I have tried several times to use Linux on some of my computers. The one problem that continually drives me away is the noisy cpu fan when linux is running. if linux is such a great alternative to windows, why can't it have cpu fan control without user fiddling, like windows?

Back in the 60's (probably before most forum members were born) I used to program in various forms of machine language, and rudimentary compiler languages, I have long since given up trying to program in that arcane manner.

I am willing to install a simple package that has a workable configuration that does not need 'tweaking'. I cannot believe I am the only one.

Not to be a complete d*ck here, but this is your first post, and you just had to tell us you used to program in various forms of machine language. If you had this type of extensive knowledge, why bother researching on a linux-based forum, instead of using your past experience, even just to search around google? Just saying ....

So forgiving my ignorance, you need to install lm-sensors and once you get that up and running, you need to run sensors-detect. After probing for any sort of sensors between your motherboard, graphics cards, etc, and the configuration gets written, you will need to install and setup pwmconfig. This is just a general spew of information; What distro and kernel version/architecture are you using?

Thank you for your reply. My query was not "how" to get CPU fan control. I was asking if someone has been inclined to offer a simple solution like Windows has had for a very long time. And, yes, I can do the research, install and configuration necessary to get fan control on my system, but that was not my question.

I am sure you are a very talented and knowledgeable linux expert. I do not want to be a linux expert, I want to be a happy user and not involved with the non-GUI aspects.

If automatic fan control without user configuration is not an option linux developers have contemplated, maybe it's time. Just my suggestion.

To be quite honest, I have never once had to mess with any configurations. Just like any other new OS/distro install, I would install the base system, install a few "dependencies," and my fans were being controlled automatically. Most distributions do this by default if I am not mistaken.

Just a comment - there may be a fan on the cpu, and another on a graphics card, and another for the case, or not, or more. I had similar fan-noise problems with linux, and after (literally) poking around I found it was the fan on the graphics card that was making the noise, not the cpu. After trying several graphics drivers I was unable to fix the problem, the only solution (for me) was to get a graphics card that uses a heat sink (not a fan). Since installing that, no fan noise.

Most (?all) companies that make hardware for PC's will ensure that there is a driver for windows. This is not the case for linux. Some companies do produce linux drivers, some do not. Some have been reverse-engineered and open source drivers exist that may or may not have all the features of the proprietary driver.

I've also had a fan-control problem on windows 7, which happened after one of the automatic windows updates, which required my getting a new BIOS from HP for my computer... So windows is NOT immune itself to these problems.

Same here, I'm pretty much incapable of playing games on the Win 7 side of my laptop because it can't keep the CPU cool. Even with a 3rd party controller it can't get the CPU fan fast enough to keep it cool under heavy load, and the laptop inevitably locks up.

The Linux side, after installing some drivers, works just fine. It can spin up the CPU fan much faster than Windows will, even with the 3rd party controller on Windows.

First, Linux is not an alternative to Windows, it is a free UNIX-like system.
Second, Windows lacks the same. Fan control for the CPU is usually done by the mainboard. If your fan is running fast that means that the CPU is running hot, simple as that. Either power-saving is not configured correctly or your CPU is under constant load. This may be different if the computer you speak of is a laptop with either a dedicated GPU (read: not CPU-inbuilt) or maybe even dual graphics (like Nvidia's Optimus). In that case often missing or too old drivers for the GPU are the actual problem.

So fancontrol exists already, regardless of the OS, the real question is why your system is running hot.

I have never encountered any simple solutions in Windows for controlling the CPU fan. In fact, I have never encountered any way that was possible, except with third party programs.
Windows usually have the habit of overheating your computer, running the fan on maximum and in the end melt parts of the fan and break the CPU.
In my experience.

If you are not willing to try anything to get fan control working in Linux, its not even a point to ask.

Using Windows from Windows 95 to Windows 7 on a bunch of different machines, I never had such a problem.

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Strange. I always had that with Windows laptops until I stopped using Windows. In fact, it was so bad that one of my old laptops which still work with GNU/Linux, always shuts down when using Windows on it, shortly after booting.

On other machines of the past I experienced frequent shutdowns and overheating when using Windows, while never the same with GNU/Linux.

Linux/Unix Based System aren't intended to be simple, the are intended to be flexible and highly configurable. That is why most people who use Linux/Unix based system are either system admins or Tech Guru's.

Thanks to the support of others, they have quite made the effort to simplify the system such as ubuntu which alot of advanced users end up turn way and using something more like debian, because they have to undo the simple to configure there advanced.

Just an exmaple anyways, Ubuntu can be for adavnced users to, but the simplicity of it sometimes gets in the way and makes things more complicated than that have to be.