Overheating

Kronus980 · 03-04-2012, 12:34 AM

In Windows 7, (when I was running it) I would play triple A games such as Star Wars the force unleashed, The Elder Scrolls Skyrim, etc etc, and never once did my GPU overheat. But when I installed Ubuntu 11.10, after prolonged use, without even playing a single game, my screen would go black, nothing would work (as far as input), and it would appear frozen, as if it was overheating. I hear it's the GPU overheating, but if it isn't, what could it be? And any way it can be prevented?

cpd05 · 03-04-2012, 02:51 AM

Is the bottom of the laptop hot to touch? My guess would be the cpu rather than the gpu, it is overheating because the kernel module to increase and decrease the cpus frequency isn't loaded or the cpu frequency governor isn't set to ondemande.

What cpu have to got? What is the output of lsmod?

Kronus980 · 03-05-2012, 02:44 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by cpd05

Is the bottom of the laptop hot to touch? My guess would be the cpu rather than the gpu, it is overheating because the kernel module to increase and decrease the cpus frequency isn't loaded or the cpu frequency governor isn't set to ondemande.

What cpu have to got? What is the output of lsmod?

It is hot to the touch. It's a Intel® Core™2 Duo CPU P8700 @ 2.53GHz × 2. And you lost me after that haha

D-P · 03-05-2012, 04:59 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kronus980

It is hot to the touch. It's a Intel® Core™2 Duo CPU P8700 @ 2.53GHz × 2. And you lost me after that haha

run the command "lsmod" in terminal, you may need to run it with sudo..as in "sudo lsmod". You should get an output similar to this: (copy and paste and post that here.)

Code:

Module                  Size  Used by
acpi_cpufreq            5877  0 
mperf                   1275  1 acpi_cpufreq
freq_table              2515  1 acpi_cpufreq
nls_utf8                1320  1 
ntfs                  192860  1 
fuse                   66922  2 
joydev                  9895  0 
arc4                    1410  2 
snd_hda_codec_hdmi     24121  1 
snd_hda_codec_conexant    47186  1 
i915                  419250  2 
snd_hda_intel          23375  4 
snd_hda_codec          89160  3 snd_hda_intel,snd_hda_codec_conexant,snd_hda_codec_hdmi
i2c_algo_bit            5263  1 i915
ath5k                 138254  0 
ath                    14802  1 ath5k
r8169                  49040  0 
drm_kms_helper         26137  1 i915
mac80211              228527  1 ath5k
hp_wmi                  7738  0 
uas                     8120  0 
ums_realtek             7544  0 
sparse_keymap           3120  1 hp_wmi
snd_hwdep               6389  1 snd_hda_codec
snd_pcm                74780  4 snd_hda_codec,snd_hda_intel,snd_hda_codec_hdmi
snd_page_alloc          7153  2 snd_pcm,snd_hda_intel
snd_timer              19544  1 snd_pcm
i2c_i801                8187  0 
iTCO_wdt               11885  0 
intel_agp              10904  1 i915
snd                    59214  14 snd_timer,snd_pcm,snd_hwdep,snd_hda_codec,snd_hda_intel,snd_hda_codec_conexant,snd_hda_codec_hdmi
cfg80211              172260  3 mac80211,ath,ath5k
drm                   188435  3 drm_kms_helper,i915
serio_raw               4429  0 
psmouse                61311  0 
evdev                   9530  7 
usb_storage            44519  1 ums_realtek
rfkill                 15498  2 cfg80211,hp_wmi
mii                     4059  1 r8169
iTCO_vendor_support     1961  1 iTCO_wdt
wmi                     8475  1 hp_wmi
intel_gtt              14519  3 intel_agp,i915
i2c_core               20492  5 drm,i2c_i801,drm_kms_helper,i2c_algo_bit,i915
battery                 6453  0 
ac                      2344  0 
thermal                 7799  0 
soundcore               6210  1 snd
button                  4470  1 i915
video                  11164  1 i915
processor              25582  3 acpi_cpufreq
ext4                  418044  1 
crc16                   1359  1 ext4
jbd2                   71243  1 ext4
mbcache                 5881  1 ext4
sr_mod                 14951  0 
cdrom                  36681  1 sr_mod
sd_mod                 28307  4 
ahci                   20037  3 
libahci                19559  1 ahci
libata                166654  2 libahci,ahci
scsi_mod              133443  5 libata,sd_mod,sr_mod,usb_storage,uas
uhci_hcd               23116  0 
ehci_hcd               40698  0 
usbcore               146241  6 ehci_hcd,uhci_hcd,usb_storage,ums_realtek,uas
usb_common               954  1 usbcore

