Difference between revisions of "Fan control scripts"

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(The comprehensive script: - moved to Code/tp-fancontrol)
(Comprehensive bash script with fine control over fan speed)
 
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{{WARN|These scripts rely on undocumented hardware features and override nominal hardware behavior. They may thus cause arbitrary damage to your laptop or data. Watch your temperatures!}}
 
{{WARN|These scripts rely on undocumented hardware features and override nominal hardware behavior. They may thus cause arbitrary damage to your laptop or data. Watch your temperatures!}}
 +
{{NOTE|Closed-loop fan control requires a thermal sensor sweep, which is an expensive operation.  The firmware doesn't update the sensors more than once every 2s, so care should be taken not to waste resources by reading them too often.}}
 
|}
 
|}
  
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===Comprehensive <tt>bash</tt> script with fine control over fan speed===
 
===Comprehensive <tt>bash</tt> script with fine control over fan speed===
The following requires only [[ibm-acpi]] 0.11 or higher (e.g., as found in kernel 2.6.14 and higher) with the <tt>experimental=1</tt> module parameter. It supports (optional) daemon mode and logging to syslog.  
+
This script works with any recent Linux kernel (2.6.14 and higher). It requires the [[ibm-acpi]] module to be loaded with the <tt>experimental=1</tt> module parameter (e.g., {{cmdroot|1=modprobe ibm_acpi experimental=1}}).
  
This scripts uses a different temperature range for each [[thermal sensors|thermal sensor]], since they have different specs and thermal systems. For each sensor, a fan level is chosen based on the minimum and maximum temperatures configured for that sensor; then the actual fan level is set to the slowest that will satisfy all sensors. There are also some hysteresis features - see the script for the details. The method of controlling fan speed is documented [[How to control fan speed|here]].
+
In Linux 2.6.22 and higher you need to additionally pass fan_control=1 to the module thinkpad_acpi (e.g., {{cmdroot|1=modprobe thinkpad-acpi experimental=1 fan_control=1}})
  
Current options:
+
On Ubuntu > 10.04 or from kernel 2.6.32 onwards: To make the kernel module settings permanent and to make them be executed at boot run below command and reboot afterwards:
  
Usage: ./tp-fancontrol [OPTION]...
+
{{cmdroot|1=sudo echo "options thinkpad_acpi experimental=1 fan_control=1" >/etc/modprobe.d/thinkpad_acpi.conf}}
 
Available options:
 
  -s N  shift up temperature thresholds by N degrees
 
          (positive for quieter, negative for cooler)
 
  -t    test mode
 
  -q    quiet mode
 
  -d    daemon mode, go into background (implies -q)
 
  -l    log to syslog
 
  -k    kill already-running daemon
 
  -u    tell already-running daemon that the system is being suspended
 
  -p    pid file location for daemon mode, default: $PID_FILE
 
{{WARN|The list of temperature ranges used below is much more liberal than the rules used by the embedded controller firmware, and is derived mostly from anecdotal evidence, hunches and wishful thinking. It is also model-specific - see [[thermal sensors]].}}
 
  
The script: {{CodeRef|tp-fancontrol}}
 
  
====init script for the comprehensive script====
+
The code lets you define a temperature range for each [[thermal sensors|thermal sensor]]. The script computes the fan level needed by each sensor based on the configured range, and then sets the the actual fan level to the slowest that will satisfy all sensors (plus some hysteresis to avoid fluctiations). It also includes a workaround for the [[Problem with fan noise|pulsing noise]] problem. The script provides an (optional) daemon mode and logging to syslog. The method of controlling fan speed is documented [[How to control fan speed|here]].
  
The following init script (tested on {{Debian}}) allows you to configure some options using a config file. It requires to move the above <tt>tp-fancontrol</tt> script to {{path|/usr/bin/tp-fancontrol}}, but that can be changed easily. Written by [[User:Raigner|Raigner]].
+
The system hard disk temperature is monitored as well, using the hard disk's internal sensor. This works only on certain Hitachi disks and requires kernel >= 2.6.19-rc1 or the ide driver, since it uses a [[Thermal Sensors#Hitachi_harddisks_SENSE_CONDITION_temperature_sensor|non-standard method]] for reading the temperature without causing a head unload or spinup.
  
