Do you find your laptop's fan runs more with ubuntu?

[ester4]

I like ubuntu a lot more than Windows when comparing usability.

But subjectively it seems to me that my laptop's fan runs a lot more when I run ubuntu. Windows runs quieter. The fan stays off or on a very low setting sometimes for the whole work session.

Is there anything I can do to make ubuntu run cooler so the fan is not needed as much?

Do you have this problem when using ubuntu also?

[benc1213]

I have noticed the same thing.

[Quadunit404]

Sometimes, although I generally use Windows for games so more than 70% of the time I'm on Windows the fans on my laptop are somewhat noisy.

Like right now, since I have a game open in the background :D

[Joe of loath]

Nope, not at all. It all depends on the frequency scaling and acpi support for your particular laptop.

[el_koraco]

if you got an ATI GPU, then sure as hell!

[FuturePilot]

Nope.

[itguy1985]

Nope.

I tried Kubuntu and my fans were working over time. I wanted to make sure, so I was switching back and forth, and yeah they were running at least 3 times as hard. I'm using Ubuntu now with no problem. It's weird, because I thought they were the same other than the GUIs. That's not the case though; it was almost like Kubunbtu didn't utilize any kind of thermostat at all. By the way mine is a desktop, not a laptop. Anyways, the OS can make a difference on fan usage for sure.

[Johnsie]

I've experienced that with laptops before. Wrong heat levels or overuse of moving parts can greatly decrease the lifetime of a laptop.

[Hwæt]

I've got a Toshiba M55 with only one working fan, but since Windows hasn't been on that laptop since 2005, I can't really offer any comparison.:)

[ester4]

I just completed a test.

With a laptop that had been shutdown for a while, I booted ubuntu 11.04 to desktop and then let it sit. No fans could be heard running. 24 minutes later I came back and noticed the screen had blanked from the screen saver feature. I forgot to turn this off. Oh well. Regardless I could hear the laptop's fans running loudly.

I shutdown the laptop and let it sit for over an hour.

I then booted Windows 7 to desktop and let it sit. no fans could be heard running. 24 minutes later I came back and noticed the screen had not blanked and no screen saver was set so the LCD just showed my desktop. I realized this was a little unfair to Ubuntu until I noticed the laptop's fans were not running (or at least if they were it was very quietly). I let the laptop sit some more. 36 minutes later I returned and still no fans were running.

This is a big disappointment.

I love Ubuntu, much more so than Windows. But this fan thing sucks. I hope this is just a bug that will get fixed relatively soon cause it's got to be affecting battery life and the life of the hardware :(

[Old_Grey_Wolf]

I haven't used XP in several years so I don't know for sure; but, it should run fairly cool since XP was designed when computers had slower single-core single-threaded CPUs and 512 MB or less of RAM. I would expect Ubuntu to run hotter on the same computer since Ubuntu has been released when computers had faster multi-threaded or multi-core CPUs and 1GB or more of RAM.

Vista on the other hand runs a lot hotter than Ubuntu on the 2 computers of mine where it is installed. One is a laptop and the other a desktop. The laptop runs 10 to 15 deg C hotter with Vista. That is with a version of Ubuntu released about the same time as Vista. I can't check the exact specs at the moment; however, they are both dual-core 1.8 to 2.0 GHz CPUs with 4 GB of RAM.

I haven't noticed any difference between Window 7 and Ubuntu on the two computers I have them installed on. One is a Toshiba NB305 mini-netbook with a dual-threaded 1.66 GHz ATOM CPU and 1 GB of RAM running Windows 7 Starter. The other is a COMPAQ 5320 desktop with a dual-core 2.8 GHz CPU and 4 GB of RAM running Windows 7 Home Premium.

FYI, I'm running 10.04 Ubuntu on most of the computers. I only run 11.04 as a VM; therefore, I don't know if 11.04 runs hotter when run as a stand-alone non-virtualized OS.

[jerenept]

Try the Jupiter Power Management (http://www.jupiterapplet.org/) applet, it may help.

[Old_Grey_Wolf]

Try the Jupiter Power Management (http://www.jupiterapplet.org/) applet, it may help.

From their website:


Support

Jupiter is developed, tested, and supported on the following Linux distributions:

Fuduntu and Fedora

For help with Jupiter, please visit the Fuduntu Forum.
Aurora OS

For help with Jupiter, please visit the Aurora OS Forum.

