My Lenovo X201 keeps overheating

phunni · 2015-06-24 17:04:35

First of all, apologies for any typos - I'm writing this on my phone.

As the title says, I'm having huge problems with my laptop overheating and then powering off because it's too hot.
In fairness, I am working it quite hard by running both Android Studio and Genymotion Android emulator.

I have installed tpfand and configured it based on the appropriate profile, but the laptop is effectively unusable for anything taxing.

I did recently upgrade the memory to 8gb and the hard drive to ssd, in order to improve performance, but I'd hoped these would help with heat as well.

Thanks in advance for any help.

jasonwryan · 2015-06-24 17:13:18

Is the fan working? Are the vents unobstructed?

phunni · 2015-06-24 17:35:56

Yes and yes. I even have an extra fan underneath the laptop, but it still gets hot.

phunni · 2015-06-25 11:57:44

Are there any other daemons I could be running that are compatible with tpfand? Or better? For example can I run tpfand or thinkfan at the same time as thermald?

Last edited by phunni (2015-06-25 12:16:43)

rudiger · 2015-06-25 12:05:35

thinkfan run very well in my x200

Trilby · 2015-06-25 12:10:26

I have an X200 - and I don't have *any* fan control daemons. The fans *should* work "out of the box". My daily-use is very light on resources, but I have put quite heavy loads on my X200 for extended periods - it can get warm to the touch in the palm-rest area, but I've never had it actually overheat to the point of shutting down, not even close.

So I see one of three possibilities: 1) the fan daemons you are running are counter productive (they generally are in my view), 2) there is a hardware problem: if not a blocked fan, a dusty/dirty fan or vent, or a bad connection somewhere internal, or 3) there is something you are not telling us about overclocking or some other creative abuse of the hardware.

phunni · 2015-06-25 12:20:46

So I see one of three possibilities: 1) the fan daemons you are running are counter productive (they generally are in my view), 2) there is a hardware problem: if not a blocked fan, a dusty/dirty fan or vent, or a bad connection somewhere internal, or 3) there is something you are not telling us about overclocking or some other creative abuse of the hardware.

1) I had this problem before even trying fan daemons
2) It's possible - I will check the fans later, if I can find a decent how to. I'm assuming they're fairly easy to access.
3) No overclocking and I've already told you about the heaviest work I do. It does seem that Java (essential for me) is a common cause of overheating

Trilby · 2015-06-25 12:23:45

Thanks. For #2 X20(0|1)s are very easy to open up for cleaning. But if there is a short somewhere on the board, I'd have no idea how to investigate that.

phunni · 2015-06-25 16:05:18

I've just put it back together after removing the keyboard and having a good look at the CPU fan and the heat sink. They were remarkably clear of dust considering how long I've had the laptop (about 5 years now), but I got the hoover onto them anyway - so there's no dust now.

Wouldn't an internal connection either prevent the fans from working or cause it to overheat just during general use?

toni · 2015-10-15 01:42:22

phunni wrote:

First of all, apologies for any typos - I'm writing this on my phone.
As the title says, I'm having huge problems with my laptop overheating and then powering off because it's too hot.
In fairness, I am working it quite hard by running both Android Studio and Genymotion Android emulator.
I have installed tpfand and configured it based on the appropriate profile, but the laptop is effectively unusable for anything taxing.
I did recently upgrade the memory to 8gb and the hard drive to ssd, in order to improve performance, but I'd hoped these would help with heat as well.
Thanks in advance for any help.

I confirm that I have the same problem as you. I am working with Android Studio and sometimes my laptop seems to get overheated and as a result it causes X to crash, I mean, blank screen and no possibility to switch to any virtual tty....

Have you resolved it? If so, please share your progress.

Maybe something wrong with graphical card configuration?

phunni · 2015-10-15 15:38:33

In the end I took fairly static action, although I also installed the ThinkPad fan control. The main thing I did was to increase the ram and change the hdd to an ssd.
Another thing I did, which I definitely recommend, is I opened my laptop up and used a vacuum cleaner on it - especially the fan. It's quite possible that this last step was the one that helped the most, although more ram helped.

Alad · 2015-10-15 17:41:52

1. When cleaning your ThinkPad, follow known working instructions to prevent any hardware damage:

https://translate.google.com/translate? … r_reinigen
http://download.lenovo.com/ibmdl/pub/pc … 632_09.pdf

Using a vacuum cleaner on bare components definitely doesn't fall under that...

