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

  <info>
    <link type="guide" xref="power#problems"/>
    
    <desc>Some fan-control software could be missing, or your laptop may be running hot.</desc>
    
    <revision pkgversion="3.0" version="0.1" date="2011-03-19" status="review"/>
    <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>Why is the laptop fan 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>

  <comment>
   <cite date="2010-06-29" href="mailto:gnome-doc-list@gnome.org">GNOME Documentation Project</cite>
   <p>Explain why the fan might always be running. It could be because the processor is always running at its full clock speed, or that the Linux drivers for the motherboard don't handle the fan very well.</p>
  </comment>
	
</page>