[SOLVED] Laptop overheating with Mint 14 using Cinnamon

[Pk_JoA]

Hello, I'm a new Linux Mint user but an old Linux user (5+ years). I've installed Mint 14 with Cinnamon on my Lenovo 645 laptop (3GB ram, dual core processor, ATI 4xxx series). I'm in love with Cinnamon, and overall Mint reminds me of the firsts Ubuntu(s) I was happy with (Oh, 8.10, how I miss you).

But there's one problem: My laptop is overheating. Badly. Right now, the CPU temperature is 77 degrees celcious, but usage is around 30%. I only have Chrome, Banshee, Nemo and an idle terminal opened. It is way too much heat. Adding a skype conversation and opening a .pdf lead to temperatures of above 80 degrees, and my computer turned off twice.

Now, here's the thing. I've read that proprietary drivers are way better at handling temperatures and usage, but I can't still them, as AMD hasn't released a working driver for 4xxx series and 3.5 kernels. How can I downgrade the kernel, so as to be able to use the amd drivers? Would this even work?

Another question: May it be than I am just asking too much of my computer? I say this because I have a dual-monitor setup, one 1680x1050 (external) and the notebook being 1366x1080. I've using this setup for a long time on Xubuntu, and had no similar troubles (at least not as much), so I don't think so, but then again, it was another distro and another desktop, so...

Any solutions, please? I'm getting quite desperate, I don't want the computer to go kaboon any moment soon...

[AlbertP]

Please run inxi -Gx in terminal and post the output here.

[Pk_JoA]

No problem, but, for the record: I have downgraded to Linux Mint 13 Cinnamon, and the problem hasn't fixed, as the sensors command shows. I'll try now installing proprietary drivers, but last time I tried, it got quite messy with my dual screen configuration. I shall report here when I'm done...

Code: Select all

joaquin@Joaquin ~ $ inxi -Gx
Graphics:  Card: Advanced Micro Devices [AMD] nee ATI RS880M [Mobility Radeon HD 4200 Series] bus-ID: 01:05.0
           X.Org: 1.11.3 drivers: ati,radeon (unloaded: fbdev,vesa) Resolution: 1680x1050@59.9hz, 1366x768@60.0hz
           GLX Renderer: Gallium 0.4 on AMD RS880 GLX Version: 2.1 Mesa 8.0.4 Direct Rendering: Yes


I'm attaching as well sensors output:

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joaquin@Joaquin ~ $ sensors
acpitz-virtual-0
Adapter: Virtual device
temp1:        +83.0°C  (crit = +200.0°C)
temp2:         +0.0°C  (crit = +200.0°C)

k10temp-pci-00c3
Adapter: PCI adapter
temp1:        +84.5°C  (high = +70.0°C)
                       (crit = +115.0°C, hyst = +108.0°C)

[AlbertP]

On Mint 13, you can install the ATI/AMD graphics driver from Additional Drivers in the menu. That might help, if it were your graphics card being hot... apparently, it's your CPU too (though the two might well be close to each other inside the laptop, then a hot GPU could also heat the CPU).

[Pk_JoA]

On Mint 13, you can install the ATI/AMD graphics driver from Additional Drivers in the menu. That might help, if it were your graphics card being hot... apparently, it's your CPU too (though the two might well be close to each other inside the laptop, then a hot GPU could also heat the CPU).

That's what I thought, and the reason for the downgrade, but it has solved nothing. CPU stays as high as 85+ degrees in a relatively idle computer (total idleness achieved 60 degrees). Could it just be that the fans are too dirty? It is true that I haven't cleaned it up in a while, but as the problems started *just* when I installed Linux Mint, I didn't stop to think about it... but maybe it is just that Cinnamon is more demanding that XFCE (which I guess it is), so it shows an older problem...

[bimsebasse]

Try the Jupiter applet (google "jupiter applet webupd8"). Does wonders for my laptop.

[Pk_JoA]

Guys, I'm on Linux MInt 14 Live CD right now, installing it after blowing on all the fans of the laptop (not just the sidefan, as I did before). Apparently it worked. It is intalling the system (pretty heavy load, CPU usage is around 80%) and I'm getting 69 degrees at the moment. Hell of an improvement...

Thanks and sorry! That should have been my first thought, but you know how our brain likes to mess up with us sometimes (believe me, I've had two day of doing nothing else than trying to find a software-related cause and cure for this).

I'm optimistic, but it is true that I'm on the live CD. Maybe things will get worse once the system is actually instaled? I don't see any reason for it, but I'll wait to mark the topic as solved till I'm there.