D-P · 03-05-2012, 05:11 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kronus980

It is hot to the touch. It's a Intel® Core™2 Duo CPU P8700 @ 2.53GHz × 2. And you lost me after that haha

run the command "lsmod" in terminal, you may need to run it with sudo..as in "sudo lsmod". You should get an output similar to the code below. (copy and paste and post that here.)
Also, is your fan running in the machine? You may consider turning it to always on in bios to keep the computer cooler.

Code:

Module                  Size  Used by
acpi_cpufreq            5877  0 
mperf                   1275  1 acpi_cpufreq
freq_table              2515  1 acpi_cpufreq
nls_utf8                1320  1 
ntfs                  192860  1 
fuse                   66922  2 
joydev                  9895  0 
arc4                    1410  2 
snd_hda_codec_hdmi     24121  1 
snd_hda_codec_conexant    47186  1 
i915                  419250  2 
snd_hda_intel          23375  4 
snd_hda_codec          89160  3 snd_hda_intel,snd_hda_codec_conexant,snd_hda_codec_hdmi
i2c_algo_bit            5263  1 i915
ath5k                 138254  0 
ath                    14802  1 ath5k
r8169                  49040  0 
drm_kms_helper         26137  1 i915
mac80211              228527  1 ath5k
hp_wmi                  7738  0 
uas                     8120  0 
ums_realtek             7544  0 
sparse_keymap           3120  1 hp_wmi
snd_hwdep               6389  1 snd_hda_codec
snd_pcm                74780  4 snd_hda_codec,snd_hda_intel,snd_hda_codec_hdmi
snd_page_alloc          7153  2 snd_pcm,snd_hda_intel
snd_timer              19544  1 snd_pcm
i2c_i801                8187  0 
iTCO_wdt               11885  0 
intel_agp              10904  1 i915
snd                    59214  14 snd_timer,snd_pcm,snd_hwdep,snd_hda_codec,snd_hda_intel,snd_hda_codec_conexant,snd_hda_codec_hdmi
cfg80211              172260  3 mac80211,ath,ath5k
drm                   188435  3 drm_kms_helper,i915
serio_raw               4429  0 
psmouse                61311  0 
evdev                   9530  7 
usb_storage            44519  1 ums_realtek
rfkill                 15498  2 cfg80211,hp_wmi
mii                     4059  1 r8169
iTCO_vendor_support     1961  1 iTCO_wdt
wmi                     8475  1 hp_wmi
intel_gtt              14519  3 intel_agp,i915
i2c_core               20492  5 drm,i2c_i801,drm_kms_helper,i2c_algo_bit,i915
battery                 6453  0 
ac                      2344  0 
thermal                 7799  0 
soundcore               6210  1 snd
button                  4470  1 i915
video                  11164  1 i915
processor              25582  3 acpi_cpufreq
ext4                  418044  1 
crc16                   1359  1 ext4
jbd2                   71243  1 ext4
mbcache                 5881  1 ext4
sr_mod                 14951  0 
cdrom                  36681  1 sr_mod
sd_mod                 28307  4 
ahci                   20037  3 
libahci                19559  1 ahci
libata                166654  2 libahci,ahci
scsi_mod              133443  5 libata,sd_mod,sr_mod,usb_storage,uas
uhci_hcd               23116  0 
ehci_hcd               40698  0 
usbcore               146241  6 ehci_hcd,uhci_hcd,usb_storage,ums_realtek,uas
usb_common               954  1 usbcore

Kronus980 · 03-05-2012, 11:25 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by D-P

run the command "lsmod" in terminal, you may need to run it with sudo..as in "sudo lsmod". You should get an output similar to the code below. (copy and paste and post that here.)
Also, is your fan running in the machine? You may consider turning it to always on in bios to keep the computer cooler.

Yes, the fan is running.

