Sunday 7 December 2008

Dell Studio 1535 Fan Speed problem and bios update

I've been away with work for a week and I left my laptop at home (used a work one instead :-( ). When I came back and turned my laptop, I discovered a problem. For some reason the fan speed was set to be full speed all the time. This seemed to happen strait from boot, no matter what I did to change it.

My first though was that the temperature was a problem, so I checked this and the laptop is running quite cool. The cores were running between 22 and 24 degrees C.

So after fiddling around for a while I though I'd update the bios to the latest version. To my surprise, this fixed it! I'd love to know what might have caused the problems, if anyone has any ideas. As of yet , I've not tracked down a change log for the BIOS update.

Updating the BIOS from Linux had it's own problems, so I though I'd detail what I did to fix it. First off make sure you have the dell Linux firmware tools and libsmbios installed.

These can be found in the OpenSUSE repos. http://linux.dell.com/repo/community/content/suse11.0-x86_64/

Next you need to download the bios update from the dell support website. This comes as a .exe file, so you will need to extract the .HDR file from the .exe. To do this I used the following command:

wine 1535_A05.EXE -writehdrfile -nopause

This uses wine to extract it to the current directory.

Next you need to update the bios, do so at your own risk. This worked for me, but you do so at your own risk. Use the following command:

modprobe dell_rbu
dellBiosUpdate -u --hdr 1535_A05.hdr



Now reboot your system. When it reboots, it will install the new bios. Then it reboots itself again.
You should be able to see the new version number of the bios on the boot screen.

It's worth noting that the most useful information on updating the dell BIOS from Linux, I found here


Now back to having a nice quite laptop!

6 comments:

Eric said...

Hi JP. Does this fix continue to work? I have the same computer with the same hyper active fan problem. It is like an airconditioner running as soon as the power is on. I noticed when I wiggled the lid or tilted the case around I could sometimes get it to stop for a few seconds, but it always return. Mine already had the latest bios (A05) so I down graded to A03 (there was no A04), but that did not help, so I re upped to A05, problem is still there. I am convinced it is a hardware problem since I cannot imagine the bios can tell if I am wiggling the screen. I guess I would not be surprised if you problem returned... Eric.

Unknown said...

Hi Eric,

With the latest bios, mine seems to be ok still. So either upgrading the bios also fixed something else, but it does sound like your might be a hardware fault. Is it over heating? What temp are the cores running at?

Cheers.

Unknown said...

Im so pissed, this happened to me and the fan turns off when I tilt the computer, then it turns off. For a while. I hate my laptop, and it was so expensive. I knew I should of gotten a $500 from Best Buy!!!

carlosc1dbz

Unknown said...

Hey guys, I have been having the random intermittent high blast fan problem too. For a while, I just delt with it, but it has gotten worse and I seriously want to throw it. I took out the fan assembly to see anything obviously wrong. I blew it out with compressed air, and a large ball of dust came from the metal cooling fins. Put everything back together just a few minutes ago, but the problem still exists.

Here is what I found, that turns ON the fan:

Pull the top of the screen toward yourself.

Holding your thumb above where your charger plugs in (for leverage), lift up the the screen at the pivot (the power button side) using your index and middle finger.

Here is what I found, that turns OFF the fan:

Push the top of the screen away from yourself.

Pushing down on the pivot point (power side) of the screen.

A gentle push on the black trim immediately above the Num Lk and Prnt Scrn buttons.

Conclusion thus far:

The screen tilting is far too general of a test because it warps your whole computer - causing everything to shift. I believe its under the blsck trim cover, because this requires the least amount of force and it doesn't move much else. The strange thing is, that the fan is located on the other side of the computer. I will most likely take my computer apart (in the next week) enough to see whats under that trim. I'll keep you guys updated and please respond if you have any suggestions!

Also, possibly related problems:

Volume buttons stick sometimes - not the light, but the action.

CD eject button randomly triggering?

I can hear a sharp click in the Num Lk/Prnt Scrn area immediately before my computer completely shuts down (after screen goes black and things are still running for a few more seconds).

I hope, that this can at least get the fan to stop for those of you who cannot mentally (or morally) take your computer apart yourself. For those of you who can, you can get the Service Manual from Dell's website. http://support.dell.com Thanks to Dell, these computers are very easy to take apart and mess around with. Just be sure to read the "Before you begin" section before you well... begin. You can do it! Best of luck guys...

-Eric D. (not previous Eric)

Unknown said...

Took it apart and tested with one variable at a time. The back cover, battery, and touch pannel were removed (the touch pannel's wire ribbon wasn't very secure). Plugged in charger, booted up and ran it. Fan still had the problem. Plugged in the touch pannel and snaped it back into place. Plugged in charger, booted up and ran. This time, the fan issue had gone away. Quiet computer!!

What I'm guessing:

After all the opening and closing (back and forth) of the screen, the media touchpad's wire ribbon gets loose in its reciever. When you bend the screen or push in that area or lift a corner of the computer (anything that causes that area to warp), the ribbon makes contact like its supposed to. I didn't have the courage to unplug the ribbon again, so I cannot guarantee this was the exact reason. But I do know that the problem was gone after that step. (I didnt flip or move the computer when I replaced the media-tp). I think Dell may claim these are the issues, and they probably actually replace them, but I think they fix it when they plug in the ribbon completely and securely while closing up.

Anyone else find this solution?

-Eric

Unknown said...
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