Archive for the ‘Hardware’ Category.

Fan control on Macbook

September 5, 2010, 4:35 pm

One thing that is not working very well on Macbooks is the fan control. On top of the machine running warmer than under OS-X, the fans don’t kick in until it’s very hot.

To remedy this, you can write a program to do this. I got a source code of existing package called cmp-daemon (http://aur.archlinux.org/packages.php?ID=21391) and tailored it to my machine (The fan RPM is a linear function of CPU temperature, but you might want to change it to step function, for example).

The set-up is pretty simple. There is the source code cmp-daemon.c, and a bash script to start|stop|restart the daemon: cmp-daemon.sh (see attachments). Just follow these steps:

  1. Edit cmp-daemon.c to your liking
  2. Compile: 
    $ gcc -Wall cmp-daemon.c -o cmp-daemon
  3. Copy the compiled program: 
    # cp cmp-daemon /usr/sbin/
  4. Copy the daemon script (make sure it is executable): 
    # cp cmp-daemon.sh /etc/rc.d/cmp-daemon
  5. Start daemon: 
    # /etc/rc.d/cmp-daemon start

    or edit /etc/rc.conf:

    DAEMONS=(.. cmp-daemon ..)

Attachments:
cmp-daemon.c (Download):
cmp-daemon.sh (Download):

Category: Hardware, macbook  |  4 Comments

CPU&Heatsink in Laptops

August 20, 2010, 2:07 pm

The laptop (ze5600) has been running hot and stays hot even with the fan full blast. I figured it was the dust, so I wanted to clean it out  in the fan system  (it had never been cleaned). I found the service manual for the laptop, and decided to follow it to do it myself.

Of course being the first time opening a laptop, I was trying to be as careful as possible, but not everything goes smoothly the first time. It turns out that the original thermo paste completely glued the CPU and the thermal sink together. I had no idea what to do, so I took it to the local shop and the guy just plied it open with a small screw driver.

So after I got home, I just scraped off the old paste, cleaned it using isopropyl alcohol, and reapplied the new thermo paste (Arctic Cooling MX-2), and put it all back together.

The laptop works great, the fan goes off when the temperature rises, it actually cools the CPU, then turns off when it’s cool enough. Mission accomplished in my books

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Category: Hardware, ze5600  |  Comment