09 and the fan is quiet now, so that does indeed seem to fix the problem. It still runs all the time so there may still be something wrong, or that may be how it's supposed to work with the newer bios... I'm not really sure.

Revision history for this message
Dimitrios Symeonidis (azimout) wrote :

I have made an attempt to summarize the situation with a new description

description: updated
Revision history for this message
Dimitrios Symeonidis (azimout) wrote :

lonnie, i don't understand your comment. with the A09 bios (which is not the latest, by the way) does your fan constantly spin, or not?

Changed in nvidia-graphics-drivers-177:
importance: Undecided → Medium
status: Confirmed → Triaged
Revision history for this message
Lonnie Blansett (lonnie) wrote :

Dimitrios,

Sorry for the poor explanation... Yes, the fan still spins all the time, but it's slower and quiet now (at normal temperatures). I have to put my ear next to the machine to notice it now, so although it's still happening it doesn't really bother me anymore. I haven't tested it under heavy load yet, but I assume (hope) that it will spin faster when the system actually heats up.

As far as the latest bios goes, I followed the instructions at http://linux.dell.com/wiki/index.php/Tech/libsmbios_dellBiosUpdate. The "System ID" for my 1420 is 0x01F3 and the latest bios for that is A09. If there is a newer one somewhere please let me know.

Revision history for this message
Giles Malet (gdmalet+launchpad) wrote :

Having just upgraded to Ubuntu 8.10, I hit this spinning fan problem on a Dell Latitude D630 laptop. The problem appears to have been introduced by the upgrade of the Nvidia driver from version 173 to 177. Graphics is provided by an nVidia Quadro NVS 135M.

Searching for answers I found http://direct2dell.com/one2one/archive/2008/08/18/nvidia-gpu-update-dell-to-offer-warranty-enhancement-to-all-affected-customers-worldwide.aspx - which implicates nVidia.

My BIOS was version A02, so upgraded to the latest (A13). I noticed in the release notes for the previous version (A12) at http://support.dell.com/support/downloads/download.aspx?c=us&l=en&s=gen&releaseid=R190175&SystemID=LATITUDE D630&servicetag=&os=WW1&osl=en&deviceid=13457&devlib=0&typecnt=0&vercnt=12&catid=1&impid=-1&formatcnt=1&libid=1&fileid=261129 (!) that there's this comment:

Fixes/Enhancements
------------------
1. Updated Intel Video BIOS.
2. Updated Nvidia Video BIOS.
3. Enhancement for thermal control.

The BIOS seems to have fixed the problem! I've been watching the system with i8kmon and it seems to be behaving reasonably (with the fan off most of the time).

Hope this information is useful.

gdm

Revision history for this message
Ben (upcroft) wrote :

I can confirm Giles' solution. I have a Latitude D630 and just upgraded to Kubuntu 8.10. When using the Nvidia driver 177, the fan was continuously starting and stopping. My BIOS version was A08 but after upgrading to A13, the problem was fixed.

Revision history for this message
Giles Malet (gdmalet+launchpad) wrote :

Sadly, having had a few days experience with this, I must now report that the `solution' is not perfect. If I hibernate or suspend the laptop, when it wakes up the fan does its old on for a while, off for a second behaviour. I notice though that i8kmon shows 0 degrees for the temp after the wakeup, so I suspect it is no longer controlling the fan, although running i8kfan works to turn it off (for about a second).

In desperation I switched to the old nvidia driver, then removed it completely (I'm now running the open source `nv' driver) -- but the bad fan behaviour remains! So I suspect the A13, or perhaps specifically the A12, BIOS update is partly responsible.

Another theory being propounded is that the `powermgmt' package in the new Ubuntu is causing problems. I shall investigate that path next. I'm still sceptical that Dell/Nvidia would be dumb enough to force such behaviour on users, but I've been wrong before!

This is all rather annoying and confusing.

gdm

Revision history for this message
showcaser (showcaser) wrote :

I don't know if this will help but I should mention that the identical issue happened on Vista.

