<page xmlns="http://projectmallard.org/1.0/"
      type="topic" style="problem"
      id="power-constantfan">

  <info>
    <link type="guide" xref="power#problems"/>
    <revision pkgversion="3.4.0" date="2012-02-19" status="review"/>
    <revision version="13.10" date="2013-09-19" status="review"/>

    <desc>Some fan-control software could be missing, or your laptop may be running hot.</desc>

    <credit type="author">
      <name>GNOME Documentation Project</name>
      <email>gnome-doc-list@gnome.org</email>
    </credit>

    <include href="legal.xml" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2001/XInclude"/>
  </info>

<title>The laptop fan is always running</title>

<p>If your laptop's cooling fan is always running, it could be that the
hardware that controls the laptop's cooling system isn't very well
supported in Linux. Some laptops need extra software to control their cooling
fans efficiently, but this software may not be installed (or available for
Linux at all) and so the fans just run at full speed all of the time.</p>

<p>If this is the case, you may be able to change some settings or install
extra software that allows full control of the fan. For example, <link
href="http://vaio-utils.org/fan/">vaiofand</link> can be installed to control
the fans of some Sony VAIO laptops. Installing this software is quite a
technical process which is highly dependent on the make and model of your
laptop, so you may wish to seek specific advice on how to do it for your
computer.</p>

<p>It is also possible that your laptop just produces a lot of heat. This does
not necessarily mean that it is overheating; it might just need the fan to run
at full speed all of the time to allow it to stay cool enough. If this is the
case, you have little option but to let the fan run at full speed all of the
time. You can sometimes buy additional cooling accessories for your laptop
which may help.</p>

</page>