Installation and use of the Jupiter Applet on other distributions is unsupported by the Jupiter project team. Ubuntu PPA users should report any bugs or issues with Jupiter to the webupd8 project hosted at Launchpad.

I think I will wait until it is in the Ubuntu repositories.

[ST3ALTHPSYCH0]

Fuduntu- the user here, not the distro, is the creator of Jupiter. He may chime in about this, or you could PM him

[kaldor]

Try the Jupiter Power Management (http://www.jupiterapplet.org/) applet, it may help.

Yep, using "power saver" mode seems to have prevented Overheating a nice bit and kept my laptop cool, even when plugged in. Not sure if it was meant to do that but it definitely makes a difference. +1 to fewt for that :)

[TheJackal12]

i've known this for some time on all my thinkpads. windows 7 runs cooler and quieter for the most part. ubuntu/opensuse almost always have the fan running. however, the other benefits of using linux far outweigh something as small an issue of a fan to make me go to windows! :)

[fuduntu]

From their website:


I think I will wait until it is in the Ubuntu repositories.

The Jupiter team has a new member (so I can now say "team" hah!) who has ported Jupiter to use libindicator and work with Ubuntu.

The new version isn't uploaded yet, but when it is it will be listed on the download page.

The current version of Jupiter isn't supported by myself on Ubuntu (because I don't use Ubuntu), however the Webupd8 team does support it and they work with me when they run into issues.

[babybean]

Thankfully the fan runs quieter in ubuntu for me. Even at that it sounds like a hover. Oh and temperatures that would make many people think it is about to explode at any moment. :(

[AloofObserver]

Ubuntu 11.04 runs a lot hotter than Windows 7 does (for me anyway). The fan runs at an audible level constantly. I also get about 1 less hour of battery life.

[Joe of loath]

Am I the only person who's computers run cooler and quieter on Linux? :lol:

[Oxwivi]

Nope, not at all. It all depends on the frequency scaling and acpi support for your particular laptop.
This.

[NightwishFan]

To be quite honest my laptop runs quite cool and nearly silent using Linux 2.6. I use the conservative governor (jumping frequencies around makes no sense to me even if it does save a bit of power). There is also a specific asus laptop driver that is enabled by default. Even when I get to a system load of 8.00+ I never have had any heat related shut-downs.

[kabloink]

Ubuntu 10.04, 10.10 --- same speed as windows

Ubuntu 11.04 --- much higher than windows, case noticeably hotter

I was forced to downgrade my laptops. I only use 11.04 on my desktop now.

[leviathan8]

On my laptop, after 10 minutes of usage, the coolers will start running and won't stop until a suspend. They run at a constant speed and according to the thermal sensors, the temperature is about 40 Celsius degrees at average.

[nrundy]

On my laptop, after 10 minutes of usage, the coolers will start running and won't stop until a suspend. They run at a constant speed and according to the thermal sensors, the temperature is about 40 Celsius degrees at average.

My Win7 box shows a mode temp of 30 degrees Celsius. I've seen it as low as 28 degrees Celsius and I've never seen it higher than 33 degrees Celsius.

[Blasphemist]

I believe most heat and fan issues are related to changes in passing parameters from grub to the kernel. This is an edit more specific to this conversation from another thread. http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=1743535

Now that I found something that works, how do I make it permanent?
In a terminal:

cd/etc/default
sudo gedit grub
Edit the line "GRUB_CMDLINE_LINUX_DEFAULT". Add your new options, for example:
GRUB_CMDLINE_LINUX_DEFAULT="quiet splash vga=771"
Now in a terminal run

sudo update-grub
Now each time you update grub and in configures the files, it will pick up these changes.

Noteworthy Notes

Notes on for some Laptops:
Will inform your BIOS to use provisions for Linux:
Code:
acpi_osi="Linux"

You should look at the line referenced for any acpi related setting. This is a large subject and in the end is related to communication between the hardware, bios and kernel. This change implemented in natty can lead to video issues hence the post above. It can also affect sensors and fan control. I'm no expert on kernel mode-settings but the one mentioned above is a good possibility if you are having trouble with this communication (acpi_osi="Linux"). Over the last couple ubuntu releases there have been changes to grub and the kernel that affect this. You can also check your bios for OS settings and search on kernel mode-settings for further information.

[nrundy]

I found the following quote online http://www.maximumpc.com/article/news/ubuntu_1010_%E2%80%9Cmaverick_meerkat%E2%80%9D_off icially_released

The acpi command is slightly different here with the inclusion of \.