I have a dual boot and I hadn't upgraded my Nvdia Vista driver since I installed Vista around last March/April. Last week I decided to upgrade the Vista nvidia driver (from the Dell website) in the hopes of correcting a resolution changing problem. After updating the driver and rebooting Vista the alternate fan speed (alternating fast slow every few seconds) problem started. I upgraded the bios from A10 to A12 and the fan resumed normal operation.

I also then changed from Nvidia 173 to 177 on Ubuntu and the fan is working normally.

Revision history for this message
Dudley (dudleygb) wrote :

I'm having the exact same problem, fan on and off rapidly all the time, is there a fix to this yet?

Revision history for this message
Russell Hedger (russell-hedger) wrote :

Dudley,

Not sure which model laptop you are having a problem with, but for the XPS M1330 it seems that updating the BIOS to at least version A12 (A13 is the latest version at this time) cures the intermittent fan problem.

Revision history for this message
Dudley (dudleygb) wrote : Re: [Bug 280805] Re: nvidia graphics driver 177.80 on geforce 8400 makes fan spin all the time

Hi,

Sorry, yes, its a Dell D630. I noticed some others have updated their bios
but from what I can tell they say it didnt really solve the issue? Maybe I
misread?

regards
dudley

On Mon, Nov 24, 2008 at 7:24 PM, Russell Hedger <email address hidden>wrote:

> Dudley,
>
> Not sure which model laptop you are having a problem with, but for the
> XPS M1330 it seems that updating the BIOS to at least version A12 (A13
> is the latest version at this time) cures the intermittent fan problem.
>
> --
> nvidia graphics driver 177.80 on geforce 8400 makes fan spin all the time
> https://bugs.launchpad.net/bugs/280805
> You received this bug notification because you are a direct subscriber
> of the bug.
>

Revision history for this message
Austin Lund (austin-lund) wrote :

I have a D630 with the nVidia Quadro NVS 135M and I updated the BIOS when moving to intrepid.

Now I seem to get video corruption and system freezes when the system has been on for a while and is hot. The fan doesn't seem to come on until the last minute.

I see the temperature of the GPU core up as high as 80 degrees C before the fan starts to really kick in. I see idling temperatures around 60 deg C.

Is this normal? Do I have a hardware issue causing my video corruption , or is this temperature too high and I'm seeing problems with the temperature affecting the functioning of the GPU?

Revision history for this message
helltone (gafunchal) wrote :

I have a XPS1330 with GeForce 8400M GS, I moved to intrepid moments ago.

My fan went total crazy when I activated nvidia graphic driver 177. It was fully on for some moments, then intermittent. I've just updated to bios A14, and things are better now. I've been seeing idle temperatures around 60oC. Before moving to intrepid, idle temperatures were around 47oC.

Revision history for this message
Hopper59 (vincent-vignolle) wrote :

Same issue here on a Latitude D630 with an 'nVidia Corporation Quadro NVS 135M (rev a1)'. Driver 177 causes the fan be noisy. Reverting to driver 173, using the Hardware Drivers application, stops the issue after a reboot.

I fix the proble with an update to A15 bios : http://linux.dell.com/wiki/index.php/Tech/libsmbios_dellBiosUpdate

Revision history for this message
Federico Ramallo (framallo) wrote :

on inspiron 1420n with nvidia driver 177 and bios version A08 fan change speed constantly.
It's solved after an upgrade to bios A09 (remember to be connected to AC on upgrade)
Thanks!

Revision history for this message
sp8472 (sp8472) wrote :

It seems nVidia deliberately set the 177+ drivers to run the fans at full speed, avoiding the notorious potential overheating problems of this series of graphics cards. Updating to to the latest BIOS (on the D630, A12+) makes this "hack" go away, but makes still the fans run constantly at low speed (say, 25%). This decreases the odds of a hardware failure, in the worst case causing it to fail somewhere outside your warranty period. It also leaves you with additional noise and lower battery life.

