Notebook heat issues

livewire98801 · 09-07-2006, 03:21 AM

I have had three different notebooks with Linux (my first install was on a notebook!), and every one has had heat issues with Linux.

My first was a Dell Inspiron 2500 (Celeron 900mhz)
then a Compaq r3000z (Athlon XP-M/32bit)
and now a HP dv8000t (Intel CoreDuo 1.73)

Every single one has been dual-boot Linux/Windows. Windows has always been XP, the Dell was updated to SP2 at some point, and the others have all been SP2 from the beginning. My Linux flavor usually settles on the current Fedora build, though all but the HP have had multiple flavors.

Here's my issue. Every single notebook I've ever had runs WAY hotter in Linux than in Windows. If you search by my username on this board, you can find my Dell posts, I thought it was a fan issue with that machine at the time. Right now, I'm using Firefox (two tabs on LQ) and Gaim. No other apps are open besides gKrellm, wich is reporting my system temp to be 118.4 degrees (F).

I have desktop hardware, but I've never really run Windows on it. I have noticed that the fans ran more in Linux than in WinXP64, but because I hated WinXP64, I never did any real testing, and I eventually relcaimed the HDD space for Linux.

I'm using a piece of particle board as a heat barrier and I can still feel that getting pretty warm, but what I notice most is the amount of heat radiating from below the touchpad. The CPU cores aren't working very hard, there are a few spikes, but it's mostly flatlined at 0%. I've always used the latest nVidia driver build from their installer. I think the Dell had Intel graphics though.

Any help would be appreciated, and if any other information is needed, pls don't hesitate to aks

Thanks in advance,

Tim

Code:

 ~]$ uname -rvmpi
2.6.17-1.2174_FC5smp #1 SMP Tue Aug 8 16:00:39 EDT 2006 i686 i686 i386

Code:

 ~]$ sudo lspci -v
00:00.0 Host bridge: Intel Corporation Mobile Memory Controller Hub (rev 03)
        Subsystem: Hewlett-Packard Company Unknown device 30a5
        Flags: bus master, fast devsel, latency 0
        Capabilities: [e0] Vendor Specific Information

00:01.0 PCI bridge: Intel Corporation Mobile PCI Express Graphics Port (rev 03) (prog-if 00 [Normal decode])
        Flags: bus master, fast devsel, latency 0
        Bus: primary=00, secondary=01, subordinate=01, sec-latency=0
        I/O behind bridge: 00002000-00002fff
        Memory behind bridge: d0000000-d1ffffff
        Prefetchable memory behind bridge: 00000000c0000000-00000000cff00000
        Capabilities: [88] #0d [0000]
        Capabilities: [80] Power Management version 2
        Capabilities: [90] Message Signalled Interrupts: 64bit- Queue=0/0 Enable+
        Capabilities: [a0] Express Root Port (Slot+) IRQ 0
        Capabilities: [100] Virtual Channel
        Capabilities: [140] Unknown (5)

00:1b.0 Audio device: Intel Corporation 82801G (ICH7 Family) High Definition Audio Controller (rev 01)
        Subsystem: Hewlett-Packard Company Unknown device 30a5
        Flags: bus master, fast devsel, latency 0, IRQ 66
        Memory at d2400000 (64-bit, non-prefetchable) [size=16K]
        Capabilities: [50] Power Management version 2
        Capabilities: [60] Message Signalled Interrupts: 64bit+ Queue=0/0 Enable-
        Capabilities: [70] Express Unknown type IRQ 0
        Capabilities: [100] Virtual Channel
        Capabilities: [130] Unknown (5)

00:1c.0 PCI bridge: Intel Corporation 82801G (ICH7 Family) PCI Express Port 1 (rev 01) (prog-if 00 [Normal decode])
        Flags: bus master, fast devsel, latency 0
        Bus: primary=00, secondary=02, subordinate=02, sec-latency=0
        Capabilities: [40] Express Root Port (Slot+) IRQ 0
        Capabilities: [80] Message Signalled Interrupts: 64bit- Queue=0/0 Enable+
        Capabilities: [90] #0d [0000]
        Capabilities: [a0] Power Management version 2
        Capabilities: [100] Virtual Channel
        Capabilities: [180] Unknown (5)

