What is Proper Fan Operation in a T30?

[kc27]

I replaced motherboards on my T30 recently. More accurately, I moved my LCD screen from my dead 1.8ghz laptop (the motherboard wouldn't even beep when all the ram and cards were removed) to stripped 2.0ghz laptop that did not have a screen, moving my bezel, HD, optical drive, to the 2.0ghz unit.

I've noticed a difference in cooling fan behavior between the 1.8ghz motherboard and 2.0 motherboard. With the 1.8ghz motherboard, the fan rarely, if ever ran at high speed - or if it did, I could not hear it. With the 2.0ghz motherboard, the fan will cycle, running slowly (or not running at all) for 5 minutes, then run at high speed for 5 minutes.

What is the proper cooling fan behavior for a t30?

[tfflivemb2]

The fan is going to run more with the 2.0GHz CPU, because the processor runs hotter. The cooling on every T30 that I have used, with the exception of one with a 2.4, ran nice and cool. The 2.4 had the fan running quite a bit.

[RealBlackStuff]

Fans are different between a 1.8 CPU and 2.0 CPU models.
The 1.8 fan is not really meant for 2.0 CPU and higher, although it will work.

[kc27]

Sorry, I wasn't clear. I didn't swap fans.

The 2.0ghz processor motherboard included the fan, so the processor is paired the fan that it came with. It is just that the fan runs at high speed mich more frequently than the 1.8ghz t30 did. If the 1.8ghz fan ever ran on high at all.

[jronald]

RBS
What are the ideal part numbers by CPU?

Thanks
Ron

[kc27]

I did some additional checking, and on my t30, the fan is either on at full speed (4456 rpm), or off. Is that consistent with other t30 users' experiences?

I would think proper operation would be for the fan to operate at a lower speed constantly to maintain a safe temperature. Or is having the fan completely powered down vs running all the time at a low speed related to the need to conserve power on a laptop?

FYI, for anyone else interested in t30 fan operation, I did find a thread on these forums, "Fan always on after BIOS and embedded controller update", which seems to be the same issue. http://forum.thinkpads.com/viewtopic.ph ... 91&start=0

The original poster in that thread ended up using a program called TPFancontrol to manage her T30's fan.

[FragrantHead]

If you ask me, the difference is probably due to a later BIOS version that came with your new motherboard. I have a T30, 2GHz that I still use daily. My BIOS is quite old, I think it's 2.03 with the embedded controller version that goes with that, 1.03, I think. If you need exact information I'd have to double-check.

My fan is presently running at 3,700RPM. I don't look at the fan speed very often, but I'm pretty sure it will either run at that speed or it will be off. The only exception that I recall has been playing one particular game, Tomb Raider Legend. It would push the CPU into the mid 70s Celsius, at which point the fan ramps up higher. On the other hand, if the machine is idle, it will turn itself off some of the time.

I think the BIOS monitors at least 2 sensors that are shown by the Fan Control program, the CPU sensor and the PCM (main board?) sensor. The following may not be 100% accurate, but I think the fan will come on when the PCM sensor hits about 50C, but the CPU can run up to 70C (if PCM stays below 50C), before the fan even turns on. The fan then stays on until it has brought temperatures back down to mid or low 40s both.

I upgraded the BIOS at one point. I thought it would be necessary to support a 1GB RAM chip, but it was not. Even my old BIOS supports that. I did notice that the newer BIOS would run the fan higher, in excess of 4,000RPM and more frequently. The fan was annoyingly louder, so I downgraded the BIOS again and have been happy ever since.

The Fan Control program was not much help with the later BIOS. The fan-speed steps that you can select in that program are controlled by the BIOS and the later BIOS simply did not have a step to set the fan to 3,700RPM. They were all above 4,000. You should be able to turn the fan on and off with that program, of course.

