Toshiba Tecra A4: fan noise

Hi,
I have recently purchased a Toshiba Tecra A4 and am quite annoyed with the noise of the fan.
I tried many things to cool down the notebook, including:
- downvolt the processor (at 0,732V)
- downclock the processor (always at 640Mhz)
- downclock the ATI graphic card
With all these modifications, the CPU is still operating above 50°C (even with no CPU activity), and the fan operates too often for me.
Besides, the CPU case is quite hot (above 68°C, don't know where it comes from).

Does anyone have other ideas to cool down the system?
I have tried to control the fan (in order to run at a very low speed), but unfortunately no soft I found is working with this laptop.

Any ideas ?

 

It's possible there's a contact problem between the CPU and the heatsink. If it's not making perfect contact, it will heatup more and therefore require more cooling. What speed/brand of processor is this? A CPU running at 50°C while it's idle is a problem. My PM 1.73Ghz processor runs at approx 40°C while it's sitting idle. You may want to get the unit checked to make sure the heatsink and CPU is making wull contact. While you're in the process, you might as well get the fan replaced too (I think they're 1 piece) as the fan may also be bad.

-Vb-

 

Hi,
Thks for the answer. My CPU is a P740 (1,73Ghz). I have collegues with the same laptop (purchased at same time), they have exactly the same behaviour than mine.
Note: if I configure the cooling method in Toshiba Power Management to Max performance, the temperature is between 45 and 50°C (fan starts at 50° and stops at 45°C, but it's always above 40°C. If i set it to Optimized autonomy, the fan starts at 55°C and stops at 50°C.
What CPU do you have on your side? I have noticed that all P7x5 (P735, P745 ...) don't have the same problem (which is normal when looking at the specs:
http://www.cpuheat.wz.cz/html/PentiumM.txt
as they need less power to operate :-(
)
While surfing on the web, I have seen that some HP laptops with the same P740 processor have exactly the same problem - was solved by HP thru a new BIOS that operates the fan continously in AC but at a very low speed (they claim the fan is making less noise than the hard disk). However I don't know how to contact Toshiba about this ... are they active in this forum ?

 

How about sending them an email from their website? I am sure they have a tech support phone number and maybe chat as well.

 

I have an HP nx8220 with the exact same CPU as yours (Intel PM 740 1.73GHz, 2MB L2 & 533MHz FSB). I did not notice any issue with my fan from the day I bought it till now. It does seem to always be on when on battery, but I don't really notice the noise. The HDD and fan are probably one of the quietest I've heard/had in a notebook.

From the looks of your settings, it's all relating to Toshiba's Power Management software. My fan will kick in at a bit over 40°C and turn off when it hits 40°C. I don't use any special power management software in my system. I reloaded the OS using the included XP Pro CD and did a manual install and was very selective on the software/drivers that were installed on this system. My system idles at approx 40°C, when active it's runs no more than 45°C (I believe). When playing games or running the performance benchmark tests for a couple hours, I think it hits over 50°C, but that's when everything is pushed to its limits.

You can just contact Toshiba's Tech support line or send them an email as Zazonz indicated.

-Vb-

 

Sure, your laptop is quite similar to mine, except that it's a HP, and I know by looking at a HP forum that they solve this problem by always running the fan, but at a very low speed. Details here:
http://forums1.itrc.hp.com/service/forums/bizsupport/questionanswer.do?threadId=853249
I would like Toshiba to do the same, however I don't know how to contact them.
They have a tech support phone line which is really not suited for this (I know guys that have sent their laptop to Toshiba for analysis due to this problem, Toshiba returned it after one month saying that everything was ok for this kind of cpu).
I can't find any email address or forum for getting in touch with someone in Toshiba really interested in solving this.

 

You need to contact Toshiba's support line before they will transfer you up to the next level. You have to start somewhere and it's usually at level 1. Even with HP, they don't just come out with a BIOS fix if no one reports this problem to Level 1. Give them a call and get the ball rolling.

-Vb-

 

I have called their tech support, they say that it's a normal behaviour for this computer, and that there is no reason to do any BIOS modification for this - as this a normal behaviour. Still blocked at level 1 :-(

 

Either not enough people complaining about this issue or that's just the way the notebook was designed. Manufacturers will normally not make any changes to their systems unless a lot of people complain about an issue or if it's something that is not operating at designed specs. From what they're saying, it's normal for it to operate at this level.

As you indicated, modifying the Power Management software reduces the temp of the unit. This is just the way that Toshiba has setup their thermal limits. As I indicated previously, my fan kicks in at anything above 40°C. This has always been the case, even before any BIOS upgrades were available. The fan on my HP is just quiet.

It's possible there's a problem with the fan on the system if it's making a lot of noise. Try sending it in for replacement and see if that helps. Other than that, I'm sorry to say that I don't think there's any other solution for the BIOS update other than hounding Toshiba about it. If you can get enough people complaining about it, maybe they'll come out with an update.

-Vb-