00:1c.1 PCI bridge: Intel Corporation 82801G (ICH7 Family) PCI Express Port 2 (rev 01) (prog-if 00 [Normal decode])
        Flags: bus master, fast devsel, latency 0
        Bus: primary=00, secondary=03, subordinate=03, sec-latency=0
        Capabilities: [40] Express Root Port (Slot+) IRQ 0
        Capabilities: [80] Message Signalled Interrupts: 64bit- Queue=0/0 Enable+
        Capabilities: [90] #0d [0000]
        Capabilities: [a0] Power Management version 2
        Capabilities: [100] Virtual Channel
        Capabilities: [180] Unknown (5)

00:1c.2 PCI bridge: Intel Corporation 82801G (ICH7 Family) PCI Express Port 3 (rev 01) (prog-if 00 [Normal decode])
        Flags: bus master, fast devsel, latency 0
        Bus: primary=00, secondary=06, subordinate=06, sec-latency=0
        Memory behind bridge: 52000000-520fffff
        Capabilities: [40] Express Root Port (Slot+) IRQ 0
        Capabilities: [80] Message Signalled Interrupts: 64bit- Queue=0/0 Enable+
        Capabilities: [90] #0d [0000]
        Capabilities: [a0] Power Management version 2
        Capabilities: [100] Virtual Channel
        Capabilities: [180] Unknown (5)

00:1d.0 USB Controller: Intel Corporation 82801G (ICH7 Family) USB UHCI #1 (rev 01) (prog-if 00 [UHCI])
        Subsystem: Hewlett-Packard Company Unknown device 30a5
        Flags: bus master, medium devsel, latency 0, IRQ 58
        I/O ports at 1800 [size=32]

00:1d.1 USB Controller: Intel Corporation 82801G (ICH7 Family) USB UHCI #2 (rev 01) (prog-if 00 [UHCI])
        Subsystem: Hewlett-Packard Company Unknown device 30a5
        Flags: bus master, medium devsel, latency 0, IRQ 233
        I/O ports at 1820 [size=32]

00:1d.2 USB Controller: Intel Corporation 82801G (ICH7 Family) USB UHCI #3 (rev 01) (prog-if 00 [UHCI])
        Subsystem: Hewlett-Packard Company Unknown device 30a5
        Flags: bus master, medium devsel, latency 0, IRQ 185
        I/O ports at 1840 [size=32]

00:1d.3 USB Controller: Intel Corporation 82801G (ICH7 Family) USB UHCI #4 (rev 01) (prog-if 00 [UHCI])
        Subsystem: Hewlett-Packard Company Unknown device 30a5
        Flags: bus master, medium devsel, latency 0, IRQ 169
        I/O ports at 1860 [size=32]

00:1d.7 USB Controller: Intel Corporation 82801G (ICH7 Family) USB2 EHCI Controller (rev 01) (prog-if 20 [EHCI])
        Subsystem: Hewlett-Packard Company Unknown device 30a5
        Flags: bus master, medium devsel, latency 0, IRQ 58
        Memory at d2404000 (32-bit, non-prefetchable) [size=1K]
        Capabilities: [50] Power Management version 2
        Capabilities: [58] Debug port

00:1e.0 PCI bridge: Intel Corporation 82801 Mobile PCI Bridge (rev e1) (prog-if 01 [Subtractive decode])
        Flags: bus master, fast devsel, latency 0
        Bus: primary=00, secondary=08, subordinate=09, sec-latency=64
        I/O behind bridge: 00003000-00003fff
        Memory behind bridge: d2000000-d20fffff
        Prefetchable memory behind bridge: 0000000050000000-0000000051f00000
        Capabilities: [50] #0d [0000]