<pre>
+
The code:
#! /bin/sh
+
* {{CodeRef|tp-fancontrol}}
### BEGIN INIT INFO
 
# Provides:            tp-fancontrol
 
# Default-Start:        2 3 4 5
 
# Default-Stop:        S 0 1 6
 
### END INIT INFO
 
# Copyright (c) 2006 Ronald Aigner <ra3@os.inf.tu-dresden.de>
 
  
set -e
+
{{WARN|There is a bug in the code which causes the script to exit immediately after start with bash version is 4.1.0(7)-release. The problem line is line 356 which returns zero and cause the script to exit if set -e is called, which is unfortunately true. A simple solution is to append a true expression after the command.}}
  
DAEMON=/usr/bin/tp-fancontrol
+
Current options:
NAME=tp-fancontrol
 
DAEMONUSER=root
 
PIDDIR=/var/run
 
PIDFILE=$PIDDIR/tp-fancontrol.pid
 
DESC="Thinkpad CPU fan control"
 
  
test -x $DAEMON || exit 0
+
Usage: ./tp-fancontrol [OPTION]...
 
 
# source config file; edit that file to configure this script
 
TEMP_SHIFT=0
 
LOG_SYSLOG=1
 
QUIET=1
 
if [ -e /etc/tp-fancontrol.conf ]; then
 
  . /etc/tp-fancontrol.conf
 
fi
 
 
   
 
   
start_it()
+
Available options:
{
+
  -s N  Shift up the min temperature thresholds by N degrees
  PARAMS=-d
+
          (positive for quieter, negative for cooler).
   if [ -e $PIDFILE ]; then
+
          Max temperature thresholds are not affected.
    echo "$DESC already running. Stop first."
+
  -S N   Shift up the max temperature thresholds by N degrees
     exit 1
+
          (positive for quieter, negative for cooler). DANGEROUS.
  fi
+
  -t     Test mode
  if [ "$TEMP_SHIFT" != "0" ]; then
+
  -q    Quiet mode
     PARAMS=$PARAMS -s $TEMP_SHIFT
+
  -d     Daemon mode, go into background (implies -q)
  fi
+
  -l    Log to syslog
  if [ "$LOG_SYSLOG" = "1" ]; then
+
  -k     Kill already-running daemon
     PARAMS=$PARAMS" -l"
+
  -u     Tell already-running daemon that the system is being suspended
  else
+
  -p     Pid file location for daemon mode
     if [ "$QUIET" = "1" ]; then
+
{{WARN|The list of temperature ranges used in this script is much more liberal than the rules used by the embedded controller firmware, and is derived mostly from anecdotal evidence, hunches and wishful thinking. It is also model-specific - see [[thermal sensors]].}}
      PARAMS=$PARAMS" -q"
 
     fi
 
  fi
 
  PARAMS=$PARAMS" -p $PIDFILE"
 
  
  echo -n "Starting $DESC: $NAME ... "
+
====init script for the comprehensive script====
  $DAEMON $PARAMS
 
  if [ "$?" = "0" ]; then
 
    echo "Success."
 
  else
 
    echo "Error while starting: $?"
 
  fi
 
}
 
 
stop_it()
 
{
 
  if [ -e $PIDFILE ]; then
 
    echo -n "Stopping $DESC ... "
 
    $DAEMON -k
 
    if [ "$?" = "0" ]; then
 
      echo "Success."
 
    else
 
      echo "Error while stopping: $?"
 
    fi
 
  else
 
    echo "$DESC not running."
 
  fi
 
}
 
  
restart_it()
+
This is optional. It assumes that the above <tt>tp-fancontrol</tt> script is saved at {{path|/usr/bin/tp-fancontrol}}.
{
+
* Init script: {{CodeRef|tp-fancontrol.init}} (save as {{path|/etc/init.d/tp-fancontrol}})
  if [ -e $PIDFILE ]; then
+
* Init script (Debian): {{CodeRef|tp-fancontrol.init.debian}} (save as {{path|/etc/init.d/tp-fancontrol}})
    stop_it
+
* Configuration file for init script: {{CodeRef|tp-fancontrol.conf}} (save as {{path|/etc/tp-fancontrol.conf}})
    sleep 2
 
  fi
 
  start_it
 
}
 
  
case "$1" in
+
===Simple <tt>bash</tt> script with fine control over fan speed (requires kernel patch)===
  start)
+
The following is a simpler patch (without extra features like daemon mode and logging). It requires the [[patch for controlling fan speed]] or a recent kernel (>=2.6.19).
    start_it
 
  ;;
 
  stop)
 
    stop_it
 
  ;;
 
  reload|force-reload|restart)
 
    restart_it
 
  ;;
 
  *)
 
    echo "Usage: /etc/init.d/$NAME {start|stop|reload|restart|force-reload}" >&2
 
    exit 1
 
  ;;
 
esac
 
  
exit 0
+
{{CodeRef|tp-fancontrol-basic}}
</pre>
 
  
The {{path|/etc/tp-fancontrol.conf}} config script could look like this:
+
===tp-fan: Automatic daemon with GTK+ GUI===
 +
Provides easy setup and monitoring through graphical GTK+ interface. Temperature thresholds can be set separately for each sensor since version 0.90.
  
