I8k gone crazy

Question

Hi all,
Since recent update, I have a problem with i8k on my Dell Inspiron 6000 laptop.
Fans are running full speed whatever wat inside temperature is. No recent change to i8k conf was made.
Here is i8kctl command output:
1.0 (null) H31N12J 127 -1 163 20250 20250 0 -1
Here is acpi -t command output:
Thermal 0: ok, 28.5 degrees C
And now i8kmon output:
i8kmon v1.27 17/06/2005 - Copyright (C) 2001 Massimo Dal Zotto <[email protected]>
config(0) = {-1 0} -1 50 -1 55
config(1) = {-1 1} 45 60 45 70
config(2) = {-1 2} 55 80 65 85
config(3) = {-1 2} 70 128 75 128
config(auto) = 1
config(daemon) = 1
config(geometry) =
config(i8kfan) = /usr/bin/i8kfan
config(min_speed) = 2000
config(proc_ac24) = /proc/acpi/ac_adapter/0/status
config(proc_ac26) = /proc/acpi/ac_adapter/AC/state
config(proc_apm) = /proc/apm
config(proc_i8k) = /proc/i8k
config(sysconfig) = /etc/i8kutils/i8kmon.conf.conf
config(t_high) = 80
config(timeout) = 1
config(unit) = C
config(use_conf) = 1
config(userconfig) = ~/.i8kmon
config(verbose) = 1
1272729060 opening /proc/i8k
1272729060 opening /proc/acpi/ac_adapter/AC/state
1272729060 acpi: state: on-line
1272729060 1.0 A09 H31N12J 127 -22 163 675 675 1 -22
# (127>=-1), state=1, low=45, high=60
# (127>=60), state=2, low=55, high=80
# (127>=80), state=3, low=70, high=128
# exec /usr/bin/i8kfan -1 2
1272729061 1.0 A09 H31N12J 127 -22 163 675 675 1 -22
It seems that i8k "thinks" the temperature of my laptop is 127°C so this is why, with the existing config, fans are running full speed.
Any idea why i8k goes wrong like this ?
Thanks in advance.

Answer 1

i8k still works fine for me, so I wrote up a (terrible) bash script as a substitute for i8kmon until this gets fixed (if ever). It controls the fans based on your settings and the ACPI temperature readout, and it outputs a nice status message too.
EDIT: you must force the i8k kernel module to load.
The only requirements are bash (obviously), i8kutils, and acpi (pacman -S acpi). Here's how it works: you define the variables level1, level2, and level3. WARNING: you must alter these variables from my default values. Most systems should never be allowed to reach 50C, but that is how I run mine (and it's been running nicely for many years). Even if I keep the fans on full blast, my temperature would never dip below 38C. These represent three temperatures, each in celcius. What does this mean?
If your fans are running at `i8kfan 0 0` (off), they will not be turned on until you reach level2.
If your fans are running at `i8kfan 1 1` (slow), they will not be turned off until temperature reaches level1. They will not be turned to `i8kfan 2 2` until temperature reaches level3.
If your fans are running at `i8kfan 2 2` (full blast), they will not be turned off until you reach level2.
By default, temperatures and fan speeds update every three seconds.
And my disclaimer - you NEED to change the values of level1, level2, and level3 to a known safe value for you. Also, it is extremely stupid to use a bash script to monitor and control something as important to system stability as the cooling fans (but I am going to do it anyway ). If your system overheats, you could at best lose some unsaved files and at worst cause some hardware damage - and none of that is my fault.
Without further ado, the script:
#!/bin/bash
## these are the temperatures
level1=50
level2=60
level3=70
fanstate=2
while [ true ]
do
temp=`acpi -t | sed -e 's/\(\.[0-9]\+ \)\?degrees C$//' -e 's/^Thermal 0: ok, //'`
if [ "$temp" -lt "$level1" ]; then
fanstate=0
elif [ "$temp" -ge "$level1" ] && [ "$temp" -lt "$level2" ]; then
if [ "$fanstate" -le 1 ]; then
false
elif [ "$fanstate" -gt 1 ]; then
fanstate=1
fi
elif [ "$temp" -ge "$level2" ] && [ "$temp" -lt "$level3" ]; then
if [ "$fanstate" -le 1 ]; then
fanstate=1
elif [ "$fanstate" -gt 1 ]; then
false
fi
elif [ "$temp" -ge "$level3" ]; then
fanstate=2
fi
i8kfan $fanstate $fanstate | false
echo "Fan state: $fanstate, Temp: $temp C"
sleep 3
done
Good luck and enjoy! I'd appreciate any feedback - this is pretty much my first bash script ever, but I do know that a lot of that is awful programming practice - and if you find it useful, a "thank you" post would be nice .
Thanks for reading!
Last edited by yumigator (2010-05-30 07:46:41)