I have ubuntu 6.06 and the computer keeps on coming up with a bios message as soon as I have turned it on saying that critical temperature reached. I have just turned my computer on and this doesnt make sense. It happens with other live cds and windows xp. please help!

You should go into your BIOS usually by hitting the delete key when starting up (if not delete it will most times tell which key needed on the startup splash screen) and go into the hardware monitoring section however it may be named in your computer. There you would check the actual temperature if it shows you this, your fan speeds, voltages things like this to see if they within acceptable ranges. Now most BIOS have setting for the warning temperature if it is set too low then this will cause the warnings you are seeing so you may want to set this higher if your CPU is at a low enough point where you feel confortable increasing the warning level. A few things to check are the proper seating of the heatsink and fan on the CPU in your box and whether the fan is actually working properly as well the fan may need cleaning if it has been clogged with dust, you may need to re-apply the thermal compound if old, maybe upgrade the cooling to better rated heatsink/fan, if overclocking set back to stock settings. Also make sure that you have enough airflow coming in the front of the case with a fan in the place most cases have for one there and in the back with another fan there as well plus check these work/are not clogged with dust. If these suggestion do not work then can you post the hardware in your case, the temperature reported in the BIOS, fan speeds ... things like this so we can get a better idea of what is going on the more details the easier it is to help.

um

it is an HP dv1139ea laptop, the fan doesnt seem to be overworking. Message is coming up saying "critical temperature reached 89 degrees". It comes as soon as I turn it on so I am pretty confused

Well if it is still under warranty then it is time to take it in and get serviced then because something is serious wrong if it is getting up to 89 degrees Celsius in all OS's, sounds like the cpu fan/thermal grease under it have stopped working properly.

no but it comes up as soon as I turn it on and the sho said that they thought it was a linux bios problem

Grab the heatsink with your bare hand. If your fingers don't start to burn and blister then the temp sensor is broken and the error message is erroneous. 89°C = 192.2°F

NOTE: Method not recommended for people with artificial limbs or no feeling in their extremities.

It is not hot but what can I do about it?

As HappyTux mentioned in first reply there's usually a way to change the threshold or even disable the warning in the BIOS. That's also the place you need to check the temp to make sure it's not OS related. In which case I'd do what he suggested in his second reply and RMA it.

its alright, i have conceded defeat. the problem was that the CPU was failing and triggering strange responses from the motherboard. have just bought new computer and am installing ubuntu 7.04 as i speak. thanks for all your help!

andimeister

Sigh ... He got a busted radiator, so he bought a new car. But then again, computers these days are getting cheap.