To all people having heat issues with their laptops when running Ubuntu:
Here is the explanation and a possible solution for your laptop. It's the BIOS. Most laptop computers are designed specifically for Windows. Therefore, on many models, the BIOS does not control the fan, as is normally the case, but they depend on Windows Power Management. Obviously, Ubuntu is not windows. Therefore, the kernel must manage the fans. Sadly, a majority of laptops do not need this, so the default Ubuntu setup doesn't account for the minority, and far be it for the designers to make all easy and automatic like, detection wise. So this is left up to the user to try and fail to find an answer in the vast twisted jungle of hostiles and beasts known as the Linux community of da interwebz.
Fret not, however. You just need to modify GRUB2, which is what boots Ubuntu, essentially, and input a kernel command that will tell it to manage your fan. The following should work. If it doesn't, sorry. But it really should work.

In Ubuntu (version 10.04 and up)...
Push Alt+F2.
Type (without quotes, obviously) 'gksu nautilus'. Push Enter (or Return).
Enter your password, if necessary.
In the new administrative-be-righted Nautilus File Manager window that has just opened, navigate to 'File System' in the left side panel, then navigate to the 'etc' folder, then navigate to the 'default' folder, then open the 'grub' file. Good.
In the new gedit text editor window that has just opened up, look for the line that reads: GRUB_CMDLINE_LINUX=""
Now, precisely between the two quotes, without any spaces, copy and paste this exactly: acpi_osi=\"Linux\"
The line should now look like this: GRUB_CMDLINE_LINUX="acpi_osi=\"Linux\""
Save the file and exit the gedit text editor.
Now, open the Terminal (Applications>Terminal).
Type: sudo update-grub
Press Enter (or Return) and wait...
Wait...
Has the text stopped moving? If so, you're almost done.
Exit the terminal.
Reboot.
Now the correct kernel/fan behavior has been activated and the fan will work as it should and your excessive heat Ubuntu laptop problems are solved.

[Bezmotivnik]

The opposite, in my case.

Previous versions of Ubuntu messed up my old laptop's fan so much that I never trusted it enough to do a permanent installation. The fan didn't start normally and the CPU would be on the verge of overheating shutdown. Everything else ran OK, but that's no good if you're going to melt down the box. I wanted to do dual-boot, but I was just too scared.

The finer functioning of Linux drivers is far from a given. :(

Fanboys get upset when you say it, but it's the truth. I've read of them fairly drastically shortening the lifespan of some hardware in tightly controlled tests. They appeared to work well, but they were not managing duty cycles and other subtle functions properly and this led to early failure.

I think this fan problem on some laptops is that sort of a situation.

I briefly tried 11.04 on my new laptop and I think it worked better, but after that past experience I just didn't want to risk my main computer.

I use Ubuntu on my tertiary desktop box as something of a novelty. That's cool, it seems to work just fine and if something eventually croaks, it's no big deal. [shrug]

[Blasphemist]

I found the following quote online http://www.maximumpc.com/article/news/ubuntu_1010_%E2%80%9Cmaverick_meerkat%E2%80%9D_off icially_released

The acpi command is slightly different here with the inclusion of \.
I can't verify the correct acpi command looking at the grub and acpi documentation that I have found. Who knows.

[jramshu]

When I run Ubuntu, any version, on my HP laptop with Intel Duo Core chip and Intel Mobile 4 graphics the fan runs almost wide open all the time. Temps around 140F.

I recently, today, put 10.04 LTS on my Compaq with AMD Athlon X2 and Nvidia GE Force 8200 and I keep checking to make sure the fan is even working. The temps are way cooler(105F right now, been on for hours) on the Compaq for some reason, maybe the chipsets?

By the way, these are the same model machines HP G60 and a Compaq CQ60, except the chipsets.

[Blasphemist]

When I run Ubuntu, any version, on my HP laptop with Intel Duo Core chip and Intel Mobile 4 graphics the fan runs almost wide open all the time. Temps around 140F.

I recently, today, put 10.04 LTS on my Compaq with AMD Athlon X2 and Nvidia GE Force 8200 and I keep checking to make sure the fan is even working. The temps are way cooler(105F right now, been on for hours) on the Compaq for some reason, maybe the chipsets?