Code:

Module                  Size  Used by
snd_seq_dummy          12798  0 
snd_hrtimer            12744  1 
bnep                   18436  2 
rfcomm                 47946  8 
parport_pc             36962  0 
ppdev                  17113  0 
vesafb                 13809  1 
binfmt_misc            17540  1 
nvidia              11713772  57 
snd_hda_codec_hdmi     32040  1 
snd_hda_codec_idt      70553  1 
arc4                   12529  2 
btusb                  18600  2 
snd_hda_intel          33390  2 
snd_hda_codec         104931  3 snd_hda_codec_hdmi,snd_hda_codec_idt,snd_hda_intel
snd_hwdep              13668  1 snd_hda_codec
joydev                 17693  0 
snd_pcm                96714  3 snd_hda_codec_hdmi,snd_hda_intel,snd_hda_codec
hp_wmi                 18092  0 
sparse_keymap          13890  1 hp_wmi
uvcvideo               72711  0 
videodev               92992  1 uvcvideo
v4l2_compat_ioctl32    17083  1 videodev
snd_seq_midi           13324  0 
snd_rawmidi            30547  1 snd_seq_midi
dm_multipath           27433  0 
snd_seq_midi_event     14899  1 snd_seq_midi
bluetooth             166112  23 bnep,rfcomm,btusb
snd_seq                61896  4 snd_seq_dummy,snd_seq_midi,snd_seq_midi_event
psmouse                73882  0 
snd_timer              29991  3 snd_hrtimer,snd_pcm,snd_seq
serio_raw              13166  0 
snd_seq_device         14540  4 snd_seq_dummy,snd_seq_midi,snd_rawmidi,snd_seq
iwlagn                314257  0 
mac80211              462046  1 iwlagn
jmb38x_ms              17646  0 
memstick               16569  1 jmb38x_ms
snd                    68266  15 snd_hda_codec_hdmi,snd_hda_codec_idt,snd_hda_intel,snd_hda_codec,snd_hwdep,snd_pcm,snd_rawmidi,snd_seq,snd_timer,snd_seq_device
cfg80211              199630  2 iwlagn,mac80211
soundcore              12680  1 snd
snd_page_alloc         18529  2 snd_hda_intel,snd_pcm
wmi                    19256  1 hp_wmi
ir_lirc_codec          12898  0 
lirc_dev               19204  1 ir_lirc_codec
ir_sony_decoder        12549  0 
ir_jvc_decoder         12546  0 
ir_rc6_decoder         12546  0 
ir_rc5_decoder         12546  0 
rc_rc6_mce             12502  0 
ir_nec_decoder         12546  0 
ene_ir                 22796  0 
rc_core                26963  9 ir_lirc_codec,ir_sony_decoder,ir_jvc_decoder,ir_rc6_decoder,ir_rc5_decoder,rc_rc6_mce,ir_nec_decoder,ene_ir
video                  19412  0 
hp_accel               21880  0 
lis3lv02d              19888  1 hp_accel
input_polldev          13896  1 lis3lv02d
lp                     17799  0 
parport                46562  3 parport_pc,ppdev,lp
firewire_ohci          40722  0 
firewire_core          63626  1 firewire_ohci
crc_itu_t              12707  1 firewire_core
sdhci_pci              14032  0 
sdhci                  32166  1 sdhci_pci
r8169                  52788  0 
ahci                   26002  4 
libahci                26861  1 ahci
dm_raid45              78155  0 
xor                    12894  1 dm_raid45
dm_mirror              22203  0 
dm_region_hash         20918  1 dm_mirror
dm_log                 18564  3 dm_raid45,dm_mirror,dm_region_hash

EDIT: So what data is being displayed here?

D-P · 03-05-2012, 11:40 PM

Ok.. Good, now could you run the following and paste the output?

ls /lib/modules/$(uname -r)/kernel/drivers/cpufreq/

(you may have to install cpufrequtils package: ) cpufreq-info

Edit: Sorry dident see your last part, the data that is displayed is what modules the kernel currently has loaded. If you look and see for example mine has "acpi_cpufreq" (your intel should be using this or the speedstep-centrino module as far a I know), our suspicion is that either your freq settings are incorrect or...the modules are never loaded. If these modules are never loaded your kernel cannot communicate with the CPU to set frequencies "on demand"(meaning it stays at low speeds and will be sped up when the system needs it.) right now it seems that the cpu is set full blast all the time causing the computer to get very hot. In a windows comparison you could think of modules being the "Drivers" for Linux.