I currently have a A13 BIOS (not to my doing); has anyone tried downgrading theirs to a version before the "Enhancement for thermal control" was introduced to the BIOS? Personally, I prefer having a low-noise laptop, with better battery life, even if I run a small risk of overheating. (With Dell replacing it in the next business day if anything happens.)

Revision history for this message
Bryce Harrington (bryce) wrote :

[This is an automated message]

In Jaunty (9.04), we are dropping the nvidia-graphics-drivers-177 package, which
is now superseded by then nvidia-graphics-drivers-180 package.

  http://bugs.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+source/nvidia-graphics-drivers-180

To transition your bug into the new package, we need your help. Please do the following:

 a. Verify the bug occurs in Jaunty with the -180 driver
     (ISOs: http://cdimage.ubuntu.com/releases/jaunty/)
 b. If you haven't already, please include in the bug:
     * Your /var/log/Xorg.0.log
     * Your /etc/X11/xorg.conf
     * The output of `lspci -vvnn`
     * Steps to reproduce the issue
 c. Under Affects, click the down arrow to the left of 'nvidia-graphics-drivers-177'
 d. Edit the Package to change 'nvidia-graphics-drivers-177' to 'nvidia-graphics-drivers-180'
 e. Click Save Changes

Thank you!

[We'll expire the remaining -177 bugs in a month or so.]

Revision history for this message
marcin.bachry (hegel666) wrote :

I own a Dell D630 laptop with Quadro NVS 135M. Previously I had to downgrade to version 173 of the driver (as advised here) to keep the fans quiet. I also stayed with Dell BIOS version A08.

I installed NVidia drivers version 180 and I don't notice the fan problems from version 177 anymore. It seems NVidia people removed the junk code. On the other hand, maybe my chipset was never broken and the driver may detect the faulty chips in a smarter way now - it's possible that people with other NVidia chipsets will still have problems.

Note I did the test with Ubuntu 8.10, but I don't think things are going to change much.

Revision history for this message
Matthew Gregg (mcg) wrote :

This is still happening with the 180 driver. Running an Jaunty on an HP with a Nvidia 9500GS the fan starts fast, briefly slows down when GDM is starting then goes back to 100%. xorg.conf, Xorg.0.log and lspci attached.

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Matthew Gregg (mcg) wrote :
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Matthew Gregg (mcg) wrote :
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Omid Mottaghi (omidmottaghi) wrote :

I have 180 driver and Nvidia 9600GSO. and the fan always works with full speed.

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Omid Mottaghi (omidmottaghi) wrote :
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Omid Mottaghi (omidmottaghi) wrote :
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Matthew Gregg (mcg) wrote :

Updates over the last few days seems to have solved this for me.

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Bryce Harrington (bryce) wrote :

[This is an automated message]

In Jaunty (9.04), we have just updated to the latest
nvidia-graphics-drivers-180 package from nVidia, version 180.44.

This package provides fixes for a large number of bugs, and we need your
assistance in testing if it fixes the issue you reported.

To do this, please do the following:

 a. Update to the 180.44 version of -nvidia using your favorite update
     method

 b. Attempt to reproduce your bug

 c. If your bug still remains, please simply reply to this email
     indicating so.

 d. If your bug is now solved, you can help us by setting your bug
     report to Fix Released:
     * In launchpad, go to your bug report
     * Click on the downward pointing arrow under Status
     * Set the Status field to 'Fix Released'
     * Comment on the change, such as, 'Verified fixed in 180.44'
     * Click 'Save Changes'

 e. If the original problem is solved but there are now other problems,
     please close the original bug and open new ones for those issues.

Thank you!

For details on the changes in this version of -nvidia, please see:

   http://www.nvidia.com/object/linux_display_ia32_180.44.html

Changed in nvidia-graphics-drivers-180 (Ubuntu):
status: Triaged → Invalid
status: Invalid → Triaged
Revision history for this message
Omid Mottaghi (omidmottaghi) wrote :

My problem is not fixed yet.

From above posts: "I have driver 180 and Nvidia 9600GSO and its fan always works with full speed."!!