<pre>
+
At the moment packages are available for Ubuntu 8.04, 8.10, and 9.04. However, porting to other distributions or manual setup should be easy.
# config file for tp-fancontrol
 
  
#
+
* Home page: http://www.gambitchess.org/mediawiki/index.php/ThinkPad_Fan_Control
# The temparature shift will shift the trip points for different fan speeds.
+
http://www.gambitchess.org/moin.py/tpfan
#
 
# A positive value means that the trip-point is at a higher temperature and
 
# thus the fan is less noisy. A negative shift lets the fan start earlier.
 
# The default value is 0.
 
#
 
#TEMP_SHIFT=10
 
  
#
+
===thinkfan: A minimalist fan control program===
# True if logging to syslog should be enabled. If zero no logging to syslog
+
Written in C to use as little CPU power as possible. Configuration is done via a simple text file, by providing (FAN_LEVEL, LOWER_LIMIT, UPPER_LIMIT) tuples. Inspired by i8kfan. Requires thinkpad_acpi with fan_control=1. Just released version 0.7, which now allows a more fine-grained control over temperature limits.
# is enabled. All output will appear on console. This option implies QUIET=1.
 
# The default value is 1.
 
#
 
#LOG_SYSLOG=0
 
  
#
+
* Download here: http://sourceforge.net/projects/thinkfan/
# If no logging to syslog is on, the output will be verbose. To be less
 
# verbose set QUIET to 1. The default value is 1.
 
#
 
#QUIET=1
 
  
#
+
==Fan enable/disable scripts==
# The file to store the pid of the currently running fan-control daemon in.
+
The following scripts were written before it was known [[patch for controlling fan speed|how to control the fan speed]], so they only toggle between fan disabled and default (noisy) fan behavior. In some models, they also do not monitor all available [[thermal sensors]].
# The default value is /var/run/tp-fancontrol.pid
 
#
 
#PIDFILE=/var/run/tp-fancontrol.pid
 
</pre>
 
  
===Simple <tt>bash</tt> script with fine control over fan speed (requires kernel patch)===
+
===<tt>sh</tt> script example===
The following is a simpler patch (without extra features like daemon mode and logging). It requires the [[patch for controlling fan speed]].
+
{{CodeRef|fan-enable-basic}}
  
<pre>
+
===<tt>sh</tt> script with more features===
#!/bin/bash
+
{{CodeRef|fan-enable-extended}}
  
# This script dynamically controls fan speed on some ThinkPad models
+
===<tt>sh</tt> script with extra safety functionality===
# according to user-defined temperature thresholds.  It implements its
+
ibm_acpi usually works well. But to rely on it completely, this script provides some extra safety functionality:
# own decision algorithm, overriding the ThinkPad embedded
+
# It catches various signals and turns the fan on before it quits.
# controller. It also implements a workaround for the fan noise pulse
+
# It turns off the fan under very strict conditions, leaving it on when unexpected errors occur.
# experienced every few seconds on some ThinkPads.
 
#
 
# The script requires the ibm_acpi patch at
 
# http://thinkwiki.org/wiki/Patch_for_controlling_fan_speed
 
#
 
# WARNING: This script relies on undocumented hardware features and
 
# overrides nominal hardware behavior. It may thus cause arbitrary
 
# damage to your laptop or data. Watch your temperatures!
 
#
 
# This file is placed in the public domain and may be freely distributed.
 
  
LEVELS=(    0      2      4      7)  # Fan speed levels
+
{{CodeRef|fan-enable-safe}}
UP_TEMPS=(      52    60    68  )  # Speed increase trip points
 
DOWN_TEMPS=(  48    56    64    )  # Speed decrease trip points
 
  
ANTIPULSE=( 0      1      0      0)  # Prevent fan pulsing noise at this level
+
==Init scripts==
                                    #  (this also prevents fan speed updates)
 
  
IBM_ACPI=/proc/acpi/ibm
+
===Init script example===
FAN=$IBM_ACPI/fan
 
INTERVAL=3
 
VERBOSE=true
 
DRY_RUN=false
 
  
[[ "$1" == "-t" ]] && { DRY_RUN=true; echo "$0: Dry run, will not change fan state."; }
+
{{CodeRef|fan-enable.init}}
  
