[SOLVED] Fans only switch between full throttle and completely off

DeinAlptraum · 2024-10-10 10:23:59

Recently, I have been having the issue that my laptop fans only switch between what I assume to be max speed and being completely off. This means that the tiniest bit of activity (e.g. just opening a text editor) is often enough to trigger loud fan noises, only for them to go silent again after 3 seconds. This hasn't caused any problems (the fans are always on when they need to be) but it's just noisy and annoying.

This also isn't always the case: when I just started the laptop and it is under low load, it produces "normal" fan noises, but after a couple minutes it is back to "all or nothing". This only seems to work on a cold start, if I just reboot the running system, it is immediately at max fan speed again after restarting.

This is on an Arch+KDE system. Any help would be much appreciated.

Last edited by DeinAlptraum (2024-10-16 09:49:58)

seth · 2024-10-10 14:00:22

https://wiki.archlinux.org/title/Fan_speed_control - your specific HW model will be more important than the desktop environment.

DeinAlptraum · 2024-10-11 13:11:17

Thank you for the advice.

My Laptop is a Captiva I68-392. Captiva seems to be a rather niche German brand.

The motherboard:

~ >>> cat /sys/devices/virtual/dmi/id/board_{vendor,name,version}                                                                                                 
Notebook
NV4XMJ,MK,MH
Not Applicable

I tried the solutions on the linked Arch wiki page, except those for obviously different manufacturers. I.e. Fancontrol, NBFC and CoolerControl. But it seems that there are no PWM fan controls exposed so none of them work, e.g.

~ >>> cat /sys/class/hwmon/hwmon4/name
coretemp

~ >>> ls /sys/class/hwmon/hwmon4/
device  subsystem         temp1_input  temp2_crit        temp2_label  temp3_crit_alarm  temp3_max         temp4_input  temp5_crit        temp5_label
name    temp1_crit        temp1_label  temp2_crit_alarm  temp2_max    temp3_input       temp4_crit        temp4_label  temp5_crit_alarm  temp5_max
power   temp1_crit_alarm  temp1_max    temp2_input       temp3_crit   temp3_label       temp4_crit_alarm  temp4_max    temp5_input       uevent

CoolerControl doesn't list any fans or RPM numbers. NBFC doesn't have a config for any device from this manufacturer. I ran "sudo sensors-detect", whose full output I pasted here: https://gist.github.com/DeinAlptraum/55 … 0da5e106c1

I then get output like this:

~ >>> sensors
coretemp-isa-0000
Adapter: ISA adapter
Package id 0:  +41.0°C  (high = +100.0°C, crit = +100.0°C)
Core 0:        +34.0°C  (high = +100.0°C, crit = +100.0°C)
Core 1:        +35.0°C  (high = +100.0°C, crit = +100.0°C)
Core 2:        +37.0°C  (high = +100.0°C, crit = +100.0°C)
Core 3:        +35.0°C  (high = +100.0°C, crit = +100.0°C)

BAT0-acpi-0
Adapter: ACPI interface
in0:          16.69 V  
curr1:         0.00 A  

iwlwifi_1-virtual-0
Adapter: Virtual device
temp1:        +33.0°C  

nvme-pci-0100
Adapter: PCI adapter
Composite:    +23.9°C  (low  =  -0.1°C, high = +69.8°C)
                       (crit = +84.8°C)
ERROR: Can't get value of subfeature temp2_min: I/O error
ERROR: Can't get value of subfeature temp2_max: I/O error
Sensor 1:     +34.9°C  (low  =  +0.0°C, high =  +0.0°C)

acpitz-acpi-0
Adapter: ACPI interface
temp1:        +42.0°C

, showing no fans.

Running pwmconfig then gives the error: pwmconfig: There are no pwm-capable sensor modules installed

seth · 2024-10-11 17:01:08

According to google images, that's not a notebook, is it?

What kind of motherboard does it have?
Have you check the fan configuration in the BIOS/UEFI? (Assuming the fans aren't under OS control at all)

DeinAlptraum · 2024-10-11 21:00:38

No no, it is a notebook, it's just so niche apparently that it's hard to find anything about it... You can see it on the manufacturer's website: https://www.captiva-power.de/produkte/n … ng-i68-392

Regarding motherboard: I couldn't find anything about it at all when searching for the one I sent earlier. The specs on the manufacturer's website above don't even mention the motherboard either (just connectors, socket etc.)

