problems with my laptop's fan

[fisi]

since i've installed linux mint 14 KDE, my fan stopped working: it's always at the minimum level so in about five minutes becomes very hot (i think i would dry my hairs using the fan). how can i solve this problem? furthermore, when i shut down the notebook it restarts after shutting down, and the battery seems to dicharge more fast than there was installed windows 7...thank you for the help, and sorry if my english isn't very well, i'm italian

[bigj231]

Does it still have problems in Windows, or is it only a problem in Linux? You could also check for BIOS updates for your laptop. Those usually require Windows to install though.
And don't worry about your English. This is an international forum, and your English is much better than my Italian.

[fisi]

it's only a linux problem, and the bios is still the one that was installed when i bought it, there are no new releases on asus' website.

[bigj231]

Could you reply with the output of the following code? Just copy and paste into a terminal window.

Code: Select all

inxi -GM

Does your laptop have an ATI GPU? Sometimes they are finicky about drivers. If you don't have a hybrid GPU (Intel/ATI) setup, try installing the proprietary drivers.

Also, since Mint id based on Ubuntu, many of the Ubuntu fixes will work on Mint. Here's an older tutorial that might help you out: http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=846480. Specifically look at this post: http://ubuntuforums.org/showpost.php?p=5376517&postcount=5

When I try that command, I get nothing so my fan speed is regulated by the BIOS (as it is from past experience with these K53 laptops.)

[fisi]

Machine: Mobo: ASUSTeK model: K55DR version: 1.0 Bios: American Megatrends version: 207 date: 04/10/2012
Graphics: Card-1: Advanced Micro Devices [AMD] nee ATI Device 9903
Card-2: Advanced Micro Devices [AMD] nee ATI Caicos [Radeon HD 6400M/7400M Series]
X.Org: 1.13.0 drivers: ati,radeon (unloaded: fbdev,vesa) Resolution: 1366x768@60.0hz
GLX Renderer: Gallium 0.4 on AMD ARUBA GLX Version: 2.1 Mesa 9.0


the instructions on the pages you linked doesn't work on my pc, the terminal's response is that the inserted path doesn't exist

[bigj231]

If it doesn't exist, then the BIOS controls the fan according to the link. You might want to install the FGLRX drivers for your GPU. That might fix the battery drain and heat issues. Look on the Ubuntu Wiki here: https://help.ubuntu.com/community/BinaryDriverHowto/ATI
There is also the AMD wiki here: http://wiki.cchtml.com/index.php/Ubuntu_Quantal_Installation_Guide

Also on the ASUS english website, they have BIOS 217. Yours is 207. You will have to install it using windows. Be careful flashing your BIOS, and check the MD5sum of the download before you start. Otherwise you could end up with a very expensive paperweight. Don't ask how I know.

[fisi]

ok first of all i'll upgrade the bios, if the fan will still not work i'll have a look to the links...i have downlaoded the bios 217 from asus website (2.48 MB only?), now how can i install it? i'll lost my datas or it will not change my files and configurations?

[fisi]

well i updated the bios but with the problem still remains, i tried to follow the guides but i have always some kinf of error, what can i do? i'm going crazy!

[bigj231]

what kind of error are you getting? Just copy and paste the error here using the [code tags. Have you tried installing the drivers using the "Additional Drivers" utility? You can launch it by running:

Code: Select all

sudo jockey-gtk

.