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I am using a Dell Inspiron 15R 5520 laptop running Ubuntu 14.04 with kernel version 3.13.0-34 generic. Since installing the OS, I have been having issues with my computer's fan spinning at its maximum speed for prolonged periods of time. I tried installing TLP, which works sometimes, and I also tried i8kutils but it only turned my fans off. This fan issue occurs more frequently when on AC power, and I cleared the exhaust of dust already.

Why is this happening?

I am not an advanced Linux user, but I am open to any suggestions you have at this point. Listening to a fan running at max is annoying.

Mithun Sreedharan
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user311982
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3 Answers3

15

Fan speed is normalized by editing the line 

GRUB_CMDLINE_LINUX_DEFAULT="quiet splash"

in the grub configuration file found at /etc/default/grub so that it reads 

GRUB_CMDLINE_LINUX_DEFAULT="quiet splash acpi_osi=!Windows 2012"

Follow these steps to try this solution:

  1. Open a terminal, type sudo gedit /etc/default/grub, and press Enter
  2. Enter your login password and press Enter. The password will not be displayed as you type it.

  3. Edit the line

    GRUB_CMDLINE_LINUX_DEFAULT="quiet splash"

    such that it reads

    GRUB_CMDLINE_LINUX_DEFAULT="quiet splash acpi_osi=!Windows 2012"

  4. Click "Save", wait a few moments for the file to save, then close the text editor.

  5. In the terminal, type sudo update-grub and hit Enter

  6. Finally, shut down your computer. Shut it down completely: don't restart it.

Once you turn your computer back on and select the linux operating system whose grub file you edited earlier, your fans should be working normally. This solution has worked for me on Ubuntu, Linux Mint, Elementary OS, and LXLE on a Dell Inspiron 15R 5520 laptop.

wjandrea
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user311982
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8

I also have a Dell inspiron 15r se. Thanks to vitorafsr's post on launchpad, I could solve my problem.

Just install i8kutils by running

sudo apt-get install i8kutils

in the command line.

If that doesn't work have a look at the i8kutils project page.

Jens Erat
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Arwed Mett
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2

I think i have just found an easier solution and it' working fine on my Dell Inspiron 3521 15R with i3 processor.

The solution is called TLP. I know that TLP is mainly used to save battery power but it's working even if i'm connected to AC and without limiting CPU resources.

First, check if you have installed on your system laptop-mode-tools and uninstall it:

sudo apt-get purge laptop-mode-tools

Then, install TLP:

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:linrunner/tlp
sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get install tlp

Edit the file /etc/default/tlp:

sudo nano /etc/default/tlp

and look for #CPU_MAX_PERF_ON_AC=100. Uncomment the line and save the file pressing CTRL+O

Start TLP:

sudo tlp start

and if you are lucky enough your fan will calm down a lot.

NOTE: intel_pstate must be enabled on your system. It should be already enabled by default. You can check it digiting the following command in the terminal:

grep -i pstate /boot/config-$(uname -r)

The output should be:

CONFIG_X86_INTEL_PSTATE=y

Esteban Knöbl
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Claudio Taccogna
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