Member Avatar for tnvkrishna

Hello,
After days of went-in-vain googling I finally wanted to start a thread here.
I am using ubuntu 64bit 8.04

I just wanted to configure my fan settings.
My fan starts when temperature is above 60C and stops when It reaches below it.
I wanted to change my settings so that the fan starts at 50C and stops after temperature falls below 45C ( Even 50C ... no problem ).

I tried to tweak the sensors3.conf file (there was no sensors.conf file in /etc/ )
when nothing useful happened I restored it back.
I installed pwmconfig which gives an error.
Installed fancontrol.
Installed lm-sensors.
Installed speedfan using wine. But did not dare to do anything.(I'll if you insist)

Any advice is greatly appreciated.
Please ask me if you want any extra information.
Thanks in advance.

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  • Latest Post Latest Post by caperjack

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— software fan control works only if the motherboard/laptop exposes a supported sensor/PWM chip to the kernel. If the chip is hidden or the BIOS/EC (embedded controller) owns the fans, tools cannot change thresholds. As pointed out, this is primarily a Linux/kernel-level issue rather than a desktop-setting problem.

A concise troubleshooting workflow to follow (run these as root and watch dmesg for module errors):

  • Run the hardware probe utility to detect sensor chips and load recommended kernel modules, then check sensor output to confirm temperatures are visible.
  • Look for PWM/fan controls under /sys/class/hwmon or in the sensor output. If no PWM entries are present, the kernel does not expose writable fan controls for that board.
  • If PWM channels exist, use the automatic mapper to create /etc/fancontrol, then edit that file to define which temperature sensor controls which PWM channel.
  • Test the configuration and enable the fancontrol service. If the automatic tool errors, inspect kernel messages and module loading; missing drivers are the common cause.

To implement a 50C start / 45C stop hysteresis, use fancontrol’s mapping and the MINSTART/MINSTOP settings: choose MINTEMP/MAXTEMP so the temperature range maps correctly, set MINPWM/MAXPWM for the speed range, and set MINSTART high enough that the computed PWM at ~50C will actually spin the fan (while temperatures below ~45C map to a PWM below MINSTOP so the fan can stop). Test carefully with conservative MAXTEMP and monitor temps — incorrect settings can cause overheating. Practical examples and details are in the lm-sensors/fancontrol docs (see Fancontrol - ArchWiki and lm-sensors on GitHub).

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Member Avatar for tnvkrishna

There would be someone who can help me ...please...

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