Linux Lite Forums

Hardware - Support => Other => Topic started by: Richard Mockler on June 02, 2018, 10:48:49 AM

Title: Fan runs constantly
Post by: Richard Mockler on June 02, 2018, 10:48:49 AM

I have a Toshiba r835 laptop with SSD with Windows 10 and Linux Mint 18.3 installed.  When either Windows or Mint is running, the computer is silent.  It can run for hours without ever hearing a fan. I installed Linux Lite 4.0 as a third OS, apparently with no problems, but now when I boot into Linux Lite, the fan instantly starts running, noisily, and never stops.  If I immediately reboot into Mint or Windows, the fan is absolutely silent. I have no idea what is causing the noisy fan while running Linux Lite only.  It can't be causes by overheating or excess dust, because there is not fan problem with the other OS.  This morning I first booted a cold machine into Linux Lite and the fan immediately started running.  Can someone possibly give me some help with this?
Thanks, richard.mockler

Title: Re: Fan runs constantly
Post by: NN on June 02, 2018, 12:22:51 PM

Quote from: Richard Mockler on June 02, 2018, 10:48:49 AM

Can someone possibly give me some help with this?

The cooler ('fan') is automatically turned on in case of CPU overheating and when the load on it is too high. Try to install some sensor app for measuring the temperature of the working processor and compare the consumption of resources in your various operating systems. Good advice: use only that distro which does not overload the processor, if you want to extend the life of your computer. Good luck!

Title: Re: Fan runs constantly
Post by: richtea on June 02, 2018, 01:59:23 PM

1) Open Task Manager to check on CPU capacity and running processes.


2) Open Terminal (CTRL + ALT + T), type: sensors
Temperatures should come up, together with critical limit values for guidance.

Title: Re: Fan runs constantly
Post by: NN on June 02, 2018, 02:26:01 PM

Quote from: richtea on June 02, 2018, 01:59:23 PM

2) Open Terminal (CTRL + ALT + T), type: sensors
Temperatures should come up, together with critical limit values for guidance.

Wow! Great! That's why I love the Terminal so much!
Thank you for the new (to me) command. :)

Title: Re: Fan runs constantly
Post by: NN on June 02, 2018, 02:27:36 PM

richtea, one more plus to your 'karma'! :)

Title: Re: Fan runs constantly
Post by: Richard Mockler on June 02, 2018, 07:26:45 PM

Using richtea's suggestion, I entered sensor into the terminal and found out that my Linux Lite temp was 48* C, with a HIgh of 86* C.  Using Linux Mint my CPU temp was 54* C, also safe.  However, there is no fan running while using Mint, but a noisy, annoying fan when running Linux Lite.  Sadly, it looks like my otherwise great experience with Linux Lite has come to an abrupt close.
Thank you for your help,anyway.
richard.mockler

Title: Re: Fan runs constantly
Post by: richtea on June 03, 2018, 12:17:47 PM

The fan issue is not unknown:


https://askubuntu.com/questions/84180/overheating-and-fan-noise-problem-on-a-toshiba-portege-r830-13c (https://askubuntu.com/questions/84180/overheating-and-fan-noise-problem-on-a-toshiba-portege-r830-13c)


So, possibly a bug in the distro. Might be worth trying out 3.8 to see if that could be the easy way out.