So there you have it. By the way, I've used this machine almost daily for 7+ years and I frequently run an old DOS program that pegs the CPU at 100% and about 68C (with the fan running) for long periods of time. Whatever problems the higher fan speed in the later BIOS revisions is trying to address, it does not appear to be the 2GHz CPU or graphics chip cooling. If I was to hazard a guess, I think it may be memory slot issue. In case you don't know, the T30 suffers from a design flaw, causing the solder joints of the memory slots to break, particularly the forward-facing one. This has affected my machine alright, after about 3 1/2 years. I am using a single 1GB module in the rear-facing slot; all I need and no sign of failure yet.

[kc27]

Thanks for the detailed explanation FragrantHead

Everything you noted about your t30 matches up with how my t30 behaves with the ver 2.10 BIOS. I uninstalled Thinkpad Fan Controller (TPFC) for the reason you mentioned: the BIOS won't let TPFC run the fan at anything lower than 4400 rpm, meaning TPFC couldn't offer the solution I was looking for of slowing the fan down to cut the noise.

I took a look at the BIOS revision history at http://www-307.ibm.com/pc/support/site. ... 45884.html Version 2.06 mentions "enhance thermal control".

I am aware of the memory slot issue, because I had them repaired on my last t30. The repair held up great until I accidentally destroyed the motherboard last month. Both slots work on the replacement motherboard, and I will keep my fingers crossed that they stay that way.

As for the fan noise, I'm going to live with it for now. But, if at some point, the fan noise is too annoying, I might want to go to the "quieter" BIOS version. How do you back the BIOS down to an earlier version? My Embedded Controller is at the latest version (ver 1.07). Did you also have to back that down as well, and if so, how?

Thanks again for filling in the blanks on t30 cooling behavior.

[FragrantHead]

Well, the old BIOSes are at the bottom of this page:

http://www-307.ibm.com/pc/support/site. ... MIGR-42694

The old embedded controller versions are here:

http://www-307.ibm.com/pc/support/site. ... MIGR-42711

Yes I downgraded both. Now, what order I did them in, I can't remember. Consult the readmes and proceed at your own risk, while at least knowing that it can be done.

Judging by the installation packages I still have on my hard drive, I must have tried a few versions or combinations thereof. I have BIOS 2.03b, 2.09 and 2.10, as well as embedded controller versions 1.03, 1.04, 1.06 and 1.07 still lying about. In the end I went back to my original versions, 2.03b + 1.03. Whether that's safe if your machine came with a later BIOS / newer motherboard in the first place, I unfortunately don't know.

[sncdrvr]

I support 14 T-30's on 3 different networks for immediate and extended family, all were assembled from parts machines and cheap used parts off EBay, heres what worked for me. Use the appropiate cpu for the system board, use the appropiate fan for the cpu, clean and lubricate the fan properly(light oil/graphite powder mix, "search" for instructions, these fans are now very old and MUST be lubed for proper operation, it Will make a diference!). The heatsink compound MUST be replaced replaced every time the fan assembly is removed, the white "old school" compound is adequate, while Artic Silver is better. Update to the latest Bios and Embedded Controller, a plus is Bios 2.10 supports IBM branded wireless G cards(no 1802 hack required). Ensure Bios settings are set for Max Performance(enter Bios at startup and find the setting). Ensure Operating System and IBM Utility program settings are also set for Max Performance(on XP I think setting was in Video, then there was a IBM power configuration utility, now running 7 Utimate and no IBM utility programs on all machines). The machines run from 1.6 to 2.4's, and yes, a System 1 board fan cycles differently than a System 2, and a 2.0 cycles differently than a 2.4, but all operate correctly if above is followed. A sign of a overheating cpu is a fast runnining fan that doesnt cycle, a sign of a dirty unlubed fan is erratic cycling(most probaly soon to be followed with a Fan Error message). Also note that the 2.4's used a white silicone rubber like sheet between cpu/heatsink, use Goop Off to remove, then Artic Silver, works fine.

[jronald]

RBS
What are the ideal part numbers by CPU?

Thanks
Ron

What I said, can someone make heads or tales out of the fans, and list part numbers?

Ron

[RealBlackStuff]

Why flail a dead horse?
It's all in the HMM.

[jronald]

I was trying not to look it up.

Ron

[AEN007]

Here is some T30 fan info»
http://forum.thinkpads.com/viewtopic.php?f=28&t=83025