Revision history for this message
Lonnie Blansett (lonnie) wrote :

Since my upgrade to Jaunty with NVIDIA 180.44 my problem appears to have gone away.

Changed in nvidia-graphics-drivers-180 (Ubuntu):
status: Triaged → Fix Committed
Revision history for this message
Mrts (mrts) wrote :

On the contrary, after upgrading to Jaunty and Nvidia 180.44, my GPU is constantly running at around 70 C. I started monitoring temperature as the fan started running a lot more than with Intrepid. The laptop is HP Pavilion dv9340ea.

lspci -knn: 01:00.0 VGA compatible controller [0300]: nVidia Corporation G70 [GeForce Go 7600] [10de:0398] (rev a1)
lspci -knn: Kernel driver in use: nvidia
lspci -knn: Kernel modules: nvidia, nvidiafb

$ dpkg -l '*nvidia-glx*' | grep ^ii
ii nvidia-glx-180 180.44-0ubuntu1 NVIDIA binary Xorg driver

I'll test with reverting to 173 and report back.

Revision history for this message
Mrts (mrts) wrote :

Switching to 173 didn't affect the temperature, but the fan seems to be working less often. This is obviously not good, so I switched back to 180.

However, I'm not running Compiz or any other 3D apps, so I'd expect the GPU to run much cooler. It would be nice if there were instructions for lowering GPU power consumption. I have on-demand vlbanking activated already, is there anything else I can do?

Revision history for this message
Russell Hedger (russell-hedger) wrote :

According to the nvidia-settings application, my XPS M1330 idles at 40 Celsius. Even watching full screen video, it doesn't get significantly hotter than this.

I have the latest A15 BIOS installed and have the nvidia-glx driver 180.44-0ubuntu1 installed from the Jaunty repository. I set the devices section of my /etc/X11/xorg.conf file as shown below in an attempt to allow dynamic GPU scaling:

Section "Device"
    Identifier "Device0"
    Driver "nvidia"
    VendorName "NVIDIA Corporation"
    BoardName "GeForce 8400M GS"
    Option "NoLogo" "True"
    Option "TripleBuffer" "True"
    Option "BackingStore" "False"
    Option "RegistryDwords" "PowerMizerEnable=0x1; PerfLevelSrc=0x3333; PowerMizerLevelAC=0x3; PowerMizerLevel=0x3"
    Option "OnDemandVBlankInterrupts" "True"
    Option "Coolbits" "1"
EndSection

Revision history for this message
Mrts (mrts) wrote :

Thanks for the suggestions. Dynamic scaling was enabled by default (i.e. PowerMizer was enabled according to nv-control) and running on the lowest performance level 0. Also, as mentioned before, I had OnDemandVBlankInterrupts on already.

Unfortunately using these settings didn't affect temperature at all, I'm still at 70 C (i.e. TripleBuffer, BackingStore and CoolBits didn't affect temperature).

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Russell Hedger (russell-hedger) wrote :

That's annoying. Any idea what the temperature was with Intrepid?

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Mrts (mrts) wrote :

No idea. I installed the sensors applet only after I perceived that the fan is working more often than before in Jaunty. I can't rule out that it was running as hot before, only the fan didn't come on as often (perhaps temp thresholds have been improved).

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Bernhard Bock (bernhard-bock) wrote :

I did have the same problem on my Dell M1330 running Jaunty (with nvidia 180.44), which was upgraded all the way from Gutsy. The fan was very noisy, starting and stopping very often. GPU temperature was high nevertheless.

There was no problem while still running Intrepid (BIOS A12).

I recently re-installed from scratch with Jaunty due to a harddisk crash. Since then, the problem is gone: Fan's silent, GPU temprature is low.

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Mrts (mrts) wrote :

Interesting. Mine is also upgraded from Intrepid, so some stale settings lying around somewhere are a possible cause (the questions which and where remains though).

I'll attempt a full reinstall when I have time and report back.