2. This model has known issues with overheating, update the BIOS and use thinkfan:

http://www.thinkwiki.org/wiki/BIOS_Upgrade
https://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/Le … verheating

Head_on_a_Stick · 2015-10-15 20:52:54

I am confused by this thread -- I have an X201 and it suffered with heat-related shutdowns in Windows 7 & FreeBSD (idling at 65-70°C) but idles at 45-50°C under Arch ([testing]) with no tweaks whatsoever.

Perhaps re-apply the thermal paste?

phunni · 2015-10-15 20:58:21

To be fair, I pretty much only used the vacuum cleaner on the fan and haven't had any problems. In fact, it may well have fixed my heat problems.

Trilby · 2015-10-15 21:03:38

Eh ... I don't claim to have any expertise here - but I've used vacuums many times on fans and internals. Perhaps there is good reasoning not to do so, but frankly Alad, I see absolutely none in the link you provided.

Was that the wrong link? One respondent says vacuums are dangerous because the nozzle gets closer then compressed air ... then another respondent says compressed air nozzles get closer and so somehow vacuums are dangerous. The only non-contradictory bit there is "Just take our word for it. Don't use a vacuum."

Again, I will gladly admit ignorance on this - but the present evidence is lacking.

EDIT: in hindsight this may not really convey my meaning. Alad, we have never met, and I don't know exactly what your background is - but you've proven to be trustworthy source. So if you tell me vacuuming is bad, that means something. But the link to that super user thread adds absolutely nothing to that as there is no evidence presented, just random people on the internet who agree with your claim. Your claim means something to me - but random people on the internet agreeing with your claim doesn't.

Alad · 2015-10-16 01:39:04

phunni wrote:

To be fair, I pretty much only used the vacuum cleaner on the fan and haven't had any problems. In fact, it may well have fixed my heat problems.

Either way, according to thinkwiki it's safer to block the fan first, and then clean it to prevent it from spinning up at high speeds.

Trilby wrote:

EDIT: in hindsight this may not really convey my meaning. Alad, we have never met, and I don't know exactly what your background is - but you've proven to be trustworthy source. So if you tell me vacuuming is bad, that means something. But the link to that super user thread adds absolutely nothing to that as there is no evidence presented, just random people on the internet who agree with your claim. Your claim means something to me - but random people on the internet agreeing with your claim doesn't.

Better source:

http://www.dtic.mil/dtic/tr/fulltext/u2/a346070.pdf

40.1.10 Vacuum cleaners. Cleaning operations requiring the use of vacuum cleaners pose the inherent risk of generating static voltage levels of sufficient magnitude to damage ESDS items. Vacuum cleaners are presently available that are constructed of ESD protective materials that provide a continuous electrical grounding path from the nozzle to the electrical power connection. Additionally, some units are available that incorporate natural bristle brushes on the end of the nozzle. Even though these vacuum cleaners provide conductive paths to dissipate static charges, caution must be exercised in their use. Triboelectrification of the object being cleaned, due to particulate contaminated air flow, is still possible. Careful technical evaluation of these products should be performed prior to their use.

(ESDS = Electrostatic-discharge sensitive)

It's a science - people even put electronics under microscopes to check for damage. See IEEE, ESDA, and others

Last edited by Alad (2015-10-16 01:49:08)

phunni · 2015-10-16 09:09:28

Seems like, perhaps, I just got away with it...

Arch Linux

#1 2015-06-24 17:04:35

My Lenovo X201 keeps overheating

#2 2015-06-24 17:13:18

Re: My Lenovo X201 keeps overheating

#3 2015-06-24 17:35:56

Re: My Lenovo X201 keeps overheating

#4 2015-06-25 11:57:44

Re: My Lenovo X201 keeps overheating

#5 2015-06-25 12:05:35

Re: My Lenovo X201 keeps overheating

#6 2015-06-25 12:10:26

Re: My Lenovo X201 keeps overheating

#7 2015-06-25 12:20:46

Re: My Lenovo X201 keeps overheating

#8 2015-06-25 12:23:45

Re: My Lenovo X201 keeps overheating

#9 2015-06-25 16:05:18

Re: My Lenovo X201 keeps overheating

#10 2015-10-15 01:42:22

Re: My Lenovo X201 keeps overheating

#11 2015-10-15 15:38:33

Re: My Lenovo X201 keeps overheating

#12 2015-10-15 17:41:52

Re: My Lenovo X201 keeps overheating

#13 2015-10-15 20:52:54

Re: My Lenovo X201 keeps overheating

#14 2015-10-15 20:58:21

Re: My Lenovo X201 keeps overheating

#15 2015-10-15 21:03:38

Re: My Lenovo X201 keeps overheating

#16 2015-10-16 01:39:04

Re: My Lenovo X201 keeps overheating

#17 2015-10-16 09:09:28

Re: My Lenovo X201 keeps overheating

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