# Enable the fan in default mode if anything goes wrong:
+
===Init script example for gentoo===
set -e -E -u
+
Assume one of the above control scripts is {{path|/usr/sbin/ibm-fancontrold}}, for gentoo use the following init script in /etc/init.d/ibm-fancontrol.
$DRY_RUN || trap "echo enable > $FAN; exit 0" EXIT HUP INT ABRT QUIT SEGV TERM
+
Copy the script to {{path|/etc/init.d/ibm-fancontrol}}, then do
  
 +
# rc-update add ibm-fancontrol default
  
thermometer() { # output list of temperatures
+
This will add the init script to the default runlevel.
    read X Y < $IBM_ACPI/thermal
 
    [[ "$X" == "temperatures:" ]] || {
 
echo "$0: Bad temperatures: $X $Y" >&2
 
exit 1
 
    }
 
    echo "$Y";
 
}
 
  
speedometer() { # output fan speed
+
{{CodeRef|ibm-fancontrol.init}}
    cat $FAN | sed '/^speed/!d; s/speed:[ \t]*//'
 
}
 
  
IDX=0
+
===Init script example for rh/fedora===
MAX_IDX=$(( ${#LEVELS[@]} - 1 ))
+
Assume one of the above control scripts is {{path|/sbin/tp-fancontrold}},
SETTLE=0
+
copy the script to {{path|/etc/init.d/tp-fancontrol}}, then do
  
while true; do
+
# chkconfig --add tp-fancontrol
    TEMPS=`thermometer`
 
    $VERBOSE && SPEED=`speedometer`
 
  
    # Calculate new level
+
This will add the init script to the default runlevel.
    NEWIDX=$IDX
 
    DOWN=$(( IDX > 0 ))
 
    for TEMP in $TEMPS; do
 
        # Increase speed as much as needed
 
        while [[ $NEWIDX -lt $MAX_IDX ]] &&
 
              [[ $TEMP -ge ${UP_TEMPS[$NEWIDX]} ]]; do
 
            (( NEWIDX ++ ))
 
            DOWN=0
 
        done
 
        # Allow decrease (by one index)?
 
        if [[ $DOWN == 1 ]] &&
 
          [[ $TEMP -gt ${DOWN_TEMPS[$(( IDX - 1 ))]} ]]; then
 
            DOWN=0
 
        fi
 
    done
 
    if [[ $DOWN == 1 ]]; then
 
        NEWIDX=$(( IDX - 1 ))
 
    fi
 
  
    # Transition
+
{{CodeRef|tp-fancontrol-fc.init}}
    OLDLEVEL=${LEVELS[$IDX]}
 
    NEWLEVEL=${LEVELS[$NEWIDX]}
 
    $VERBOSE && echo "tpfan: Temps: $TEMPS  Fan: $SPEED  Level: $OLDLEVEL->$NEWLEVEL"
 
    $DRY_RUN || echo level $NEWLEVEL > $FAN
 
  
    sleep $INTERVAL
+
You'd have to install also "kernel-module-ibm-acpi" package.
  
    # If needed, apply anti-pulsing hack after a settle-down period:
+
==Other==
    if [[ ${ANTIPULSE[${NEWIDX}]} == 1 ]]; then
 
if [[ $NEWLEVEL == $OLDLEVEL ]]; then
 
    if [[ $SETTLE -ge 0 ]]; then
 
(( SETTLE -= INTERVAL ))
 
    else
 
$DRY_RUN || echo level disengaged >> $FAN
 
sleep 0.5
 
    fi
 
else
 
    SETTLE=6
 
fi
 
    fi
 
  
    IDX=$NEWIDX
+
===tpfand===
done
+
This little piece of python code is only there to speed up your fan in a T400 with an ATI card cause the fglrx driver does not control the fan speed which leads to overheating while gaming or do other graphic stuff with the ati chip. This script relies on the normal bios control of the fan. If the laptop gets to hot it will speed up the fan to max speed (somehow the bios does not do this ??!!) and re-enables the bios control on a certain temperature. This was only tested on a T400 with ATI chip.
</pre>
+
You can just run in in the background as root. It is very chatty and writes in a logfile in /tmp. It should work with any Thinkpad who has /proc/acpi/ibm/fan interface.
 +
[http://pastebin.ca/1884323 tpfand]
  
The [[User:Thinker|author]] of the script disclaims all warranty for this script, and releases it to the public domain (meaning you may use it and further distribute it under any terms you wish, including incorporating it into other software).
+
Tested on:
 +
T400 with Radeon HD 3400
 +
Please test on other models with ATI chip.
  
