# cpu fan not picking up rpm [solved by cleaning the fans]

## while true

hello gentoo people, your's newbie here, long time no see.

so yesterday there was gcc scheduled for update, so i let emerge do its bussinnes (qlop -Ht said 15 minutes for gcc) and went on youtube.

after 5 minutes in, the computer shutted down, not like halt, with cli logging off and shutting stuff down, but 'tup' and it was down.

bravely i turned it back on, and it was working without problem, so i started update again, this time monitoring my conky.

the problem seems to be the cpu fan, it is not picking up the speed, from normal 2200 rpm it went to 3300, but not more.

now i know it can go up to 6600 rpm, since it did so in the past.

as temperature hit 82/86 (conky shows 2 cpu temps) computer went silent again, in a moment notice.

I also have 3 additional fans, and i can conky 2 of them, they both pick up on rpm.

now i remember playing with something, and setting shutdown of computer on cpu temperature, months ago, but can't remember what (sensors maybe, of fan control of sort) or how.

and i run ratpoison wm, so no desktop gadgets, i did it probably in cli or changing some files

where and how can i set my cpu fan speeds?

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## krinn

3 ways :

- BIOS generally have options to control fan itself, named like : quiet mode, turbo mode... 

- fans themselves can have buttons or switch on them to control the rpm

- and software like : https://forums.gentoo.org/viewtopic-p-7520024.html#7520024

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## while true

KRINN!!! Hello gentoo man!

let's go with 3rd option please

it is comming back to me, yes, i have been here before...

first thing, where is my lm_sensor configuration file stored?

```
#cd /etc

#grep sensor -rn

modprobe.d/aliases.conf:41:# Support for i2c and lm_sensors

ksysguarddrc:6:# Sensors: the list of all accessible sensors

init.d/lm_sensors:4:# $Header: /var/cvsroot/.....

init.d/fancontrol:4:# $Header: /var/cvsroot/.....

init.d/sensord:4:# $Header: /var/cvsroot/.....

conf.d/lm_sensors:1:# Generated by sensors-detect on Thu Aug  8 01:55:04 2013

conf.d/sensord:1:# Extra options to pass to the sensord daemon,

portage/package.use:75:sys-apps/lm_sensors sensord -static-libs

portage/make.conf:23:USE="bindist mmx sse sse2 alsa X gtk opengl php apache2 mysql scanner mplayer ogg ogv mp3 gimp jpeg png gif tiff usb dbus consolekit automount branding lm_sensors -kde -gnome -samba -hal -qt3 -qt4 -xfce "

sensors3.conf:1:# libsensors configuration file.....

Binary file udev/hwdb.bin matches

Binary file ld.so.cache matches

sane.d/plustek.conf:87:# to disable the internal sensor speedup function,

```

so i checked sensors3.conf and i found this is my set:

http://www.lm-sensors.org/wiki/Configurations/Asus/M5A97-Pro

and it seems i will need to make a custom file for my mb, but this is only for knowing which fan, temp, (etc) is which

```
# cat /etc/conf.d/lm_sensors 

# Generated by sensors-detect on Thu Aug  8 01:55:04 2013

# This file is sourced by /etc/init.d/lm_sensors and defines the modules to

# be loaded/unloaded.

#

# The format of this file is a shell script that simply defines variables:

# HWMON_MODULES for hardware monitoring driver modules, and optionally

# BUS_MODULES for any required bus driver module (for example for I2C or SPI).

# Load modules at startup

LOADMODULES=yes

# Initialize sensors at startup

INITSENSORS=yes

HWMON_MODULES="fam15h_power it87 k10temp"

# For compatibility reasons, modules are also listed individually as variables

#    MODULE_0, MODULE_1, MODULE_2, etc.

# Please note that the numbers in MODULE_X must start at 0 and increase in

# steps of 1. Any number that is missing will make the init script skip the

# rest of the modules. Use MODULE_X_ARGS for arguments.

#

# You should use BUS_MODULES and HWMON_MODULES instead if possible.

MODULE_0=fam15h_power

MODULE_1=it87

MODULE_2=k10temp
```

as i type sensors and hit tab twice, i get only 3 commands:

```
sensors sensors-conf-convert  sensors-detect
```

```
# sensors-conf-convert --help

Convert sensors.conf from lm-sensors 2 format to lm-sensors 3 format

Typical usage: sensors-conf-convert < /etc/sensors.conf > /etc/sensors3.conf
```

and sensors-detect is to be run once, after the installation, before service starts...

...where does it show other parameters, like how fan speed is controlled?

i guess i am looking for something: if (temp > 70 degrees C) blow that fan hard...

or should i stop lm_sensor service and run sensors-detect?

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## krinn

sensor-detect is use to build the config for lm_sensor, it detect well, sensors...

lm_sensor will then read the sensors, and as sensors report are not standard you have the per-board settings to match the right value to the right fan/temp.

in the link i gave you the user gave you link to a tool to handle fan speed. From what i know lm_sensors read values and output, it doesn't control them.

also from what i know, asus boards have bios options to handle speed: no matter how you set your fans, i suppose as long as the option is on, the bios will kept control other them, that's something you should look at so.

use sensors to read value if you need.

ps: just remember, rpm and flow depend on the size of the fan, bigger fan need fewer rpm than small ones.

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## while true

krinn, oi oi, sorry for delayed reply, i got my hands on my box yesterday, and today i have some results...

you wrote: "From what i know lm_sensors read values and output, it doesn't control them."

ok so i need to control them, or something to influence cpu's fan to pick up the rpm.

first things first, i disassembled the box and cleaned the fans (cpu, 3 chasie fans).

my fans do not have buttons, but i did find some dust on them.

what i found on Internet is pwmconfig which sets up this file that has some values in it, but that did not get cpu fan to increase rpm. this path was fruitless.

so i went to bios, and i tried several different options, and i lost track of what i did, but current configuration (fast fans and high performance) does not over heat the cpu. Warmest was 75 deg C, in contrast to last weekend when it reached 85 and halted...

also, messing with bios brought up rpm on cpu fan, and today fan did spin at 5000+ rpm, opposed to last weekend when max rpm was 3600.

now i would like to (over)load my system, at least to test cpu, to see what happens.

do you know how can i go about it?

thank you

update:

krinn, i finished with an hour of loading cpu, well i found a nice script: http://www.gentoo.org/doc/en/articles/hardware-stability-p1.xml#doc_chap1_pre1

load average was over 9 for an hour, temperature a bit over 70 deg C, and fan was doing rpm up to 5000,

so i guess this is it, i cleaned fans and set in bios some faster options, and now it cool again.

thanks for reading this newbie crap and bye.

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## krinn

 *while true wrote:*   

> thanks for reading this newbie crap and bye.

 

I see you have the "guru" level in the forum  :Smile: 

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## while true

khahaha, this made my morning, khehe

I actually wanted to propose a new member status here on forum,

for people like me who just want to use gentoo system,

and know squat about computer.

I am very thankful for gentoo handbook,

and i can not over thank this forum man...

i did try to help and answer a few questions here,

and only once did i truly help, so ...

for my friends, i am guru,

but here, i will always be yours sincerely newbie

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