By the way, these are the same model machines HP G60 and a Compaq CQ60, except the chipsets.
I have a toshiba satellite L505-S6946 that also has the Core 2 Duo (T6400) and has the same Intel Mobile 4 graphics that doesn't have that fan issue. BIOS difference is my guess.

[jramshu]

I have a toshiba satellite L505-S6946 that also has the Core 2 Duo (T6400) and has the same Intel Mobile 4 graphics that doesn't have that fan issue. BIOS difference is my guess.

May be in the bios, I think the Compaq uses different bios than the HP, I'll have to check. HP's bios are VERY limited on options.

There was a thread I read about month ago or so on making a change to grub to help. Can't remember exactly right off.

[Blasphemist]

May be in the bios, I think the Compaq uses different bios than the HP, I'll have to check. HP's bios are VERY limited on options.

There was a thread I read about month ago or so on making a change to grub to help. Can't remember exactly right off.

It may be this post that is a big video post on grub and kernel mode-settings. http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=1743535

I just did some research and a post in that thread on the proper syntax of acpi_os="Linux" vs. acpi_os=\"Linux\" this evening. I can't tell you which is correct as I've seen it both ways. Anyway, I think that is the parameter that could help.

[benc1213]

The fan might be running more but it is pumping out cool air so I am not too worried.

[Blasphemist]

I believe this clears up the parameter parsing.


Originally Posted by Blasphemist
First, this is a great thread and I use it frequently. I was looking into a thread about fan control and pointed out the person might need to use acpi_osi="Linux". Someone else corrected me saying to use acpi_osi=\"Linux\". I tried looking at the grub2 1.99 manual to verify and couldn't find a thing that told me which is correct. I did find these things here-
[url]http://www.gnu.org/software/grub/manual/grub.html#linux[/url

It's Both and you were both correct. But I'd have to explain that... It a grub parser thang.

The linux kernel set mode switch is

acpi_osi="Linux"
So you would type it that way if you where adding it to the kernel boot line (in grub menu edit mode) or trying it from the Grub Command Line Interface...

But when you try to make it permanent in /etc/default/grub, you add it to a variable, that the update-grub parser reads and builds into a kernel boot line:

GRUB_CMDLINE_LINUX_DEFAULT="quiet splash blahblahblah"
That is a vairiable that update-grub "parses"... Notice that "that" variable's expression is opened and closed with a quotation mark also.

In order to include the switch's quotation marks inside that- we have to use the / character before it to use it as an escape character of a quatation mark.... so if comes out as having to be wriiten as

GRUB_CMDLINE_LINUX_DEFAULT="quiet splash acpi_osi=/"Linux/" "
Just to come out right after the parser. That is a grub scripting/parsing limitation. You have to use the escape character for the quotaion inside the variable so that it doesn't do this

See's the first quotation mark of the variable > Sees first quotation mark of the mode set switch <> but thinks it was the closing quotation mark of the variable.

Does that explain why it's written both ways, but ends up as the first?
[/QUOTE]

[jramshu]

Yes that's it. I need to give it a try, my HP is running pretty warm right now!

[nrundy]

let us know if it has a positive effect.

[dash10]

On my Vaio it seems to be quieter, actually. Suppose that's out of the norm though

[JustinR]

With Ubuntu, my fans never turn on, no matter how hot the computer gets. It sucks, I'm not sure why the fans don't seem to work - but if they do, it's on the lowest setting.

[nrundy]

With Ubuntu, my fans never turn on, no matter how hot the computer gets. It sucks, I'm not sure why the fans don't seem to work - but if they do, it's on the lowest setting.

what computer hardware, how old is it?

[JustinR]

what computer hardware, how old is it?

Dell Inspiron 1720 / 3-4 years old.

I've been suffering problems, Ubuntu only, such as CPU frequency scaling has stopped working/fans.

I just tried the Linux ACPI line and that messed a bunch of stuff up.

[nrundy]

is it a dual boot with Windows? ubuntu only = windows working fine?

[JustinR]

is it a dual boot with Windows? ubuntu only = windows working fine?

Initially it wasn't a dual boot with Windows, it was just Ubuntu. I installed a Windows HDD into my second drive bay though and Grub updated and put it in the list - now the grub.cfg file is a little different, and stopped booting correctly.

[nrundy]

I would try reinstalling ubuntu. Just back up Home first. It's pretty easy reinstalling ubuntu. especially since you can just feed a list of software to install to Synaptic and hit apply.