00:1f.0 ISA bridge: Intel Corporation 82801GBM (ICH7-M) LPC Interface Bridge (rev 01)
        Subsystem: Hewlett-Packard Company Unknown device 30a5
        Flags: bus master, medium devsel, latency 0
        Capabilities: [e0] Vendor Specific Information

00:1f.2 IDE interface: Intel Corporation 82801GBM/GHM (ICH7 Family) Serial ATA Storage Controllers cc=IDE (rev 01) (prog-if 80 [Master])
        Subsystem: Hewlett-Packard Company Unknown device 30a5
        Flags: bus master, 66MHz, medium devsel, latency 0, IRQ 233
        I/O ports at <unassigned>
        I/O ports at <unassigned>
        I/O ports at <unassigned>
        I/O ports at <unassigned>
        I/O ports at 18b0 [size=16]
        Capabilities: [70] Power Management version 2

00:1f.3 SMBus: Intel Corporation 82801G (ICH7 Family) SMBus Controller (rev 01)
        Subsystem: Hewlett-Packard Company Unknown device 30a5
        Flags: medium devsel, IRQ 10
        I/O ports at 18c0 [size=32]

01:00.0 VGA compatible controller: nVidia Corporation Unknown device 0398 (rev a1) (prog-if 00 [VGA])
        Subsystem: Hewlett-Packard Company Unknown device 30a5
        Flags: bus master, fast devsel, latency 0, IRQ 169
        Memory at d1000000 (32-bit, non-prefetchable) [size=16M]
        Memory at c0000000 (64-bit, prefetchable) [size=256M]
        Memory at d0000000 (64-bit, non-prefetchable) [size=16M]
        I/O ports at 2000 [size=128]
        Capabilities: [60] Power Management version 2
        Capabilities: [68] Message Signalled Interrupts: 64bit+ Queue=0/0 Enable-
        Capabilities: [78] Express Endpoint IRQ 0
        Capabilities: [100] Virtual Channel
        Capabilities: [128] Power Budgeting

06:00.0 Network controller: Intel Corporation Unknown device 4222 (rev 02)
        Subsystem: Hewlett-Packard Company Unknown device 135b
        Flags: bus master, fast devsel, latency 0, IRQ 185
        Memory at 52000000 (32-bit, non-prefetchable) [size=4K]
        Capabilities: [c8] Power Management version 2
        Capabilities: [d0] Message Signalled Interrupts: 64bit+ Queue=0/0 Enable-
        Capabilities: [e0] Express Legacy Endpoint IRQ 0
        Capabilities: [100] Advanced Error Reporting
        Capabilities: [140] Device Serial Number c4-0a-b6-ff-ff-02-13-00

08:06.0 CardBus bridge: Texas Instruments Unknown device 8039
        Subsystem: Hewlett-Packard Company Unknown device 30a5
        Flags: bus master, medium devsel, latency 168, IRQ 185
        Memory at d2004000 (32-bit, non-prefetchable) [size=4K]
        Bus: primary=08, secondary=09, subordinate=0c, sec-latency=176
        Memory window 0: 50000000-51fff000 (prefetchable)
        Memory window 1: 54000000-55fff000
        I/O window 0: 00003400-000034ff
        I/O window 1: 00003800-000038ff
        16-bit legacy interface ports at 0001

08:06.1 FireWire (IEEE 1394): Texas Instruments Unknown device 803a (prog-if 10 [OHCI])
        Subsystem: Hewlett-Packard Company Unknown device 30a5
        Flags: bus master, medium devsel, latency 64, IRQ 233
        Memory at d2007000 (32-bit, non-prefetchable) [size=2K]
        Memory at d2000000 (32-bit, non-prefetchable) [size=16K]
        Capabilities: [44] Power Management version 2