I checked in the UEFI, but it is extremely bare bones and has basically no options whatsoever, besides boot-related stuff. Nothing about fans.

I got a dualboot with Windows, so I also compared that: Windows just seems to be on highest fan speed the entire time, it never goes down. Also tried a fan control application there, and it didn't find any fans either.

I strange thing is, this hasn't always been an issue iirc, just came up in the past couple months... I didn't do an UEFI update or sth

Last edited by DeinAlptraum (2024-10-11 21:01:43)

seth · 2024-10-11 21:23:35

D.U.S.T. issue?
Or maybe the bearings wore down?
Or temperatures up?

non-pwm fans cannot be speed-controlled, they only run at a fixed rpm or not except that the board can control the voltage to regulate them.
But even iff the board to expose that to the OS you'd need a very specific driver.

What's the output of "dmidecode"?

DeinAlptraum · 2024-10-11 21:30:28

Pasted the output of dmidecode here: https://gist.github.com/DeinAlptraum/5a … 4e91c64b3e

I'll open up the laptop tomorrow and check if I see anything, but at least from the outside the fans look pretty clean as far as I can tell. The environment isn't any hotter than it used to be (rather, colder)

seth · 2024-10-11 21:54:25

Handle 0x0000, DMI type 0, 26 bytes
BIOS Information
	Vendor: INSYDE Corp.
	Version: 1.07.06N
	Release Date: 09/15/2021
…
Handle 0x0021, DMI type 27, 15 bytes
Cooling Device
	Temperature Probe Handle: 0x0022
	Type: Fan
	Status: OK
	OEM-specific Information: 0x00000000
	Nominal Speed: 8192 rpm
	Description: Cooling Device Description

8192 rpm… jesus.

BIOS and config look like https://wiki.archlinux.org/title/TUXEDO … rol_Center - I'm not sure whether it'll allow you to control that HW at all, but worth a shot.

Strike0 · 2024-10-13 09:20:36

DeinAlptraum wrote:

The motherboard:

~ >>> cat /sys/devices/virtual/dmi/id/board_{vendor,name,version}                                                                                                 
Notebook
NV4XMJ,MK,MH
Not Applicable

Searching yields a few results indicating it's a CLEVO OEM notebook. A lot of small brands use them with their own label. If you bought it second-hand, consider someone replaced an original defective fan with a wrong replacement. AFAIK you only got to count the wires on the connector, perhaps one wire is pinched too. I'd be very surprised if Clevo shipped a non-PWM laptop.

DeinAlptraum · 2024-10-14 09:24:28

Sorry for the delay, was busier than expected.

1. I opened up the laptop and looked inside, everything looks fine to me. The fans were quite clean.

2. I installed Tuxedo control center. This does get a (singular) fan speed reading for the CPU! I also feel like the problem is a bit better than before. pwmconfig still fails though

3. @Strike0: this is not a used notebook, I bought it new.

seth · 2024-10-14 13:07:34

The fans were quite clean.

Strike0 wrote:

AFAIK you only got to count the wires on the connector, perhaps one wire is pinched too.

Did you happen to? PWM will have 4 or 5 wires, but if you get a reading, that's actually a good sign.
No pwm device, though?
Did https://aur.archlinux.org/packages/tuxedo-drivers-dkms build and is the module loaded?

lsmod

PKGBUILD wrote:

provides=('tuxedo-keyboard'
'tuxedo-keyboard-ite'
'tuxedo-io'
'clevo-wmi'
'clevo-acpi'
'uniwill-wmi'
'ite_8291'
'ite_8291_lb'
'ite_8297'
'ite_829x')

DeinAlptraum · 2024-10-14 21:47:39

There are two fans inside, they don't seem to be placed on any particular component. Both of them have four wires each (black, white, red, yellow).

No pwm device, though?