==Fan enable/disable scripts==
+
===fanctrld===
The following scripts were written before it was known [[patch for controlling fan speed|how to control the fan speed]], so they only toggle between fan disabled and default (noisy) fan behavior. In some models, they also do not monitor all available [[thermal sensors]].
+
[http://log.does-not-exist.org/archives/2005/08/13/2043_t_43_fan_control_daemon.html fanctrld] is a daemon (written in C) that controls the Thinkpad's fan. The basic approach is to monitor both temperature and fan speed. The fan is enabled when a certain temperature is exceeded, and disabled when the BIOS slows down the fan below a certain speed.
 
 
===<tt>sh</tt> script example===
 
#!/bin/sh
 
 
MAXTEMP=50
 
 
while [ 1 ];
 
do
 
        fan=no
 
 
        for temp in `sed s/temperatures:// < /proc/acpi/ibm/thermal`
 
        do
 
                test $temp -gt $MAXTEMP && fan=yes
 
        done
 
 
        command='disable'
 
        test "$fan" = "yes" && command='enable'
 
        echo $command > /proc/acpi/ibm/fan
 
 
        sleep 20
 
done
 
  
 +
===ThinkPad Fan Control GTK GUI tool===
  
===<tt>sh</tt> script with more features===
+
[http://www.gambitchess.org/moin.py/ThinkPad_Fan_Control A GTK GUI program (packaged for Ubuntu Gutsy Gibbon 7.10)] may also help.
#!/bin/sh
 
 
# fan control-script
 
#
 
# based upon ibm-acpi 0.11 (experimental=1 !)
 
#
 
# eliminates anoying "fan always on" in battery mode
 
# works with hysteresis (DELTA) so that always-turn-on/turn-off is avoided
 
# fan acivates at MAXTEMP and cools down CPU, GPU etc. to MAXTEMP-DELTA than the fan is turned off
 
# furthermore detects if AC is on and gives back fan control to default behaviour than
 
#
 
# one can change MAXTEMP and DELTA to individual values
 
# but take care of your THINKPAD don`t melt it!
 
#
 
# have fun!
 
# mk 05.05.05
 
 
MAXTEMP=51
 
DELTA=4
 
 
SWITCHTEMP=$MAXTEMP
 
 
#make sure the script doesn't leave the fan off on error
 
trap "echo enable > /proc/acpi/ibm/fan" EXIT
 
 
while [ 1 ];
 
do
 
  for ac in `sed s/state:// < /proc/acpi/ac_adapter/AC/state`
 
    do
 
      if [ "$ac" = "off-line" ]; then
 
          fan=no
 
          for temp in `sed s/temperatures:// < /proc/acpi/ibm/thermal`
 
            do
 
              test $temp -gt $SWITCHTEMP && fan=yes
 
            done
 
 
          if [ "$fan" = "yes" ]; then
 
            command='enable'
 
            SWITCHTEMP=`expr $MAXTEMP - $DELTA`
 
          else
 
            SWITCHTEMP=$MAXTEMP
 
            command='disable'
 
          fi
 
 
        else # ac-adapter on -> set fan control to standard behaviour
 
          command='enable'
 
        fi
 
 
        echo $command > /proc/acpi/ibm/fan
 
        sleep 15
 
      done
 
  done
 
  
 +
For those using Ubuntu 8.10 and recent Thinkpad models (eg: X200), this is the fan control packages to use: sudo apt-get install tpfand tpfan-admin tpfand-profiles (The packages are part of the main ubuntu repository). It solves the problem of a constantly-on fan. I don't think there are yet profiles for those newer thinkpad models, but it's fairly easy to manually configure the right thresholds. For reference, this is the /etc/tpfand.conf I use for my X200:
  
===<tt>sh</tt> script with extra safety functionality===
 
ibm_acpi usually works well. But to rely on it completely, this script provides some extra safety functionality:
 
# It catches various signals and turns the fan on before it quits.
 
# It turns off the fan under very strict conditions, leaving it on when unexpected errors occur.
 
  
#!/bin/sh
 
 
# july 2005 Erik Groeneveld, erik@cq2.nl
 
# It makes sure the fan is on in case of errors
 
# and only turns it off when all temps are ok.
 
 
IBM_ACPI=/proc/acpi/ibm
 
THERMOMETER=$IBM_ACPI/thermal
 
FAN=$IBM_ACPI/fan
 
MAXTRIPPOINT=65
 
MINTRIPPOINT=60
 
TRIPPOINT=$MINTRIPPOINT
 
 
echo fancontrol: Thermometer: $THERMOMETER, Fan: $FAN
 
echo fancontrol: Current `cat $THERMOMETER`
 
echo fancontrol: Controlling temperatures between $MINTRIPPOINT and $MAXTRIPPOINT degrees.
 