[JustinR]

I would try reinstalling ubuntu. Just back up Home first. It's pretty easy reinstalling ubuntu. especially since you can just feed a list of software to install to Synaptic and hit apply.

I'm avoiding that - it takes around 7 hours to get everything up and running again, I'm using a special encrypted/lvm install.

[tgalati4]

On my thinkpad t43p, windows xp ran about 20% longer and generally ran cooler than Jaunty. But I recompiled the Jaunty kernel, slimmed it down a bit and activated P-states voltage control so now I undervolt and temperatures are down 5C and time is up 20% (but I haven't finished tweaking yet).

So yes, Ubuntu (Jaunty) does run hotter and shorter (on battery) than Windows XP on a thinkpad t43p. But with tweaking, Jaunty can be made to run on par with windows and perhaps exceed it a bit.

[JustinR]

I'm avoiding that - it takes around 7 hours to get everything up and running again, I'm using a special encrypted/lvm install.

Edit: These problems are not just a one time Ubuntu install problem - they've stretched far back, to Ubuntu 10.04. It's a problem with the Linux Kernel and my computer, not Ubuntu.

[tomsa]

I found the following quote online http://www.maximumpc.com/article/news/ubuntu_1010_%E2%80%9Cmaverick_meerkat%E2%80%9D_off icially_released

The acpi command is slightly different here with the inclusion of \.
I just applied the version you posted from Maximum PC to my Toshiba Satelite L305D, and so far my fan has returned to it's normal quiet state! Using the proprietary video drivers did some good, but not much. that wasn't a good solution because honestly, my video card seems to work better with the open-source drivers. I was willing to trade off video quality for quiet though, as I couldn't use my laptop for recording audio at all with a fan that loud. That was my giant "I'm going back to 10.10" thing. Now that I won't have stupid noise and video card issues, I can hopefully give Unity a fair shake. Thanks for posting the solution!

[Philsoki]

Yes. On an IBM ThinkPad T43 I had Linux Mint LXDE installed for a while and it ran very loud, and very hot. I thought it was just that the laptop was old and starting to breakdown, but I recently installed Windows XP on it again after it having had only Linux for about a year and a half and now it runs like a charm; Quiet and relatively cool. I have a feeling Linux was doing some damage to the HDD in the laptop as well, though I have no way of checking.

I think I'll make a recording one day to show the difference, it's just so bad.

[tgalati4]

There's no question that the windows drivers work well for Thinkpad T43's. The linux modules can be made to work with some tweaking.

For fan control, I am running:


tgalati4@tpad-Gloria7 ~ $ apt-cache search ibm fan
. . .
sensors-applet - Display readings from hardware sensors in your Gnome panel
tpfand - Controls fan speed of ThinkPad notebooks

You can fine-tune tpfand such that it is quiet for casual use and turbine-mode when crunching. I have mine set such that the CPU stays around 49C. When compiling a kernel for 2 hours it will stay at around 75C--I use an external house fan to blow on it.

For extra buttons and IBM stuff:

In /etc/modules:

# suggested by gnome power manager to get LCD dimming sliders
# May not be needed as the LCD brightness slider already shows up.
# ibm_apci experimental=1

thinkpad_acpi controls the LED's and helps with standby/resume.

Recompiling the kernel with P-States Voltage Control allows you to undervolt which reduces heat and fan usage.

[screaminj3sus]

Comes down to the video drivers really. Some linux video drivers, such as the open source ati drivers have very primitive power management and will run very hot. my old laptop that had an hd2600 ran unbearably hot unless I used catalyst.

My new laptop has intel on-processor graphics and always stays totally silent in linux and windows :)

[tgalati4]

True, although there are a lot of switches available for ati drivers. You just have to know which ones to use. For instance, I use

Section "Device"
Identifier "Configured Video Device"
Driver "ati"
Option "DynamicClocks" "on"

And it will throttle the ati clock which saves some power and reduces heat of the GPU. Not quite as good as WindowsXP, but close.

[cymbaline42]

On my thinkpad t43p, windows xp ran about 20% longer and generally ran cooler than Jaunty. But I recompiled the Jaunty kernel, slimmed it down a bit and activated P-states voltage control so now I undervolt and temperatures are down 5C and time is up 20% (but I haven't finished tweaking yet).

So yes, Ubuntu (Jaunty) does run hotter and shorter (on battery) than Windows XP on a thinkpad t43p. But with tweaking, Jaunty can be made to run on par with windows and perhaps exceed it a bit.
I have a Thinkpad too. I dual boot with XP and 10.10; I've found that Ubuntu runs a bit hotter. How do you recompile the kernel and do the voltage control thing? Is it safe to do so?

