1

Problem

Fan is constantly on when a laptop is plugged and not charging. Not noisy, but definitely audible.
However, it occasionally stays silent (spinning slower or not spinning at all) when laptop is not plugged or still charging.

Question

How to achieve the same when the machine stays plugged and isn't charging ?
Perhaps the solution is as simple as this: https://askubuntu.com/a/300921/69296


Machine:

  • HP Elitebook 8470p
  • Ubuntu 13.10 LTS (clean install, actually Lubuntu flavour, but it doesn't make a difference)
  • intel i5-3360M
  • uname -a: Linux elite 3.11.0-12-generic #19-Ubuntu SMP Wed Oct 9 16:20:46 UTC 2013 x86_64 x86_64 x86_64 GNU/Linux
  • 8GB RAM
  • sata3 SSD
  • AMD Radeon HD 7570M
  • power_method: profile, power_profile: auto

2 Answers 2

1

I have a HP 4510s laptop. The fan control works ok under Windows. Does not work under any tried Linux distro/version. Under Linux/Ubuntu, the fan runs at some very low speed. This is not sufficient to keep CPUs cool enough under higher load.

I tried most of the hints from the internet regarding the Linux laptop fancontrol, none worked. To list, I tried lm_sensors, pwmconfig, acpi_os= setting and numerous other things to no avail. And I've updated BIOS and there's nothing except "Fan always on on AC" and it does not do the trick.

It is possible to get the system temps using lm_sensors. Furthermore, there are fan control points at

/sys/devices/virtual/thermal/cooling_device*/cur_state (* from 0-4 are active)

I ended up taking the famous tp-fancontrol (for IBM ThinkPads) script from

http://thinkwiki.org/wiki/ACPI_fan_control_script

and botched it up as hp-fancontrol. I don't remember enough from my automation studies (it was 20 years ago) so it turned out very simple. But it seems to work so far. There are lots of left-over code still and it's ugly as ****. I installed it as /usr/bin/hp_fancontrol and added trigger to /etc/rc.local like this

# Start hp-fancontrol on multiuser
/usr/bin/hp-fancontrol -l -d

exit 0

I'd be very grateful for anything better, even if it is just the control_loop part, so please comment. Also, be gentle and read the disclaimers (ugly as... above and code itself). The QUIET seems not to work, it breaks DAEMONIZE.

#!/bin/bash

# hp-fancontrol 0.1 
# Based on tp-fancontrol (http://thinkwiki.org/wiki/ACPI_fan_control_script)
# Provided under the GNU General Public License version 2 or later or
# the GNU Free Documentation License version 1.2 or later, at your option.
# See http://www.gnu.org/copyleft/gpl.html for the Warranty Disclaimer.

# This script dynamically(?) controls fan speed on some HP laptop models 
# (ProBook 4510s) according to user-defined temperature thresholds.  It 
# implements its own decision algorithm, overriding the any embedded
# controller.
#
# Run 'hp-fancontrol --help' for options.
#
# For optimal fan behavior during suspend and resume, invoke 
# "hp-fancontrol -u" during the suspend process.
# 
# WARNING: This script relies on undocumented hardware features and
# overrides nominal hardware behavior. It may thus cause arbitrary
# damage to your laptop or data. Watch your temperatures!
#
# WARNING: The list of temperature ranges used below is much more liberal
# than the rules used by the embedded controller firmware, and is
# derived mostly from anecdotal evidence, hunches and wishful thinking.
# It is also model-specific (see http://thinkwiki.org/wiki/Thermal_sensors).

# Temperature ranges, per core:
# (min temperature: when to step up from 0-th fan level,
#  max temperature: when to step up to maximum fan level)
THRESHOLDS=( #  Core
# min  max   #  ----
  43   65    #  0
  43   65    #  1
)

# LEVELS=0 - 31 (5 bits)             # Fan speed levels
ANTIPULSE=1                          # Prevent fan pulsing noise
                                     # (reduces frequency of fan RPM updates)

OFF_THRESH_DELTA=3 # when gets this much cooler than 'min' above, may turn off fan
MIN_THRESH_SHIFT=0 # increase min thresholds by this much
MAX_THRESH_SHIFT=0 # increase max thresholds by this much
MIN_WAIT=180       # minimum time (seconds) to spend in a given level before 
                   # stepping down

HP_ACPI=/sys/devices/virtual/thermal/cooling_device

PID_FILE=/var/run/hp-fancontrol.pid
LOGGER=/usr/bin/logger
INTERVAL=3        # sample+refresh interval
SETTLE_TIME=6     # wait this many seconds long before applying anti-pulsing
RESETTLE_TIME=600 # briefly disable anti-pulsing at every N seconds
SUSPEND_TIME=5    # seconds to sleep when receiving SIGUSR1

SEP=','           # Separator char for display

WATCHDOG_DELAY=$(( 3 * INTERVAL ))
HAVE_WATCHDOG=false
HAVE_LEVELCMD=true

QUIET=false
DRY_RUN=false
DAEMONIZE=false
AM_DAEMON=false
KILL_DAEMON=false
SUSPEND_DAEMON=false
SYSLOG=false

usage() {
    echo "
Usage: $0 [OPTION]...