08:06.2 Mass storage controller: Texas Instruments Unknown device 803b
        Subsystem: Hewlett-Packard Company Unknown device 30a5
        Flags: bus master, medium devsel, latency 64, IRQ 3
        Memory at d2005000 (32-bit, non-prefetchable) [size=4K]
        Capabilities: [44] Power Management version 2

08:06.3 Class 0805: Texas Instruments Unknown device 803c
        Subsystem: Hewlett-Packard Company Unknown device 30a5
        Flags: bus master, medium devsel, latency 64, IRQ 50
        Memory at d2007800 (32-bit, non-prefetchable) [size=256]
        Capabilities: [80] Power Management version 2

08:08.0 Ethernet controller: Intel Corporation Unknown device 1092 (rev 01)
        Subsystem: Hewlett-Packard Company Unknown device 30a5
        Flags: bus master, medium devsel, latency 66, IRQ 50
        Memory at d2006000 (32-bit, non-prefetchable) [size=4K]
        I/O ports at 3000 [size=64]
        Capabilities: [dc] Power Management version 2

Code:

 ~]$ sudo lsmod
Module                  Size  Used by
autofs4                25925  1
hidp                   25025  2
rfcomm                 45781  0
l2cap                  31937  10 hidp,rfcomm
sunrpc                162173  1
ip_conntrack_netbios_ns     7233  0
ipt_REJECT              9665  1
xt_state                6465  2
ip_conntrack           57633  2 ip_conntrack_netbios_ns,xt_state
nfnetlink              11225  1 ip_conntrack
xt_tcpudp               7361  4
iptable_filter          7233  1
ip_tables              17669  1 iptable_filter
x_tables               19269  4 ipt_REJECT,xt_state,xt_tcpudp,ip_tables
dm_mirror              27025  0
dm_mod                 64217  1 dm_mirror
video                  20677  0
button                 10961  0
battery                14021  0
ac                      9157  0
ipv6                  265057  16
lp                     17033  0
parport_pc             31205  0
parport                41225  2 lp,parport_pc
hci_usb                21461  2
bluetooth              56869  8 hidp,rfcomm,l2cap,hci_usb
snd_hda_intel          22613  1
snd_hda_codec         141761  1 snd_hda_intel
nvidia               4560916  8
ohci1394               39045  0
snd_seq_dummy           8133  0
joydev                 13953  0
ieee1394              303001  1 ohci1394
ehci_hcd               36941  0
sg                     38493  0
ipw3945               190888  1
ieee80211              34248  1 ipw3945
snd_seq_oss            37185  0
ieee80211_crypt         9856  1 ieee80211
uhci_hcd               28109  0
sdhci                  20037  0
e100                   40133  0
mmc_core               30017  1 sdhci
snd_seq_midi_event     11841  1 snd_seq_oss
snd_seq                59441  5 snd_seq_dummy,snd_seq_oss,snd_seq_midi_event
mii                     9665  1 e100
snd_seq_device         13005  3 snd_seq_dummy,snd_seq_oss,snd_seq
snd_pcm_oss            43985  0
snd_mixer_oss          21825  1 snd_pcm_oss
snd_pcm                88005  3 snd_hda_intel,snd_hda_codec,snd_pcm_oss
snd_timer              28613  2 snd_seq,snd_pcm
snd                    59973  11 snd_hda_intel,snd_hda_codec,snd_seq_oss,snd_seq,snd_seq_device,snd_pcm_oss,snd_mixer_oss,snd_pcm,snd_timer
i2c_i801               12749  0
soundcore              14113  1 snd
serio_raw              11589  0
i2c_core               26305  2 nvidia,i2c_i801
snd_page_alloc         14665  2 snd_hda_intel,snd_pcm
hw_random              10329  0
ext3                  135113  3
jbd                    62549  1 ext3
ata_piix               15941  4
libata                 72145  1 ata_piix
sd_mod                 24385  6
scsi_mod              140009  3 sg,libata,sd_mod

Code:

