T500 Shuts Down on Temperature Limits [ Edited ]

[GeronimoS]

Hi,

So:

T500

Visa Ultimate SP2 + Linux  Fedora 16

Intel Core Duo CPU P8400

CPU Speed 2.26Gz

Memory 2048MB

My laptop is 3 years old.  While doing Windows and Fedora reinstallations caused by the gradual failure and change of a HDD, I had high temperature crashes that I didn't see before during installations:

The system reports temperatures in excess of 100C and shuts down.

This happened in Fedora while installing several hundreds of packages from  a DVD and in Windows while doing a System Recovery from original media.

My suspicions are directed toward the fan and the motherboard, but  I wonder how to diagnose.  It might be dust and dirt accumulated on the inside. 

I'm using Core Temp now in Vista and the core temperatures are around 50-70C during normal work (Word, browsers, Internet access).

I was not able to crash it from inside Vista, but then my applications aren't stressing:-)

Does anyone have a good stress test to be run from Vista that must be survived for a T500 to be declared OK?

I could monitor the temperatures while executing it.

Thanks.

[GeronimoS]

I've just installed

tpfancontrol

Let's see. I'm afraid of the interfence with BIOS, etc.

[lead_org Microsoft MVP Contributor]

use the tpfancontrol to check whether the fan works.

If it does then it usually points to dusts build up in the vent and on the fan vane.

If the fan doesn't work, then you need a new fan/heatsink or a new motherboard depending on the situation. 

[richk]

If it is 3 years old, the thermal paste between the cpu/gpu and the heatsink might have dried out and needs to be replaced

[GeronimoS]

Thank you.

This is the output from the Linux program lm_sensors,

the command

sensors

at the time of downloading and installing some 200 programs for the KDE environment. That test succeeded.

--

acpitz-virtual-0 Adapter: Virtual device temp1:        +77.0°C  (crit = +127.0°C) temp2:        +74.0°C  (crit = +100.0°C) thinkpad-isa-0000 Adapter: ISA adapter fan1:        3012 RPM temp1:        +77.0°C temp2:        +67.0°C temp3:        +54.0°C temp4:        +85.0°C temp5:            N/A temp6:            N/A temp7:            N/A temp8:            N/A temp9:        +53.0°C temp10:       +70.0°C temp11:       +74.0°C temp12:           N/A temp13:           N/A temp14:           N/A temp15:           N/A temp16:           N/A coretemp-isa-0000 Adapter: ISA adapter Core 0:       +73.0°C  (high = +105.0°C, crit = +105.0°C) Core 1:       +73.0°C  (high = +105.0°C, crit = +105.0°C)

--

At 78C, the fan has 2956RPM

At 93C, the fan has 3554RPM

Thus the fan moves faster at higher temperatures, just the way it should be.

Unfortunately, the problem's still there: I've just tried the installation of the full Fedora Linux from DVD, and it shut down because of too high termperature after installing 200 of the 1,200 packages I selected (e.g. for graphical workstation).

The box was very hot underneath, more so under the MoBo than around the fan.

I couldn't measure these temperatures, but I'm sure they went to 104C or so, I know from previous tests, where I extracted the temperature at shutdown from the Linux logs ("messages").

[lead_org Microsoft MVP Contributor]

well i guess you can look at the fan and vent for dust, try changing the thermal paste or get a new fan/heatsink (as heatpipe maybe broken).

[JDay]

Remove the keyboard and clean out the fan. After 3 years of use I know the fan is covered in dust. The dust is restricting airflow which in turn is causing the system to overheat. This is a common issue with laptops.

[JDay]

---

richk wrote:

If it is 3 years old, the thermal paste between the cpu/gpu and the heatsink might have dried out and needs to be replaced

---

Paraffin wax (what thermal pads are made of) doesn't dry out. Neither does thermal grease. 

[lead_org Microsoft MVP Contributor]

Not sure about the pad, but thermal grease do actually dry out over time but at a very slow rate. The silicon oil used in these thermal grease do have a detectable vapour pressure at the temp range they operate under.

[GeronimoS · Accepted solution]

Changing the fan fixed everything.

The service technician told me it was dirty and loose in its bearing.

Thanks for all your help.