Available options:
   -s N   Shift up the min temperature thresholds by N degrees
          (positive for quieter, negative for cooler).
          Max temperature thresholds are not affected.
   -S N   Shift up the max temperature thresholds by N degrees
          (positive for quieter, negative for cooler). DANGEROUS.
   -t     Test mode
   -q     Quiet mode
   -d     Daemon mode, go into background (implies -q)
   -l     Log to syslog
   -k     Kill already-running daemon
   -u     Tell already-running daemon that the system is being suspended
   -p     Pid file location for daemon mode, default: $PID_FILE
"
    exit 1;
}

while getopts 's:S:qtdlp:kuh' OPT; do
    case "$OPT" in
        s) # shift thresholds
            MIN_THRESH_SHIFT="$OPTARG"
            ;;
        S) # shift thresholds
            MAX_THRESH_SHIFT="$OPTARG"
            ;;
        t) # test mode
            DRY_RUN=true
            ;;
        q) # quiet mode
            QUIET=true
            ;;
        d) # go into background and daemonize
            DAEMONIZE=true
            ;;
        l) # log to syslog
            SYSLOG=true
            ;;
        p) # different pidfile
            PID_FILE="$OPTARG"
            ;;
        k) # kill daemon
            KILL_DAEMON=true
            ;;
        u) # suspend daemon
            SUSPEND_DAEMON=true
            ;;
        h) # short help
            usage
            ;;
        \?) # error
            usage
            ;;
    esac
done
[ $OPTIND -gt $# ] || usage  # no non-option args

# no logger found, no syslog capabilities
$SYSLOG && [ ! -x $LOGGER ] && SYSLOG=false || :

if $DRY_RUN; then
    echo "$0: Dry run, will not change fan state."
    QUIET=false
    DAEMONIZE=false
fi

thermometer() { # output list of temperatures
    # 2 basic temperatures from CPU cores:
    CPU0=`/usr/bin/sensors | /usr/bin/awk '/Core 0/ { print $3 }' | sed -e s/[^0-9]//g`
    CPU1=`/usr/bin/sensors | /usr/bin/awk '/Core 1/ { print $3 }' | sed -e s/[^0-9]//g`
    echo -n "$CPU0 $CPU1 ";
    return 0
}

speedometer() { # output fan speed RPM
    read F0 < /sys/devices/virtual/thermal/cooling_device0/cur_state
    read F1 < /sys/devices/virtual/thermal/cooling_device1/cur_state
    read F2 < /sys/devices/virtual/thermal/cooling_device2/cur_state
    read F3 < /sys/devices/virtual/thermal/cooling_device3/cur_state
    read F4 < /sys/devices/virtual/thermal/cooling_device4/cur_state
    FAN=$(($F4+$F3*2+$F2*4+$F1*8+$F0*16))
    echo -n $FAN;
    return 0
}

setlevel() { # set fan speed level
    local LEVEL=$1
    if ! $DRY_RUN; then
        if $HAVE_LEVELCMD; then
        BLEVEL=$(echo "obase=2;$LEVEL" | bc)
        LEN=$(echo ${#BLEVEL})
        BLEVEL5=`echo "0000"$BLEVEL`
        B5=${BLEVEL5:(-5)}
        echo ${B5:0:1} > /sys/devices/virtual/thermal/cooling_device0/cur_state
        echo ${B5:1:1} > /sys/devices/virtual/thermal/cooling_device1/cur_state
        echo ${B5:2:1} > /sys/devices/virtual/thermal/cooling_device2/cur_state
        echo ${B5:3:1} > /sys/devices/virtual/thermal/cooling_device3/cur_state
        echo ${B5:4:1} > /sys/devices/virtual/thermal/cooling_device4/cur_state
    else
        case "$LEVEL" in
        (auto)        LEVEL=0x80 ;;
        (disengaged)  LEVEL=0x40 ;;
        esac
            #echo 0x2F $LEVEL > $IBM_ACPI/ecdump
    fi
    fi
}

getlevel() { # get fan speed level
    # perl -e 'm/^EC 0x20: .* .(..)$/ and print $1 and exit 0 while <>; exit 1' < $IBM_ACPI/ecdump
    read F0 < /sys/devices/virtual/thermal/cooling_device0/cur_state
    read F1 < /sys/devices/virtual/thermal/cooling_device1/cur_state
    read F2 < /sys/devices/virtual/thermal/cooling_device2/cur_state
    read F3 < /sys/devices/virtual/thermal/cooling_device3/cur_state
    read F4 < /sys/devices/virtual/thermal/cooling_device4/cur_state
    FAN=$(($F4+$F3*2+$F2*4+$F1*8+$F0*16))
    echo -n $FAN;
}

log() {
    # $QUIET || echo "> $*"
    ! $SYSLOG || $LOGGER -t "`basename $0`[$$]" "$*"
}