 ~]$ cat /proc/cpuinfo
processor       : 0
vendor_id       : GenuineIntel
cpu family      : 6
model           : 14
model name      : Genuine Intel(R) CPU           T2250  @ 1.73GHz
stepping        : 8
cpu MHz         : 800.000
cache size      : 2048 KB
physical id     : 0
siblings        : 2
core id         : 0
cpu cores       : 2
fdiv_bug        : no
hlt_bug         : no
f00f_bug        : no
coma_bug        : no
fpu             : yes
fpu_exception   : yes
cpuid level     : 10
wp              : yes
flags           : fpu vme de pse tsc msr pae mce cx8 apic sep mtrr pge mca cmov pat clflush dts acpi mmx fxsr sse sse2 ss ht tm pbe nx constant_tsc pni monitor est tm2 xtpr
bogomips        : 3463.27

processor       : 1
vendor_id       : GenuineIntel
cpu family      : 6
model           : 14
model name      : Genuine Intel(R) CPU           T2250  @ 1.73GHz
stepping        : 8
cpu MHz         : 800.000
cache size      : 2048 KB
physical id     : 0
siblings        : 2
core id         : 1
cpu cores       : 2
fdiv_bug        : no
hlt_bug         : no
f00f_bug        : no
coma_bug        : no
fpu             : yes
fpu_exception   : yes
cpuid level     : 10
wp              : yes
flags           : fpu vme de pse tsc msr pae mce cx8 apic sep mtrr pge mca cmov pat clflush dts acpi mmx fxsr sse sse2 ss ht tm pbe nx constant_tsc pni monitor est tm2 xtpr
bogomips        : 3458.24

Code:

 ~]$ w
 01:19:40 up  1:28,  2 users,  load average: 0.06, 0.11, 0.13

eeades · 09-07-2006, 10:38 PM

I had the same problem with SUSE at one time. Check to make sure that you are not running any extra software that is not needed (daemons, services, etc...). When I disabled the SUSE watcher, it cured my problems. Also, check to see if your hard drives are spinning down. They will put out some extra heat if they are running constantly.

Eric

livewire98801 · 09-08-2006, 03:19 AM

I don't think it's services or processes, both of my cores are flat zero with minor little spikes that come from X. I'll check again next time I have it up with some time to look at it. I'm not sure if the drives are spinning down or not, I'm not sure how to find out. This machine is quiet as a tomb, so I can't hear whether they spin down or not. Is there any way to poll the drive and find out what it's doing? The gkrellm charts are flat on them when I pay attention. And to answer the question that I would be asking, I don't run gKrellm all the time, just when I notice something.

I'm not sure what to do next, any suggestions for things to check would be appreciated.

I just re-read my original post, and I noticed that I forgot to mention battery life. My batteries have always lasted almost half again as long in Windows. This new machine is no exception. It's another of my concerns that I would really like to address.

Thanks,

Tim

Lenard · 09-08-2006, 03:01 PM

Quote:

Here's my issue. Every single notebook I've ever had runs WAY hotter in Linux than in Windows. If you search by my username on this board, you can find my Dell posts, I thought it was a fan issue with that machine at the time. Right now, I'm using Firefox (two tabs on LQ) and Gaim. No other apps are open besides gKrellm, wich is reporting my system temp to be 118.4 degrees (F).

Looks normal to me, my laptop (Acer Aspire 5000) is currently at this temperature and have seen it go as high as 157.6 degrees Fahrenheit (67 degrees Celsius) when compiling a kernel with no problems what so ever. This is normal, modern laptops do run hotter then what some expect. Just because they are called laptops (or notebooks) and fit on one's lap does not mean they should without some sort of protection and good air flow.

With many modern notebooks or laptops cooling is done by thermodynamics and the fan is only used when the cooling fluid cannot dissipate the heat quickly enough or needs assistance in doing so.

The real question is not if this seems somewhat hot to you, but rather if this is hot for the CPU and other hardware inside the system. You provided lots of information, all of it useless for this query(sorry but true).

