CrunchBang Linux

root2

Member

Registered: 2012-11-09

Posts: 31

[SOLVED] CPU overheating with #! on a fanless Mini-ITX system

Hi there.

I got #! 10 running on an older Mini-ITX system (fanless system with only heatsinks, CPU is running @ 1.2GHz, system RAM is 1GB, powered by a picoPSU) using a USB thumbdrive.

The installation on the USB drive was fine and without problems (persistant install using the graphical installer and the USB thumbdrive as HDD, no live system). Running the system without any apps opened seems to work (CPU is idling @ 1-10% with some peaks @ 20%). Even when starting an instance of terminator all seems to be fine. But when for example starting the package manager in addition to the terminator instance it takes around 3-5 minutes and the system overheats with the CPU going to 100% several times before the CPU protection is stopping the system automatically to prevent it from damage.

I tried the same test using the CPU's automatic throttling activated with a similar result. But instead of just halting the system the OS logged out the user and/or the system suddenly rebooted.

When starting #! for the first time off the USB drive there was an error message like "hald could not be started". Sadly I did not look into the logfiles for that issue. Doing a "sudo hald" while the system is running gives me no error messages, though. Subsequent starts of the system didn't produce any error messages and also when booting it seems I don't get any error messages when hald starts.

Before installing the distro on the USB stick I did some testing using the live version booting off the CD. When running this way all seems to be fine and I didn't even get the above stated "hald cold not be started" error message.

There are several things I want to try out but I didn't have the time to do so like using another PSU for powering the picoPSU, removing unneeded peripherals (there was an USB DVD drive attached when I did the tests) or attaching a fan to cool down the CPU.

If any of you might have a clue what else could be wrong on the software/hardware side, I'd be glad if one can point me in the right direction.

Thank you and best regards!

Last edited by root2 (2012-11-14 12:47:45)

jotapesse

#! Junkie

From: Algarve, Portugal

Registered: 2009-02-07

Posts: 377

Re: [SOLVED] CPU overheating with #! on a fanless Mini-ITX system

You don't mention your mini-itx hardware specifications (make and model/type), like cpu, memory, motherboard, system, graphic and audio chipsets, etc. You may try to find if there are know support issues in linux/debian for your specific hardware.

Last edited by jotapesse (2012-11-09 12:44:00)

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On an ASRock VisionX 321B, Asus EeeBoxPC 1501P and EeePC 1000H with Debian Sid/Experimental Xfce 4.10 Linux
Outdated How to: Install Xfce 4.10 with upgraded Apps and Plugins

root2

Member

Registered: 2012-11-09

Posts: 31

Re: [SOLVED] CPU overheating with #! on a fanless Mini-ITX system

You don't mention your mini-itx hardware specifications (make and model/type), like cpu, memory, motherboard, system, graphic and audio chipsets, etc.

Hi there and thank you for your reply.

A short excerpt of the spec:
- VIA CN700/VT8237R Plus chipset
- Integrated CPU: VIA Eden 1.20GHz, 100MHz FSB, 128kB Cache, 7W TDP
- Integrated GPU: VIA Unichrome Pro Processor (Share Memory up to 64MB)
- RAM slots: 1x DDR2 utilized with 1GB of RAM (I'm sorry I don't remember the brand any more)
- External connectors: 1x VGA, 4x USB 2.0, 2x Gb LAN (RTL8110), 5.1 Audio (ALC655), 1x PS/2 mouse, 1x PS/2 keyboard, 1x serial
- Form factor: Mini-ITX, passive cooled

The complete spec can be found here: http://www.jetway.com.tw/jw/ipcboard_vi … =J7F4K1G2E

You may try to find if there are know support issues in linux/debian for your specific hardware.

I already did some research on the board and it seems to run fine for some people (using different Linux distros), for others it seems to have problems regarding the NICs (which I dont have, the NICs are running fine), the memory (memtest tells me no problems even after several runs).

The only thing that might be interesting is one post I found regarding the passive cooling and ACPI. It was stated that the passive cooling was not sufficient and ACPI should be turned off in the BIOS. That's what I'm testing at the moment. If there are any news I will post them.

Best regards.

dura

Bloated Gimp

From: interzone

Registered: 2012-09-15

Posts: 2,107

Re: [SOLVED] CPU overheating with #! on a fanless Mini-ITX system

edit. Sorry. Wrong suggestion Trying to be helpful

Last edited by dura (2012-11-09 18:20:49)

paxmark1

#! CrunchBanger

From: Winnipeg, MB Canada

Registered: 2009-07-08

Posts: 223

Re: [SOLVED] CPU overheating with #! on a fanless Mini-ITX system

I ran (K)Ubuntu on a very similar board (Ubuddy) back in 2007 - lots of endian problems, but got it up.  It fired itself out (voltage regulator problems) and after 14 weeks in RMA got a new intel board in Ubuddy original box and put in a 2.4 Ghz Celeron.         

top or htop might be your friend here.

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Jean Vanier wrote "Being Human" and "A Short History of Progress" by Ronald Wright.  Gotta love the Massey Lectures.

root2

Member

Registered: 2012-11-09

Posts: 31

Re: [SOLVED] CPU overheating with #! on a fanless Mini-ITX system

...
top or htop might be your friend here.

Thank you for your answer.

I already did a top before and it seems as if Synaptic out of the box does an automatic Quicksearch update parallel to the users' actions that takes quite a lot of time and takes the CPU to almost 100% load. This way I could stable force the heat problems of the CPU to occur. To strengthen the thesis, when using the terminal to do an update of the installed packages no heat problem occurs.

As a workaround I mounted a spare 120mm fan onto the heatsinks and everything seems to be running smooth and cool (but a bit loud), even when the CPU is loaded 100% for several minutes. When idle or in normal use the system is stable over a whole day.

I will continue tinkering around with other (smaller) fans and maybe try out the Liquorix kernel and/or fancontrol or cpufrequtils to get a more silent and energy efficient solution, though. Maybe a hardware solution (running a fan with 7V or 5V) might be an option, too.

If anyone knows other things that might come in handy, please feel free to share them.

Best regards.

Last edited by root2 (2012-11-12 10:40:46)

tmillic

#! CrunchBanger

From: Fayetteville - Tucson

Registered: 2011-04-25

Posts: 217

Re: [SOLVED] CPU overheating with #! on a fanless Mini-ITX system

I was disappointed to find that my mini-itx Via board wouldn't run fanless in a case. The heat, little as it is, does eventually build up. Since this is an ugly box server in the closet, I used a hole saw to drill a hole in the case over where the cpu is. I put an 80mm fan on the outside of the case blowing in over the CPU with a resistor soldered inline for the fan's power lead to reduce the fan's speed. I also replaced the heat sink that came with the board with a slightly altered socket 939 heatsink. It doesn't take much at all to keep it cool enough, but no cooling at all will make it reboot. It's been working, and even running folding at home for years with that one fan and its resistor. Also, I switched to laptop hard drives, which use less power and put out less heat. If you intend to run it headless, have it boot in to the command line. Adding a GUI like X really taxes these low power CPUs. This one too has the Pico PSU with the external brick adapter. Other mini-itx power supplies sit completely inside the case and put out more heat in there. Some may actually have a fan if they're made to fit mini-itx cases.

Edit. The heat sink on the page you linked is far more substantial than what mine came with. It should be fine with a little bit of airflow over it.

Last edited by tmillic (2012-11-13 03:46:21)