Acer Aspire One AOA110-AGw fan control - acerhdf stopped working

**qazatqazah** · December 21st, 2010

At first I had some trouble installing acerhdf in Maverick (Ubuntu 10.10), but I got it working.
The problem turned out to be that my laptop (an Acer Aspire 7730G) was simply not in the list of recognized pc's, but it was easy to add it to the list.
This solution will probably work for any Acer, Gateway or Packard Bell suffering from erratic fan behavior.
Of course tampering with the code (which is what I did) is at your own risk.

Please note that if you use Ubuntu's automatic update system, and you have manually installed kernel modules (like this one), every time that Ubuntu installs a new kernel, you will have to reinstall all manually installed kernel modules as well. (In my case, that also includes a NVidia video driver.)
If you leave the sources where they are after installing, it will suffice to perform steps 7, 9 and 10. (Please take care to use the right parameters when inserting the module.)

Here's the recipe to install acerhdf:

Step 1
Open a terminal. You normally automatically start in your home directory, i.e. /home/yourname/

Step 2
Determine which linux kernel version you are using:

Code:

uname -r

In my case, that was 2.6.35-23-generic

Step 3
Get everything you need to build a kernel module:

Code:

sudo apt-get install build-essentials linux-kernel-headers

Step 4
In a web browser, download the appropriate sources of acerhdf from http://www.piie.net/index.php?section=acerhdf
For my kernel, which is linux-2.6.30+, that is http://www.piie.net/files/acerhdf_kmod-0.5.25.tar.gz
Move the downloaded file to your home directory if it is not already there.
You can either use a filemanager to do that, or you can do it in the terminal.
E.g.: if your download is on your desktop, you could type:

Code:

mv /home/yourname/Desktop/acerhdf_kmod-0.5.25.tar.gz /home/yourname/

Step 5
In the terminal create an automatic startup settings file with conservative (low) temperature settings:

Code:

sudo echo options acerhdf interval=10 fanon=60000 fanoff=55000 kernelmode=1 > /etc/modprobe.d/acerhdf.conf

Step 6
Unpack the tarball:

Code:

gunzip -c acerhdf_kmod-0.5.25.tar.gz | tar -xvf -

This creates a directory /home/yourname/acerhdf_kmod

Step 7
Change to the newly created directory:

Code:

cd acerhdf_kmod

Step 8
RTFM!

Code:

gedit README.txt &

Step 9
Build the kernel module:

Code:

make && sudo make install

Step 10
Try and insert the module into the kernel:

Code:

sudo modprobe acerhdf interval=10 fanon=60000 fanoff=55000 kernelmode=1

Step 11
Check for error messages:

Code:

dmesg|grep acerhdf

In my case, it read:
[ 477.322743] acerhdf: Acer Aspire One Fan driver, v.0.5.25
[ 477.322779] acerhdf: unknown (unsupported) BIOS version Acer, inc./Aspire 7730G /v0.3636, please report, aborting!

If you get a similar error message, and you're convinced your laptop is compatible with acerhdf, you're lucky, because these instructions should work for you. :)
If you only get the first line, you're even luckier, because the module seems to have loaded correctly, and you can skip the next steps, and go straight to step 15. :D
If you got another error message, something else is wrong. :(

Step 12
Open the C source of the module:

Code:

gedit acerhdf.c

Scroll down to the line that says /* Register addresses and values for different BIOS versions */
Below that, you will find a table of laptops and BIOSes that are known to work with acerhdf.
Copy the line that best resembles your machine, and adapt it with the data from the error message in step 11.
In my case, I copied the line:
{"Acer", "Aspire 1810T", "v1.3314", 0x55, 0x58, {0x9e, 0x00} },
And I changed it to:
{"Acer", "Aspire 7730G", "v0.3636", 0x55, 0x58, {0x9e, 0x00} },

Step 13
Scroll all the way down to the end of the program. Again, copy the line that best resembles your machine, and adapt it.
In my case, I copied the line:
MODULE_ALIAS("dmi:*:*Acer*:pnAspire 1825PTZ:");
And I changed it to:
MODULE_ALIAS("dmi:*:*Acer*:pnAspire 7730G:");

Step 14
Save the file (Ctrl-S) and close the editor (Alt-F4). Now go back to step 9.