 
# Make sure the fan is turned on when the script crashes or is killed
 
trap "echo enable > $FAN; exit 0" HUP KILL INT ABRT STOP QUIT SEGV TERM
 
 
while [ 1 ];
 
do
 
        command=enable
 
        temperatures=`sed s/temperatures:// < $THERMOMETER`
 
        result=
 
        for temp in $temperatures
 
        do
 
                test $temp -le $TRIPPOINT && result=$result.Ok
 
        done
 
        if [ "$result" = ".Ok.Ok.Ok.Ok.Ok.Ok.Ok.Ok" ]; then
 
                command=disable
 
                TRIPPOINT=$MAXTRIPPOINT
 
        else
 
                command=enable
 
                TRIPPOINT=$MINTRIPPOINT
 
        fi
 
        echo $command > $FAN
 
        # Temperature ramps up quickly, so pick this not too large:
 
        sleep 5
 
done
 
  
 +
enabled = True
  
==Init scripts==
+
override_profile = True
  
===Init script example===
 
#! /bin/sh
 
 
N=/etc/init.d/fan
 
 
set -e
 
 
case "$1" in
 
  start)
 
        # make sure privileges don't persist across reboots
 
        if [ -d /var/run/fan ] && [ "x`ls /var/run/fan`" != x ]
 
        then
 
                touch -t 198501010000 /var/run/fan/*
 
        fi
 
        fan.sh &    # Script from above
 
        ;;
 
  stop|reload|restart|force-reload)
 
        killall fan.sh
 
        echo enable > /proc/acpi/ibm/fan
 
        ;;
 
  *)
 
        echo "Usage: $N {start|stop|restart|force-reload}" >&2
 
        exit 1
 
        ;;
 
esac
 
 
exit 0
 
  
 +
0. Sensor 0 = 0:0 50:3 58:5 67:8
  
===Init script example for gentoo===
+
1. Sensor 1 = 0:0 55:3 62:5 69:8
Assume one of the above control scripts is /usr/sbin/ibm-fancontrold, for gentoo use the following init script in /etc/init.d/ibm-fancontrol.
 
Copy the script to /etc/init.d/ibm-fancontrol, then do
 
  
# rc-update add ibm-fancontrol default
+
2. Sensor 2 = 0:255
  
This will add the init script to the default runlevel.
+
3. Sensor 3 = 0:0 48:3 61:5 69:8
  
#!/sbin/runscript
+
4. Sensor 4 = 0:0 43:3 50:8
# 2005 Gilbert Tiefengruber
 
# Distributed under the terms of the GNU General Public License v2
 
# IBM Fancontrol init script for IBM Thinkpad laptops (tested with R50)
 
# This init script was written for gentoo 2005.1, kernel 2.6.12
 
# You need the ibm_acpi kernel module version 0.11 or greater
 
# load the module with experimental=1 to enable the fan controls
 
 
depend() {
 
        need localmount
 
}
 
checkconfig() {
 
        if [ ! -e /proc/acpi/ibm/fan ]; then
 
                eerror "The ibm_acpi module must be loaded with (experimental=1)"
 
                return 1
 
        fi
 
}
 
start() {
 
        checkconfig || return 1
 
        ebegin "Starting ibm-fancontrold"
 
        start-stop-daemon --quiet -p /var/run/ibm-fancontrold.pid -m -b --start -a /usr/sbin/ibm-fancontrold
 
        eend ${?}
 
}
 
stop() {
 
        ebegin "Stopping ibm-fancontrold"
 
        start-stop-daemon --stop --quiet -p /var/run/ibm-fancontrold.pid
 
        eend ${?}
 
}
 
  
 +
5. Sensor 5 = 0:255
  
==Other==
+
6. Sensor 6 = 0:0 40:8
  
===fanctrld===
+
7. Sensor 7 = 0:255
[http://log.does-not-exist.org/archives/2005/08/13/2043_t_43_fan_control_daemon.html fanctrld] is a daemon (written in C) that controls the Thinkpad's fan. The basic approach is to monitor both temperature and fan speed. The fan is enabled when a certain temperature is exceeded, and disabled when the BIOS slows down the fan below a certain speed.
 