Edit: Yup, definitively fixed. For comparison:

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joaquin@joaquin ~ $ sensors
acpitz-virtual-0
Adapter: Virtual device
temp1:        +62.0°C  (crit = +200.0°C)
temp2:         +0.0°C  (crit = +200.0°C)

k10temp-pci-00c3
Adapter: PCI adapter
temp1:        +64.5°C  (high = +70.0°C)
                       (crit = +115.0°C, hyst = +108.0°C)


[AlbertP]

That looks fine.

What you could also try is updating your BIOS if you have any issues with fan control. That helped a bit on my HP laptop. But after all if the issue isn't clearly software related, cleaning is the best thing you can do.

Lenovo often has service manuals on their website describing how to take apart the laptop to clean every bit of it from inside.

[bimsebasse]

Edit: Yup, definitively fixed. For comparison:

Code: Select all

joaquin@joaquin ~ $ sensors
acpitz-virtual-0
Adapter: Virtual device
temp1:        +62.0°C  (crit = +200.0°C)
temp2:         +0.0°C  (crit = +200.0°C)

k10temp-pci-00c3
Adapter: PCI adapter
temp1:        +64.5°C  (high = +70.0°C)
                       (crit = +115.0°C, hyst = +108.0°C)


Well, if that's good enough for you

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acpitz-virtual-0
Adapter: Virtual device
temp1:        +46.0°C  (crit = +93.0°C)

coretemp-isa-0000
Adapter: ISA adapter
Core 0:       +45.0°C  (high = +105.0°C, crit = +105.0°C)
Core 1:       +39.0°C  (high = +105.0°C, crit = +105.0°C)


[Pk_JoA]

Edit: Yup, definitively fixed. For comparison:

Code: Select all

joaquin@joaquin ~ $ sensors
acpitz-virtual-0
Adapter: Virtual device
temp1:        +62.0°C  (crit = +200.0°C)
temp2:         +0.0°C  (crit = +200.0°C)

k10temp-pci-00c3
Adapter: PCI adapter
temp1:        +64.5°C  (high = +70.0°C)
                       (crit = +115.0°C, hyst = +108.0°C)


Well, if that's good enough for you

Code: Select all

acpitz-virtual-0
Adapter: Virtual device
temp1:        +46.0°C  (crit = +93.0°C)

coretemp-isa-0000
Adapter: ISA adapter
Core 0:       +45.0°C  (high = +105.0°C, crit = +105.0°C)
Core 1:       +39.0°C  (high = +105.0°C, crit = +105.0°C)


How did you even...? Is that a laptop? Idle, I guess. From what I read, that's cold for a laptop, maybe normal for a desktop, but I may be wrong.

[bimsebasse]

Laptop, just browsing, using internal Intel graphics (have Nvidia Optimus) and CPU set to powersave with Jupiter.

I'm IT-supporting my parents' laptop with old AMD processor running Windows Vista - it's an oven by comparison.

[Pk_JoA]

Laptop, just browsing, using internal Intel graphics (have Nvidia Optimus) and CPU set to powersave with Jupiter.

I'm IT-supporting my parents' laptop with old AMD processor running Windows Vista - it's an oven by comparison.

Oh, Nvidia Optimus looks good. That may plus Jupiter may do the trick. I don't care much about battery consumption because I use my laptop as a stationary computer (since my desktop overheated and burnt, yes... the problem chases me), so I just took out the battery and connected it to the power supply.

[AlbertP]

Optimus may look good, but it isn't as "good" on Linux. Though with bumblebee you can get decent battery life.

[bimsebasse]

Yep, my stats without Bumblebee are not great. But with Bubmlebee, and if you can get it to play along with your Optimus, it works very well on Linux even if nothing is automated like it is in Windows with a proper Optimus driver.

[satyavacas]

Done this, and it solved my problem. Temp drop from 65 to 50 degrees.

GRUB_CMDLINE_LINUX="acpi_osi=Linux"

http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=1920148

IBM T60 / ATI X1400.

[cosmin103]

Hi, I've installed Linux Mint 14 on my HP Pavilion dv6, 4GB RAM, AMD Phenom(tm) II N830 Triple-Core Processor, and I have a problem: the cpu temperature is 75 with nothing opened. I searched to solve the problem and first I've installed jupiter and set performance to power saver but nothing changed. Then I found that it may be from display drivers and that I have to install proprietary drivers. I've done that and still nothing changed. After that I've found that i need to edit grub2 config file like this:
instead of this: GRUB_CMDLINE_LINUX_DEFAULT="quiet splash" I put this : GRUB_CMDLINE_LINUX_DEFAULT="quiet splash pcie_aspm=force".. the temperature is still 75 and if i open for example skype it's going up to 85 !! Any idea what the problem is ?? thanks

[satyavacas]

Did you do "sudo update-grub" after editing /etc/default/grub ?