Progressive Overload

Ever since installing Ubuntu 8.10, I have noticed my laptop operating temps are a little hotter than I like.  Not dangerous hot, but definitely in the "uncomfortable to my lap" range.  After a little research I found the package "i8kutils".

Definition: i8kutils: Dell Inspiron and Latitude laptop utilities This is a collection of utilities to control Dell Inspiron and Latitude laptops. It includes programs to turn the fan on and off, to read fan status, CPU temperature, BIOS version and to handle the volume buttons and Fn-keys. The package includes also a small Tk applet, designed to be swallowed in the gnome panel, which monitors the CPU temperature and comtrols automatically the fans accordingly to user defined thresholds. The programs require the kernel module i8k.o which can be compiled from the package sources or found in Linux kernel 2.4.14 and later versions. The kernel module has been tested only on Inspiron 8000 laptops but it should work on any Inspiron and Latitude laptops.  (from About.com)

WARNING.  Be careful with your settings, you might break your stuff!

Step 1:  Install i8kutils

sudo apt-get install i8kutils

Step 2: Modify /etc/modules 

sudo gedit /etc/modules

Add this i8k force=1 to the end of the file and save it.

Step 3:  Create i8kmon file (it will be a new file)

sudo gedit /etc/i8kmon

Here is the config I used for my laptop:

 # Run as daemon, override with --daemon option

set config(daemon)      0



# Automatic fan control, override with --auto option

set config(auto)        1



# Report status on stdout, override with --verbose option

set config(verbose)    1



# Status check timeout (seconds), override with --timeout option

set config(timeout)    1



# Temperature thresholds: {fan_speeds low_ac high_ac low_batt high_batt}

set config(0)   {{-1 0}  -1  45  -1  55}

set config(1)   {{-1 1}  45  60  55  70}

set config(3)   {{-1 2}  60  128  70  128}



# end of file 

Once you are ready, you can either restart the system or run the following command:

sudo modprobe i8k force=1

Optional Step 4:  Install/config gnome-swallow-applet

sudo apt-get install gnome-swallow-applet

Right-click on the toolbar to add the new swallow applet.  Then, in the application to watch enter i8kmon

The gnome-swallow-applet along with i8kmon is pretty neat.  It allows you to see the current temp as well as what fan speed is currently running.  But it also allows you to force the speed up or down when you want. 

Results: It wasn't uncommon for my laptop to work in the 120F+ range, now after running acpi -f -t  in terminal, you can see the results.

alynch@badonkadonk:~$ acpi -f -t

     Battery 0: Full, 100%

     Thermal 0: ok, 99.5 degrees F

Last month, we ordered a couple Dell e1505n laptops and this is going on the 3rd(?) week since we received them. We ordered them initially with 512MB of RAM since Dell was charging $200 for what you could get from NewEgg.com for a little less than half that.

Initial thoughts on opening the box..."Oooh Ahhh a new laptop!" Yeah, I was so happy to finally see my new friend. I have read that some people think these laptops are ugly, but I actually like the white "racing stripes" along the sides. Makes it look fast :)

This is my first experience with a laptop display like this. It is fairly high-gloss and very bright. My eyes like it, and the 1680x1050 widescreen resolution isn't too shabby either.

The lack of RAM (during the shipping time from NewEgg.com) wasn't nearly as unbearable as I predicted. I was able to run Apache/MySQL/ColdFusion/Eclipse for development, although I couldn't do much else :). But, 2 GB of RAM really really completed the package.

The Dell partion setup is a little odd. There are a couple fat 32 partitions that Dell includes that are for the MediaDirect boot option, but unfortunately this option does not work for the Ubuntu systems. (Why they left those partitions is anybody's guess). These are small partitions and not worth worrying about, since I got the 160gb HD! :)

I am really enjoying this new machine, there isn't much else to say except that Ubuntu works great out of the box (no surprise there), wireless, nvidia drivers, all working A-OK.