  
 
==Ideas for improvement==
 
==Ideas for improvement==
* Use the [[HDAPS]] sensor to automatically lower the temperature thresholds when the laptop is moving. Prolonged movement usually happens when the laptop is on the user's lap (so [http://www.theregister.co.uk/2002/11/22/man_burns_penis_with_laptop/ better keep temperatures down]), or when in a moving vehicle where fan noise is typically overshadowed by vehicle noise.
+
* Use the [[HDAPS]] sensor to automatically lower the temperature thresholds when the laptop is moving. Prolonged movement usually happens when the laptop is on the user's lap (see [[Problem with hot surfaces]] for implications), or when in a moving vehicle where fan noise is typically overshadowed by vehicle noise.
 
* Use a [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PID_controller PID controller] feedback loop instead of simple thresholds.
 
* Use a [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PID_controller PID controller] feedback loop instead of simple thresholds.
 +
* Monitor the UltraBay disk temperature too.
  
 
==See also==
 
==See also==

Latest revision as of 17:06, 16 February 2011

This page provides several scripts for controlling the ThinkPad's system fan according the its thermal sensors (overriding the embedded controller), in order to reduce fan noise and decrease power consumption.

ATTENTION!
These scripts rely on undocumented hardware features and override nominal hardware behavior. They may thus cause arbitrary damage to your laptop or data. Watch your temperatures!
NOTE!
Closed-loop fan control requires a thermal sensor sweep, which is an expensive operation. The firmware doesn't update the sensors more than once every 2s, so care should be taken not to waste resources by reading them too often.

Variable speed control scripts

The following scripts sets the fan speed according to the system's thermal sensors. In addition, they include a hack for preventing the annoying fan pulsing that occurs on some systems. Note that the fan levels, thresholds and anti-pulsing hacks are system-specific, so you may need to adjust them.

Comprehensive bash script with fine control over fan speed

This script works with any recent Linux kernel (2.6.14 and higher). It requires the ibm-acpi module to be loaded with the experimental=1 module parameter (e.g., # modprobe ibm_acpi experimental=1).

In Linux 2.6.22 and higher you need to additionally pass fan_control=1 to the module thinkpad_acpi (e.g., # modprobe thinkpad-acpi experimental=1 fan_control=1)

On Ubuntu > 10.04 or from kernel 2.6.32 onwards: To make the kernel module settings permanent and to make them be executed at boot run below command and reboot afterwards:

# sudo echo "options thinkpad_acpi experimental=1 fan_control=1" >/etc/modprobe.d/thinkpad_acpi.conf


The code lets you define a temperature range for each thermal sensor. The script computes the fan level needed by each sensor based on the configured range, and then sets the the actual fan level to the slowest that will satisfy all sensors (plus some hysteresis to avoid fluctiations). It also includes a workaround for the pulsing noise problem. The script provides an (optional) daemon mode and logging to syslog. The method of controlling fan speed is documented here.

The system hard disk temperature is monitored as well, using the hard disk's internal sensor. This works only on certain Hitachi disks and requires kernel >= 2.6.19-rc1 or the ide driver, since it uses a non-standard method for reading the temperature without causing a head unload or spinup.

The code:

ATTENTION!
There is a bug in the code which causes the script to exit immediately after start with bash version is 4.1.0(7)-release. The problem line is line 356 which returns zero and cause the script to exit if set -e is called, which is unfortunately true. A simple solution is to append a true expression after the command.

Current options:

Usage: ./tp-fancontrol [OPTION]...

Available options:
  -s N   Shift up the min temperature thresholds by N degrees
         (positive for quieter, negative for cooler).
         Max temperature thresholds are not affected.
  -S N   Shift up the max temperature thresholds by N degrees
         (positive for quieter, negative for cooler). DANGEROUS.
  -t     Test mode
  -q     Quiet mode
  -d     Daemon mode, go into background (implies -q)
  -l     Log to syslog
  -k     Kill already-running daemon
  -u     Tell already-running daemon that the system is being suspended
  -p     Pid file location for daemon mode
ATTENTION!
The list of temperature ranges used in this script is much more liberal than the rules used by the embedded controller firmware, and is derived mostly from anecdotal evidence, hunches and wishful thinking. It is also model-specific - see thermal sensors.

init script for the comprehensive script

This is optional. It assumes that the above tp-fancontrol script is saved at /usr/bin/tp-fancontrol.

Simple bash script with fine control over fan speed (requires kernel patch)

The following is a simpler patch (without extra features like daemon mode and logging). It requires the patch for controlling fan speed or a recent kernel (>=2.6.19).

tp-fancontrol-basic (download)

tp-fan: Automatic daemon with GTK+ GUI

Provides easy setup and monitoring through graphical GTK+ interface. Temperature thresholds can be set separately for each sensor since version 0.90.