Take a look at some useful information to see if this is really a problem, for example (from my laptop as I type this reply);

$ cat /proc/acpi/thermal_zone/THRM/temperature
temperature: 48 C

$ cat /proc/acpi/thermal_zone/THRM/trip_points
critical (S5): 97 C
passive: 93 C: tc1=2 tc2=3 tsp=40 devices=0xffff810037ee8a00

livewire98801 · 09-08-2006, 03:47 PM

The issue I'm having is that it runs too hot. Like I said, I dual-boot these machines, and they run much hotter at idle in Linux than they do under a load in Windows. It seems to be causing problems, as things get unstable. This newest notebook is especially bothersome because the hot point seems to be under the touchpad, and it gets unreliable when it gets hot.

I'll post /proc data when I get a chance tonight, while my laundry is running

eeades · 09-10-2006, 09:55 AM

It sounds like the processor is being constantly used. I would suggest using cpufreq, but it looks like it is already being used.

I just re-read your post, and from the sounds of it there are things going on with your hard-drive(s). I say this having an HP dv8230us, and the hard drives (yes 2), are in the front of the notebook, in the touchpad area. I get great battery life under linux (3-4 hours), and it runs no hotter than under windoz, but to do that, I had to use laptop-mode (quite a bit of setup under slack), but now both of my hard drives spin down good. Since your's is similar, then it is reasonable that you should get nearly the same. I do not have the link with instructions for laptop-mode handy, but when I get my laptop up and going, I will post it here for you.

Eric

livewire98801 · 09-10-2006, 06:03 PM

CpuFreq is being used, and the cores are staying at 800mhz most of the time, that is their low-pwer mode. Processor usage is staying at 0% mostly when I'm under 'normal' usage. Normally, I just brows web pages and chat with gaim.

My drives are a pair of 80gb SATA. I'm not sure which is the sda and which is sdb. I installed laptop_mode (rpms), and I'll post later and advise whether it did anything for me or not. If you have any special configurations you used for it, pls let me know.

Thanks

eeades · 09-12-2006, 06:29 AM

I just used the info contained in the laptop-mode.txt file inside the documentation directory of the kernel sources.

Eric

odcheck · 09-12-2006, 06:35 AM

Just give i8k Fan control a chance.

livewire98801 · 09-13-2006, 01:55 AM

Quote:

odcheck
Just give i8k Fan control a chance.

Isn't that an Inspiron-specific deal?

odcheck · 09-13-2006, 01:59 AM

just one sentence regarding this..
for e.g. Inspirion 8200 = Latitude C840 ...... except for another video card.
And modem...
No you can use i8k still.

livewire98801 · 09-13-2006, 02:00 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by eeades

I just used the info contained in the laptop-mode.txt file inside the documentation directory of the kernel sources.

I'm using a pure-RPM install on all of my Fedora boxes, including this laptop. I installed laptop-mode-tools.noarch from the dries repository. Seems to have improved so far, but I haven't had a chance to do any real testing (running for more than an hour). I'll look for that file next time I'm on that computer. . .maybe even tonight. Thank you for directing me here,

livewire98801 · 09-13-2006, 02:03 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by odcheck

just one sentence regarding this..
for e.g. Inspirion 8200 = Latitude C840 ...... except for another video card.
And modem...
No you can use i8k still.

Not quire sure what you meant there. . . The Latitude is another dell, and those models are quite a bit older than what I have. Are they going to respond to my hardware? I'm hesitating because I installed those modules on my Dell Inspiron 2500 and it nearly killed the poor computer. . . and that was another Dell. I might give it a shot if tis other deal doesn't work out though.

Thanks

odcheck · 09-13-2006, 02:21 AM

Okay I can just give you recommendations it your choice to test them.
I know that this are older systems and I just wanted to give you a kind of a wink ;-)
I am using it on Latitude D410 and Inspirion XPS, and Lat.D810