Step 15
Determine if the fan is properly enabled:

Code:

cat /sys/class/thermal/thermal_zone0/mode

If you get the answer enabled, then go on to step 16
If you get another answer, enable the fan:

Code:

sudo echo enabled > /sys/class/thermal/thermal_zone0/mode

Step 16
Your fan should behave normally by now.
You can easily check the current temperature by typing:

Code:

cat /sys/class/thermal/thermal_zone0/temp

Step 17
Instruct the system to load the module automatically on system start. To do that, edit the modules file:

Code:

sudo gedit /etc/modules

And add a new line with the word acerhdf
Save the file and close the editor.

Step 18
Reboot to check if autoload really works. Use the check in step 11.

Step 19
If all works well, it is time to find the maximum operating temperature for your cpu (on the internet), and change the temperature values (fanon, fanoff) in /etc/modprobe.d/acerhdf.conf accordingly.

Code:

sudo gedit /etc/modprobe.d/acerhdf.conf

In my case (an Intel Centrino Core2 Duo T6600), the values fanon=67000 fanoff=62000 work well.
You can find your machine's exact cpu type in the BIOS.

Step 20
20. If for any reason you should want to unload the kernel module, you can do so by typing:

Code:

sudo modprobe -r acerhdf

Ready! :D

**marcisim** · December 24th, 2010

i'm trying to follow your instructions. How can I get the register addresse and values for my machine?

thanks!

**qazatqazah** · December 25th, 2010

Originally Posted by marcisim

i'm trying to follow your instructions. How can I get the register addresse and values for my machine?

thanks!

There's some intelligent guessing and a little bit of luck involved here. I didn't know the correct the values for my machine either, but here is what I did.

The first three values in the table are obviously used by the program to identify your machine and BIOS version, and for those you can use the values in the error message of step 11. The last four values are more tricky.

Closely examining the table, I noticed that all newer Acer Aspire models/BIOSes use the same values. So, it was easy for me to use those same values as well. This is exactly the reason why I wrote "Copy the line that best resembles your machine".

Please note that the very last step describes how to unload the module. This gives you the possibility to use trial and error to determine the correct values for your machine.
Also, if you install your new module using the trial-and-error method, take care to closely monitor the temperature of your machine. If you see that the temperature rises above the temperature value that you specified when loading the module, and the fan should not turn on, immediately unload the module to prevent damage to your cpu! In that case, the addresses in the table are obviously not correct, and you could try other values.

Sadly, I do not know of any general way to determine the correct values for your machine.

What machine/BIOS are you using? (I might be able to help you with the guess...)

Good luck!

**marcisim** · December 26th, 2010

Originally Posted by qazatqazah

There's some intelligent guessing and a little bit of luck involved here. I didn't know the correct the values for my machine either, but here is what I did.

The first three values in the table are obviously used by the program to identify your machine and BIOS version, and for those you can use the values in the error message of step 11. The last four values are more tricky.

Closely examining the table, I noticed that all newer Acer Aspire models/BIOSes use the same values. So, it was easy for me to use those same values as well. This is exactly the reason why I wrote "Copy the line that best resembles your machine".

Please note that the very last step describes how to unload the module. This gives you the possibility to use trial and error to determine the correct values for your machine.
Also, if you install your new module using the trial-and-error method, take care to closely monitor the temperature of your machine. If you see that the temperature rises above the temperature value that you specified when loading the module, and the fan should not turn on, immediately unload the module to prevent damage to your cpu! In that case, the addresses in the table are obviously not correct, and you could try other values.

Sadly, I do not know of any general way to determine the correct values for your machine.

What machine/BIOS are you using? (I might be able to help you with the guess...)

Good luck!

thank you very much for you answer!

I'm using an ACER ASPIRE 5738ZG and the problem is that, whan I use either UBUNTU or SLACKWARE, fans are always on, except few minutes after the startup. Instead, when I work on winzoz everything is ok.

i'll try to execute your instruction, even if the only conseguence of my problem is that it becomes hard working on battery.

thanks

**qazatqazah** · December 26th, 2010

Originally Posted by marcisim

thank you very much for you answer!

I'm using an ACER ASPIRE 5738ZG and the problem is that, whan I use either UBUNTU or SLACKWARE, fans are always on, except few minutes after the startup. Instead, when I work on winzoz everything is ok.

i'll try to execute your instruction, even if the only conseguence of my problem is that it becomes hard working on battery.

thanks

I would exspect your machine to use the same values, i.e.
0x55, 0x58, {0x9e, 0x00} },