At the moment packages are available for Ubuntu 8.04, 8.10, and 9.04. However, porting to other distributions or manual setup should be easy.

http://www.gambitchess.org/moin.py/tpfan

thinkfan: A minimalist fan control program

Written in C to use as little CPU power as possible. Configuration is done via a simple text file, by providing (FAN_LEVEL, LOWER_LIMIT, UPPER_LIMIT) tuples. Inspired by i8kfan. Requires thinkpad_acpi with fan_control=1. Just released version 0.7, which now allows a more fine-grained control over temperature limits.

Fan enable/disable scripts

The following scripts were written before it was known how to control the fan speed, so they only toggle between fan disabled and default (noisy) fan behavior. In some models, they also do not monitor all available thermal sensors.

sh script example

fan-enable-basic (download)

sh script with more features

fan-enable-extended (download)

sh script with extra safety functionality

ibm_acpi usually works well. But to rely on it completely, this script provides some extra safety functionality:

  1. It catches various signals and turns the fan on before it quits.
  2. It turns off the fan under very strict conditions, leaving it on when unexpected errors occur.

fan-enable-safe (download)

Init scripts

Init script example

fan-enable.init (download)

Init script example for gentoo

Assume one of the above control scripts is /usr/sbin/ibm-fancontrold, for gentoo use the following init script in /etc/init.d/ibm-fancontrol. Copy the script to /etc/init.d/ibm-fancontrol, then do

# rc-update add ibm-fancontrol default

This will add the init script to the default runlevel.

ibm-fancontrol.init (download)

Init script example for rh/fedora

Assume one of the above control scripts is /sbin/tp-fancontrold, copy the script to /etc/init.d/tp-fancontrol, then do

# chkconfig --add tp-fancontrol

This will add the init script to the default runlevel.

tp-fancontrol-fc.init (download)

You'd have to install also "kernel-module-ibm-acpi" package.

Other

tpfand

This little piece of python code is only there to speed up your fan in a T400 with an ATI card cause the fglrx driver does not control the fan speed which leads to overheating while gaming or do other graphic stuff with the ati chip. This script relies on the normal bios control of the fan. If the laptop gets to hot it will speed up the fan to max speed (somehow the bios does not do this ??!!) and re-enables the bios control on a certain temperature. This was only tested on a T400 with ATI chip. You can just run in in the background as root. It is very chatty and writes in a logfile in /tmp. It should work with any Thinkpad who has /proc/acpi/ibm/fan interface. tpfand

Tested on: T400 with Radeon HD 3400 Please test on other models with ATI chip.

fanctrld

fanctrld is a daemon (written in C) that controls the Thinkpad's fan. The basic approach is to monitor both temperature and fan speed. The fan is enabled when a certain temperature is exceeded, and disabled when the BIOS slows down the fan below a certain speed.

ThinkPad Fan Control GTK GUI tool

A GTK GUI program (packaged for Ubuntu Gutsy Gibbon 7.10) may also help.

For those using Ubuntu 8.10 and recent Thinkpad models (eg: X200), this is the fan control packages to use: sudo apt-get install tpfand tpfan-admin tpfand-profiles (The packages are part of the main ubuntu repository). It solves the problem of a constantly-on fan. I don't think there are yet profiles for those newer thinkpad models, but it's fairly easy to manually configure the right thresholds. For reference, this is the /etc/tpfand.conf I use for my X200:


enabled = True

override_profile = True


0. Sensor 0 = 0:0 50:3 58:5 67:8

1. Sensor 1 = 0:0 55:3 62:5 69:8

2. Sensor 2 = 0:255

3. Sensor 3 = 0:0 48:3 61:5 69:8

4. Sensor 4 = 0:0 43:3 50:8

5. Sensor 5 = 0:255

6. Sensor 6 = 0:0 40:8

7. Sensor 7 = 0:255

Ideas for improvement

  • Use the HDAPS sensor to automatically lower the temperature thresholds when the laptop is moving. Prolonged movement usually happens when the laptop is on the user's lap (see Problem with hot surfaces for implications), or when in a moving vehicle where fan noise is typically overshadowed by vehicle noise.
  • Use a PID controller feedback loop instead of simple thresholds.
  • Monitor the UltraBay disk temperature too.

See also

  • How to control fan speed
  • Shimodax's ThinkPad fan control tool for a Windows offers functionality similar to these scripts; see the forum discussion at thinkpads.com.
  • Yury Polyanskiy has a kernel patch for automatic fan control in kernelspace (only enable/disable based on maximum temperature).