What does this mean exactly? I reran sensors-detect, but the output of "sensors" still looks the same. No fans/RPM listed, and pwmconfig still says that "There are no pwm-capable sensor modules installed". /sys/class/pwm is empty

The tuxedo module is loaded:

>>> lsmod | grep tuxedo                                                                                                                                      
tuxedo_io              24576  1
tuxedo_keyboard       110592  2 clevo_acpi,tuxedo_io
tuxedo_compatibility_check    12288  1 tuxedo_keyboard
led_class_multicolor    16384  1 tuxedo_keyboard
sparse_keymap          12288  2 intel_hid,tuxedo_keyboard

DeinAlptraum · 2024-10-14 21:55:02

Oh two more observations with Tuxedo control center:
1. the fans weren't actually on max speed as I thought at first, the Tuxedo control center said it was just 20%. In any case, they do get even louder on higher loads, though not too much.
2. the fan speed reported by them is inaccurate. Right now I hear a very slight whirring, yet it still shows 20%. As soon as the fans turn on, it shows at least 20%, there doesn't seem to be anything between that and 0%. It does at least seem to accurately show higher speeds in smaller increments, e.g. 23%, 27%, ... 53% etc.

seth · 2024-10-14 22:03:16

More importantly, clevo_acpi is. clevo_wmi as well?

find  /sys/devices/platform  -iname '*pwm*'

Those 4-wired fans are PWMs.
WIth your most recent findings ("even louder on higher loads") and windows also being affected, could it be that the fans are noisy because either they're not tightly fit into the case (ie. the fans vibrate/judder around around) or the bearings are broken (more like grinding than like a turbine)? Are both equally noisy?

DeinAlptraum · 2024-10-15 21:18:23

clevo_wmi is not automatically loaded. Loading it manually doesn't seem to make any differnce for pwmconfig.

find  /sys/devices/platform  -iname '*pwm*'

is empty, before or after loading clevo_wmi

Perhaps more interestingly, it seems that something I did yesterday fixed the problem... they are still as quiet as yesterday, showing only 20%. I only got them up to about 70% while compiling on all cores, at which point it sounded similar to what was previously displayed as 20%.
Unfortunately, I thus have no idea what exactly fixed it. Should I mark this as solved?

In any case, thanks so much for your help. As a very noise sensitive person, this has been driving me crazy for weeks, and I'm super happy this is finally solved.

seth · 2024-10-15 21:38:42

What besides installing https://aur.archlinux.org/packages/tuxedo-drivers-dkms and re-assemmbling the notebook did you do?
Did you ever open the notebook before?

But yes, since there's nothing to do, the problem is solved (unless it re-emerges in which case you're free to revisit the thread) - even if we never figure how.

DeinAlptraum · 2024-10-16 09:49:27

I think that's pretty much it. Install that package, rerun sensors-detect a couple times, blow on my fans for a bit.
No, that was the first time I opened it up.

Thanks again!

Arch Linux

#1 2024-10-10 10:23:59

[SOLVED] Fans only switch between full throttle and completely off

#2 2024-10-10 14:00:22

Re: [SOLVED] Fans only switch between full throttle and completely off

#3 2024-10-11 13:11:17

Re: [SOLVED] Fans only switch between full throttle and completely off

#4 2024-10-11 17:01:08

Re: [SOLVED] Fans only switch between full throttle and completely off

#5 2024-10-11 21:00:38

Re: [SOLVED] Fans only switch between full throttle and completely off

#6 2024-10-11 21:23:35

Re: [SOLVED] Fans only switch between full throttle and completely off

#7 2024-10-11 21:30:28

Re: [SOLVED] Fans only switch between full throttle and completely off

#8 2024-10-11 21:54:25

Re: [SOLVED] Fans only switch between full throttle and completely off

#9 2024-10-13 09:20:36

Re: [SOLVED] Fans only switch between full throttle and completely off

#10 2024-10-14 09:24:28

Re: [SOLVED] Fans only switch between full throttle and completely off

#11 2024-10-14 13:07:34

Re: [SOLVED] Fans only switch between full throttle and completely off

#12 2024-10-14 21:47:39

Re: [SOLVED] Fans only switch between full throttle and completely off

#13 2024-10-14 21:55:02

Re: [SOLVED] Fans only switch between full throttle and completely off

#14 2024-10-14 22:03:16

Re: [SOLVED] Fans only switch between full throttle and completely off

#15 2024-10-15 21:18:23

Re: [SOLVED] Fans only switch between full throttle and completely off

#16 2024-10-15 21:38:42

Re: [SOLVED] Fans only switch between full throttle and completely off

#17 2024-10-16 09:49:27

Re: [SOLVED] Fans only switch between full throttle and completely off

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