[tgalati4]

Yes, it's generally safe to do. If your machine locks up, then you know you have gone too low. It's a lot of work, and not for the faint of heart, but it works. You can start by reading the following:

https://help.ubuntu.com/community/Kernel/Compile

https://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/PHC

http://linux.aldeby.org/linux-phc-cpu-undervolting.html

Proper build environments depend on what version of Ubuntu you are running. Once you have that set up, it takes about 2 hours to compile the kernel on my T43p. It ran at 75C throughout, so make provisions for cooling, such as rulers to raise it off of the table and an external fan to blow on it.

[Blasphemist]

Yes, it's generally safe to do. If your machine locks up, then you know you have gone too low. It's a lot of work, and not for the faint of heart, but it works. You can start by reading the following:

https://help.ubuntu.com/community/Kernel/Compile

https://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/PHC

http://linux.aldeby.org/linux-phc-cpu-undervolting.html

Proper build environments depend on what version of Ubuntu you are running. Once you have that set up, it takes about 2 hours to compile the kernel on my T43p. It ran at 75C throughout, so make provisions for cooling, such as rulers to raise it off of the table and an external fan to blow on it.

Are you still on 9.04 as shown in your signature and if so is this why? It would sure seem this is an absolutely last resort solution.

[tgalati4]

I'm lazy. And Jaunty works.

[Quadunit404]

I'm lazy. And Jaunty works.

But Jaunty died in April :|

And taking back on my previous statement, I'm actually finding it that my laptop's fans run more on Windows since a lot of the time I'm using Windows I'm either gaming, recording a video or rendering a video. Right now it's relatively quiet since I'm waiting for a video to upload to YouTube and therefore am not playing games or rendering a video, but when I do my graphics card shoots up from 102 degrees or below to 140+ degrees. On Ubuntu it only really does that when something like ubuntuone-syncdaemon or unity-place-filesearch-daemon or whatever it's called is working its magic, or when I'm playing World of Goo or Minecraft.

[Gh0zt36]

I found this thread cause i dogpiled fan always on ubuntu 10.10 . my toshiba fan is intermittently always on. what i mean is sometimes the fan operates normally turns on when hot shuts off after it cools down then on days like today its on the whole time..... this is on a toshiba L305 satellite 2.16 dual core t3400 with 4gb ram

[Blasphemist]

I believe this clears up the parameter parsing.



It's Both and you were both correct. But I'd have to explain that... It a grub parser thang.

The linux kernel set mode switch is

acpi_osi="Linux"
So you would type it that way if you where adding it to the kernel boot line (in grub menu edit mode) or trying it from the Grub Command Line Interface...

But when you try to make it permanent in /etc/default/grub, you add it to a variable, that the update-grub parser reads and builds into a kernel boot line:

GRUB_CMDLINE_LINUX_DEFAULT="quiet splash blahblahblah"
That is a vairiable that update-grub "parses"... Notice that "that" variable's expression is opened and closed with a quotation mark also.

In order to include the switch's quotation marks inside that- we have to use the / character before it to use it as an escape character of a quatation mark.... so if comes out as having to be wriiten as

GRUB_CMDLINE_LINUX_DEFAULT="quiet splash acpi_osi=/"Linux/" "
Just to come out right after the parser. That is a grub scripting/parsing limitation. You have to use the escape character for the quotaion inside the variable so that it doesn't do this

See's the first quotation mark of the variable > Sees first quotation mark of the mode set switch <> but thinks it was the closing quotation mark of the variable.

Does that explain why it's written both ways, but ends up as the first?
[/QUOTE]

I used the wrong character for the escape character above. The backslash, not the forwardslash, is the escape character. So this is the corrected line from above.

GRUB_CMDLINE_LINUX_DEFAULT="quiet splash acpi_osi=\"Linux\" "

[spier]

I have a Thinkpad too. I dual boot with XP and 10.10; I've found that Ubuntu runs a bit hotter. How do you recompile the kernel and o the voltage control thing? Is it safe to do so?

You should have a try with Liquorix kernel (http://liquorix.net/), which in my case (a > 5 years old vaio/intel centrino laptop running maverick) reduced the CPU temperature around 10 degrees celsius, and speed gains!
Could even enable compiz!