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I have installed Ubuntu 14.04 LTS on a Samsung aviv book 8 (NP870Z5G). I encountered a problem with the fan, it seems to be running more often under Ubuntu than under windows.
For instance, I always liked the pc for not having any fans spinning when just doing desktop work, but under Ubuntu the fans spines every now and then.

I have found this thread Fan is always on, CPU usage is rather low and can't find the fan or thermal_zone proc files and tried to follow the advice given.

By running the fwts fan command I got this output:

Test 2 of 2: Load system, check CPU fan status.
Test how many fans there are in the system. Check for the current status of the
fan(s).
Loading CPUs for 20 seconds to try and get fan speeds to change.
Fan cooling_device2 current state did not change from value 0 while CPUs were
busy.
Fan cooling_device3 current state did not change from value 0 while CPUs were
busy.
Fan cooling_device4 current state did not change from value 0 while CPUs were
busy.
Fan cooling_device5 current state did not change from value 0 while CPUs were
busy.
Fan cooling_device6 current state did not change from value 0 while CPUs were
busy.
Fan cooling_device7 current state did not change from value 0 while CPUs were
busy.
Fan cooling_device8 current state did not change from value 0 while CPUs were
busy.
Fan cooling_device9 current state did not change from value 0 while CPUs were
busy.

ADVICE: Did not detect any change in the CPU related thermal cooling device
states. It could be that the devices are returning static information back to
the driver and/or the fan speed is automatically being controlled by firmware
using System Management Mode in which case the kernel interfaces being examined
may not work anyway.

I then ran lsmod | grep samsung and got this output:

samsung_laptop         14673  0   
video                  20128  3 i915,samsung_laptop,nouveau

So it would seem I already have the module for Samsung loaded.

By the way, output of ls /proc/acpi/ is:

button  
wakeup
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2 Answers 2

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First of all Ubuntu is not Windows. Furthermore the speed of the fan is determined by a hardware sensor that detects the temperature and protects against overheating. I've written more detailed in this answer. So if the fan is running faster on Ubuntu then it is apprently necessary. You can't really influence the speed of the fan and you probably shouldn't do it either. According to a few claims there seems to be a relation with alleged faulty drivers but this remains largely unclear.

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You have nouveau open source video driver. It does not manage power well.

Also you probably have hybrid graphics and both your adapters work at the same time. That cause big power consumption and overheat.

You need to install a proprietary Nvidia driver and setup adapter switching by nvidia-prime or bumblebee.

So this is not a "problem with fan", but not good power management of the system.

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