# Enable fan on Thinkpad e535

## noximilien

Hello,

Though I was able to set up lm_sensors, it shows very small amount of information and does not set any values from configuration.

```

# sensors

thinkpad-isa-0000

Adapter: ISA adapter

fan1:           0 RPM

radeon-pci-0008

Adapter: PCI adapter

temp1:        +54.0°C  (crit = +120.0°C, hyst = +90.0°C)

k10temp-pci-00c3

Adapter: PCI adapter

temp1:        +56.0°C  (high = +70.0°C)

                       (crit = +100.0°C, hyst = +99.0°C)

```

I found this manual on ArchWiki and tried to increase RPM using this configuration file:

```

chip "thinkpad-isa-*"

set fan1_div 4

```

However, it doesn't work, and lm_sensors complains about "Unknown feature name".

I also found this thread and looked into some files in /proc and /sys. Turns out that my system has fan control disabled:

```

# cat /proc/acpi/ibm/fan 

status:      disabled

speed:      0

level:      0

# cat /sys/module/thinkpad_acpi/parameters/fan_control 

N

```

I tried to load my system with fancontrol=1, tried to disable power management in BIOS, and it didn't change anything. I also tried to boot into Xubuntu, and fan didn't work there either. Although, fan seems to be working fine at startup.

I don't really know what I am doing since all manuals on the internet are either outdated or not actually explaining anything.

What should I do to get my fan working or at least confirm that it is not supported on Linux?

----------

## Logicien

You can use the Fancontrol service to determine at which temperature the fan must be down, at which temperature the fan must run and at which temperature the fan must run at it's highest speed. You need to use the pwmconfig command with root rights to create the file /etc/fancontrol. Then start and enable the Fancontrol service.

The Thinkpads have the Thinkfan utility on Linux to control the fan speed but it can be done with Fancontrol too.

If sensors report that the fan run at 0 RPM, it may be becasue the processor temperature is too low to justify the fan to run. Try to run sensors when the Cpu is busy.

----------

## noximilien

 *Logicien wrote:*   

> You can use the Fancontrol service to determine at which temperature the fan must be down, at which temperature the fan must run and at which temperature the fan must run at it's highest speed. You need to use the pwmconfig command with root rights to create the file /etc/fancontrol. Then start and enable the Fancontrol service.

 

pwmconfig didn't do anything, and it seems that there no manual fan control at all. This may indicate that my chip is not supported. But I still hope that my kernel is simply missing something.

```
# pwmconfig 

# pwmconfig revision 6166 (2013-05-01)

This program will search your sensors for pulse width modulation (pwm)

controls, and test each one to see if it controls a fan on

your motherboard. Note that many motherboards do not have pwm

circuitry installed, even if your sensor chip supports pwm.

We will attempt to briefly stop each fan using the pwm controls.

The program will attempt to restore each fan to full speed

after testing. However, it is ** very important ** that you

physically verify that the fans have been to full speed

after the program has completed.

Found the following devices:

   hwmon0 is radeon

   hwmon1 is k10temp

   hwmon2/device is thinkpad

Found the following PWM controls:

   hwmon2/device/pwm1           current value: 0

/usr/sbin/pwmconfig: line 201: echo: write error: Operation not permitted

hwmon2/device/pwm1 stuck to 0

Manual control mode not supported, skipping hwmon2/device/pwm1.

There are no usable PWM outputs.

```

 *Logicien wrote:*   

> The Thinkpads have the Thinkfan utility on Linux to control the fan speed but it can be done with Fancontrol too.
> 
> 

 

Turns out that I have it installed and even have some configuration for it, which means that I already tried to solve this problem a while ago and failed. This manual says that I should load thinkpad_acpi module with fancontrol=1, but I can't check if this option is set because I have it builtin (modinfo and modprobe both fail because of that). I will rebuild it as module and try to make it work, but I'm not sure that it will make a difference.

I also remember that when I tried to make it work I noticed that my laptop wasn't fully supported by thinkpad_acpi, because it is not "true" Thinkpad but "Thinkpad Edge". I may be wrong, though.

 *Logicien wrote:*   

> If sensors report that the fan run at 0 RPM, it may be becasue the processor temperature is too low to justify the fan to run. Try to run sensors when the Cpu is busy.

 

No, it never works. I noticed that a while ago, even when temperature was somewhere around 90C. Sometimes my laptop even turns off because of overheat.

----------

## Logicien

Have-you check the setup of your Bios/Efi about Power Management? If your laptop is not supported, it is the only way to control the fan behavior. There are some threads about the Thinkpad Edge and Linux on Google. Here is the Thinkpad Wiki. 

How to control fan speed

----------

