Tell me more ×
Ask Ubuntu is a question and answer site for Ubuntu users and developers. It's 100% free, no registration required.
up vote 2 down vote favorite
2

My system (DELL Studio 1558) gets shut down while using GNOME Shell on Ubuntu 11.10 without any message, because the system over-heats. The fan below the processor is also not working. Does any one know what to do?

share|improve this question
1  
You have to make sure the CPU fan is not broken. Does the fan work in Windows? – mikewhatever Nov 24 '11 at 14:38
That seems more like a hardware problem than with Ubuntu, unless it works in Windows like @mikewhatever said. I'd buy a new fan or try to get it fixed. – bntser Nov 24 '11 at 15:26
2  
Please don't assume that people has any means of knowing whether or not Windows would work. It is not obvious that people have Windows available at all. – Jo-Erlend Schinstad Nov 24 '11 at 16:33
What BIOS version are you running? (check the boot screen for it) – Bruno Pereira♦ Nov 25 '11 at 10:35
I'm having the same problem. Did you solve this? It seemed to happen all of a sudden. It was working fine a week or so. I upgraded my BIOS to A12 just now so we'll see if that helps. – Cymen Feb 23 '12 at 18:51

2 Answers

up vote 2 down vote

According to this page on Dell Support,

Problem: May randomly shutdown

The Studio 1558 may intermittently restart or shut down during use.

Resolution: Update the BIOS

To resolve the issue, download and install BIOS (System Setup) version A04 or later. If you need help to download or install the BIOS, click here for downloading and installation instructions.

Click here to proceed to Dell Drivers and Downloads

Your next question/step would be how do I update BIOS on your Dell from Linux? For that the answer is provided by our moderator Bruno Pereira here. Following is the information provided in that answer:

Dell has a very nifty utility to download and apply latest BIOS to their computers that are using Linux. It should theoretically run without any problems and you can run it in Ubuntu.

Please visit their page for more information, there are precise instructions there

Here are the instructions from the linked page

sudo wget -q -O - http://linux.dell.com/repo/firmware/bootstrap.cgi | bash
sudo apt-get install firmware-addon-dell
sudo apt-get install $(bootstrap_firmware -a)
sudo update_firmware

Please note: I have not tested this myself, you might first drop an email to Dell support to ask them if this method deprecated or if there are any issues with it.

share|improve this answer
If I try to install this repository the shell script simply tells me that the repository is obsolete en unmaintained and that I should use the OMSA repository instead. When I read the documentation about the OMSA repository on the Dell website it says that Ubuntu is not yet supported... Any ideas how we can get the required packages now? thx! – jeroen May 28 '12 at 13:18
up vote 2 down vote

I've had the same issue on my Studio 1558 since I purchased this thing! It's been defective from day one and Dell's solution is to update the BIOS. Mine is up to date (A12) and it still randomly shuts off with and without the AC plugged in! And yes, it is due to overheating. Someone, who still has a Dell warranty managed to get theirs fixed through Dell and they replaced the entire Motherboard for him. But he also did confirm that it is an overheating problem that the Studios have. Someone else got a cooling stand and he hasn't had a problem since. I'm going to purchase one (about $25) to see if it helps. Good luck!

share|improve this answer

Your Answer

 
discard

By posting your answer, you agree to the privacy policy and terms of service.

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged or ask your own question.