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WikiBass (magnew) wrote :

I had the problem described above with 8.10 on my Latitude D630 with
an nVidia Corporation Quadro NVS 135M. The machine started running hot
with the fan coming on loudly.

Upgrading the BIOS to A15 and downgrading the nVidia driver from 177
to 173 fixed the problem. The machine ran quiet and the temperature
was very comfortable.
Upgrading the BIOS only and keeping nVidia driver version 177 did not
solve the issue for me as it looks like it did for some in the posts
above.

When the nVidia version 180 driver came as recommended I upgraded to
this. Everything was still fine. But a few days ago, I fell for the
temptation and upgraded to Ubuntu 9.04. Now the problem with the
machine running hot, and the fan running at high speed is back.

Any ideas on what I could do except trying to downgrade ubuntu?

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Pablo Borjas (jpborjas) wrote :

I'm running Karmic (9.10) and a Dell Latitude D630. I was running NVidia drivers 173 and my BIOS was version A08. My fan was spinning loudly mostly when the machine came back from suspend mode, but not exclusively, as it would get loud at random times during the day. The GPU temp was 60, and the cores where 38 and 37. I used one of those pressurized air cans and cleaned the fan without opening the case (it was very dirty). I upgraded the BIOS to A15 (latest), and upgraded the NVidia drivers to 195.30 (latest stable). Now, I'm running a whole bunch of processes to try to get the fan to spin loudly, and even though my temps are GPU 72, Core0 68, Core1 67, the fan is not loud at all, and it hasn't been for the past 30 mins, so I think the problem went away.

Can you guys post your temperatures? When you say Low or High, how much is that? I'm trying to see what value I should set my GPU high temp alarm.

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Pablo Borjas (jpborjas) wrote :

After my update above, my GPU temperature was very high all the time, getting above 80 at times. I use Compiz Cube, so I configured it to have 0 transparency while not turning, and added a wallpaper (had just a black background, and my GPU temperature now hovers at around 55 degrees. Evidently, the fancier you get with your desktop settings, 3D effects, etc, the hotter your GPU will run. No loud fan at all since my last change.

Bryce Harrington (bryce)
Changed in nvidia-graphics-drivers-180 (Ubuntu):
status: Fix Committed → Fix Released
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Tristan Rivoallan (tristan-rivoallan) wrote :

Just upgraded to 9.10 : the fan started to spin all the time again. Downgrading to driver 173 fixes the problem.

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Tristan Rivoallan (tristan-rivoallan) wrote :

> Just upgraded to 9.10

I meant 10.4 ...

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Adam Porter (alphapapa) wrote : Re: [Bug 280805] Re: nvidia graphics driver 177.80 on geforce 8400 makes fan spin all the time

Tristan, can you upgrade your BIOS?

On Mon, May 3, 2010 at 09:15, Tristan Rivoallan <email address hidden> wrote:
>> Just upgraded to 9.10
>
> I meant 10.4 ...
>
> --
> nvidia graphics driver 177.80 on geforce 8400 makes fan spin all the time
> https://bugs.launchpad.net/bugs/280805
> You received this bug notification because you are a direct subscriber
> of the bug.
>

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Tristan Rivoallan (tristan-rivoallan) wrote :

On Mon, May 10, 2010 at 10:53 AM, Adam Porter
<<email address hidden><adam%<email address hidden>>
> wrote:

> Tristan, can you upgrade your BIOS?
>

Of course. But I have no idea on how to do this. Google results are
confusing. Could you direct me to the drivers download page ? Thanks :)

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Adam Porter (alphapapa) wrote :

Tristan, I don't even know what kind of computer you have. Just search for your laptop's model and "BIOS update," or go to the manufacturer's web site and search there.

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eZFlow (breakdevize) wrote :

I still have this issue in NAtty on a dell d630c with nvidia 135m, temperature reaches 90+ C and the fan goes crazy for 4 seconds full speed then slows down shortly and repeats all over until it cools down! Very annoying sound and heat production.
I have to downgrade to v173 but the nasty side-effect is that alt-tabbing and Compiz is sluggish which makes it unusable.

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