cleanup() { # clean up after work
    $AM_DAEMON && rm -f "$PID_FILE" 2> /dev/null
    log "Shutting down, fan turned up"
    if ! $DRY_RUN; then
        if $HAVE_LEVELCMD; then
            setlevel 31
        fi
    fi
}

floor_div() {
    echo $(( (($1)+1000*($2))/($2) - 1000 ))
}

set_priority() {
    ! $DRY_RUN && renice -10 -p $$
}

init_state() {
    IDX=0
    NEW_IDX=0
    START_TIME=0
    MAX_IDX=31
    SETTLE_LEFT=0
    RESETTLE_LEFT=0
    FIRST=true
    RESTART=false
}

control_fan() {
    # Enable the fan in default mode if anything goes wrong:
    set -e -E -u
    trap "cleanup; exit 2" HUP INT ABRT QUIT SEGV TERM
    trap "cleanup" EXIT
    trap "log 'Got SIGUSR1'; setlevel 0; RESTART=true; sleep $SUSPEND_TIME" USR1

    init_state
    log "Starting dynamic fan control"

    # Control loop:
    while true; do
        # Get readouts
        TEMPS=`thermometer`
        $QUIET || SPEED=`speedometer`
        $QUIET || ECLEVEL=`getlevel`
        NOW=`date +%s`
        if echo "$TEMPS" | grep -q "[^ 0-9$SEP\n-]"; then
            echo "Invalid character in temperatures: $TEMPS" >&2; exit 1;
        fi

    OLDLEVEL=$ECLEVEL
    NEWLEVEL=$OLDLEVEL
    CHANGE=0

    for TEMP in $TEMPS; do
        if [ $TEMP -gt 430 ] ; then
        if [ $OLDLEVEL -lt 31 ] ; then
            CHANGE=$(($CHANGE+1)) ;
            # NEWLEVEL=$(($OLDLEVEL+1)) ;
        fi
        elif [ $TEMP -gt 410 ] ; then
                # No change between 41-43C
        CHANGE=$(($CHANGE)) ;
        else
        if [ $OLDLEVEL -gt 0 ] ; then
            CHANGE=$(($CHANGE-1)) ;
            # NEWLEVEL=$(($OLDLEVEL-1)) ;
        fi
        fi
        NEWLEVEL=$(($OLDLEVEL+$CHANGE)) ;
        if [ $NEWLEVEL -gt 31 ] ; then
        NEWLEVEL=31 ;
        fi
        if [ $NEWLEVEL -lt 0 ] ; then
                NEWLEVEL=0 ;
            fi
            OLDLEVEL=$NEWLEVEL ;
        done

        # Interrupted by a signal?
        if $RESTART; then
            init_state
            log "Resetting state"
            continue
        fi

        # Transition
        if [ "$ECLEVEL" != "$NEWLEVEL" ]; then
            START_TIME=$NOW
            log "Changing fan level: $ECLEVEL->$NEWLEVEL  (temps: $TEMPS)"
        fi

        setlevel $NEWLEVEL

        sleep $INTERVAL

        IDX=$NEW_IDX
        FIRST=false
    done
}

if $KILL_DAEMON || $SUSPEND_DAEMON; then 
    if [ -f "$PID_FILE" ]; then
    set -e
    DPID="`cat \"$PID_FILE\"`" 
    if $KILL_DAEMON; then
            kill "$DPID"
        rm "$PID_FILE"
        $QUIET || echo "Killed process $DPID"
    else # SUSPEND_DAEMON
        kill -USR1 "$DPID"
        $QUIET || echo "Sent SIGUSR1 to $DPID"
    fi
    else
        $QUIET || echo "Daemon not running."
        exit 1
    fi
elif $DAEMONIZE ; then
    if [ -e "$PID_FILE" ]; then
        echo "$0: File $PID_FILE already exists, refusing to run."
        exit 1
    else
        set_priority
        AM_DAEMON=true QUIET=false control_fan 0<&- 1>&- 2>&- &
    echo "$0: Starting as daemon"
        echo $! > "$PID_FILE"
        exit 0
    fi
else
    [ -e "$PID_FILE" ] && echo "WARNING: daemon already running"
    set_priority
    control_fan
fi
1
  • Ok, been running the above for a while now. Noticed that a bash script takes a lot of resources and turned it into c++ daemon. Contact me if you need it for your PC.
    – tapiov
    Jun 13, 2014 at 18:24
0

Fan speed settings explicitly not under the control of OS or I might be wrong.

But there are few utilities which I know for Windows. However some BIOSs give you options to control the fan behaviour. You should check for those options in BIOS first.

Using utilities which would change the behaviour of some crucial hardware is not recommended.

2
  • The only BIOS setting I have is "Fan always on when on AC power". Of course I have it unchecked
    – vucalur
    Mar 3, 2014 at 11:15
  • @vucalur Many of my friends have HP systems and they all point about the same issue. However their systems have AMD on board. Mar 4, 2014 at 17:15

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