EDDY1 · 03-06-2012, 12:26 AM

http://wiki.stocksy.co.uk/wiki/Think_Green
I tried it & can't get ondemand loaded

D-P · 03-06-2012, 12:19 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by EDDY1

http://wiki.stocksy.co.uk/wiki/Think_Green
I tried it & can't get ondemand loaded

is it because there is no support for doing so with your CPU? or is just not working when your loading it into the configuration files?

you could try to use cpufreq to force it and see if that works...

cpufreq-set -r -g ondemand

if all else fails you could create a script that manually sets the speed for you, not sure how easily that could be done however.

EDDY1 · 03-06-2012, 04:17 PM

Ihave celeron (M) 1.6

D-P · 03-06-2012, 05:21 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by EDDY1

Ihave celeron (M) 1.6

I see, all options are supported, cpu-freq see's the processor meaning you loaded the right modules. I'm assuming you loaded the cpufreq_ondemand module as well.

A more direct approach:

Code:

cpufreq-set -c 0 -g ondemand -u 1.60Ghz -d 200Mhz

check and see if that changes it under scaling_gov..
(Sets on the single processor you have , and also sets the highest and lowest paramaters to it..)

If that fails, change it directly using this command:

Code:

echo ondemand | sudo tee /sys/devices/system/cpu/cpu0/cpufreq/scaling_governor

you can watch and see if the frequency changes with this command as well..

Code:

watch grep \"cpu MHz\" /proc/cpuinfo

cpd05 · 03-06-2012, 06:52 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kronus980

It is hot to the touch. It's a Intel® Core™2 Duo CPU P8700 @ 2.53GHz × 2. And you lost me after that haha

LOL, sorry I was a bit terse

As D-P has stated lsmod lists the modules currently within the kernel. The CPU needs to dynamically control its frequency to keep the temperature down but it can't do this unless the module/driver in running within the kernel. From your output of lsmod it doesn't look like the CPU driver is loaded in the kernel, thus you need to load it by doing, as root,

modprobe acpi_cpufreq

Also, you could try modprobe fan, for me that gets the fan to go on and off to keep the laptop quiet. Once the CPU module is loaded you need to make sure the governor, the code which decides how the CPU frequency will change, is set to ondemand. The simplest way to do this is in a terminal enter

cat /sys/devices/system/cpu/cpu0/cpufreq/scaling_governor

If it says ondemand then everything should be fine.You can add an applet to your desktop to show the current CPU frequency, on gnome just right click and go Add to panel, then add the CPU frequency monitor. Keep an eye on the temperature of your laptop as excessive heat can really mess them up.

EDDY1 · 03-07-2012, 12:11 AM

Quote:

cpufreq-set -c 0 -g ondemand -u 1.60Ghz -d 200Mhz

Quote:

echo ondemand | sudo tee /sys/devices/system/cpu/cpu0/cpufreq/scaling_governor

no changes still set for performance

D-P · 03-07-2012, 01:55 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by EDDY1

no changes still set for performance

Pretty much expected that.
try and see setting it to another setting will work..(ie conservative)

Code:

cpufreq-set -r -g conservative

If that works and is in scaling_gov then we can assume that it is only ondemand that has the issue. If it doesn't, you could try another driver, or see if a gui program is setting it (see below)

You might want to check through dmesg

Code:

 dmesg | grep ondemand

and see if you see something that looks like this:

Code:

kernel: [1601494.117402] ondemand governor failed, too long transition latency of HW, fallback to performance governor

if you do find that..I found a fix but im not sure if it works or not. http://www.2realities.com/howtos/lin...quency_scaling

The last idea I have is maybe there is a gui program that is setting these parameters. I would look through all settings in your Desktop Manager that deal with the processor or power saving settings...

In either case, you could try two things..
1. Try another driver...
Remove the current p4_clockmod from your modules..

Code:

 modprobe -r p4_clockmod

and load the acpi_cpufreq driver..

Code:

 modprobe acpi_cpufreq

This might fix your problem, p4-clockmod is known to have issues with ondemand..

2. Run user-land CPU control...
if you look at http://wiki.debian.org/HowTo/CpuFrequencyScaling, near the bottom you should see "The userland-based governors (cpufreqd, cpudyn, powersaved, powernowd ...) are usually not needed any more." You could try to use one of those to control the freq.