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netbook's fan doesn't turn down once it's going/ coretemp/ sensors.conf etc
I'm using Debian 7.2 on a Novatech N1 2800 V2 netbook, which uses the once dreaded Atom N2800 cpu (dual core, 1.8ghz). The Intel documentation describes the chip as of fanless design, and I see that some mini pc's have pursued the fanlessness, advisedly or otherwise. The netbook as its name suggests is an upgrade on a similar one that had the Atom N550 or N570 I believe. Either to cover themselves or for no reason a fan is in the machine, and it's one that seems to do not a lot except make noise.
Yesterday I finally decided to experiment with trying the netbook with the fan disconnected. In fact I took it out altogether. This might horrify long-time computer users especially if they've not been near equipment with intended fanless design. Today I put the fan back in intending to work on fan control but I'm not too sure about the process.
acpitz-virtual-0
Adapter: virtual device
temp1: +67 degrees (critical 98 degrees)
coretemp-isa-0000
Adapter: ISA Adapter
core0: +57 degrees (critical 100 degrees)
core1: +59 degrees (critical 100 degrees)
(In Centigrade and I couldn't find the degrees sign on the keyboard)
This is with the fan in, just now. Yesterday I ran the computer fanless for about an hour at home, online and playing an mp4 file in VLC. The cpu temperature did come down frequently. It went as high as 69 but even with the video on came down to 59-62, and when merely online or doing less 55 was average. An IBM T22 I had was a lot hotter, hot rather than warm.
I see that in sensors.conf, or rather now a user equivalent in /etc/sensors.d/ can hold values for changing the fan speed, but it needs the id of the chip. I don't know what I'm supposed to type for that to try it out - (1) how would I ascertain this?
Ideally I'd have the fan come on at a lower setting than it is, at 65 degrees. My reasoning is partly that I'm often only using a text editor in a library with this machine, and that the fan is on very audibly yet one of the two areas that get warm is no cooler. Oddly the area that is cooler than it was last night while fanless is further from the fan than the currently warm area, which seems at odds with common sense. One chip has a copper square on it measuring about 1.5 square cm, the other has a larger thin aluminuum piece screwed onto it about just over an inch square. (2) I don't know which of these is the cpu and which is presumably graphics although I'd thought the N2800 did both.
(3) I even wondered if the fan itself was making heat?!?
I've read that the BIOS can prevent any software control, which would be annoying. Thing is, the fan was as irritating when I used Windows 7 and Windows 8 so I couldn't conclude it's not a machine suited to Linux.
(4) Coretemp is running anyway so it doesn't need to be in /etc/modules does it? As prompted during setup of sensors-detect. I think I went through this with an IBM T43 and found it didn't boot with coretemp in this file.
(5) In /sys/class/thermal/thermal_zone0 there are files mentioning that 'critical' is 98 degrees, and another file with the temperature 'sensors' currently shows. /sys/class/thermal/ is otherwise redundant with no changing values in it, most being 0. There doesn't seem to be anything there to manipulate. The kernel is the standard Wheezy one of 3.2. 3.10 from backports had caused booting issues though its acpi is better developed for this laptop. Is the 3.2 kernel going to hinder me?
Okay this has gone on a bit long and I don't want to put off people who might reply. What should I attempt next? I've put numbered brackets next to things I'm keen to know.
I can't use the fancontrol program as there are no pwm-capable sensors, that old chestnut.
Thanks.
ps (6) What is this 'virtual device'?
Last edited by tpprynn; 11-08-2013 at 11:33 AM.
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