I wrote:
AFAIK the mechanisms that throttle or power down processors when they get too hot are *not* dependent on ACPI.
Jim Cornette wrote:
Looking around in the /proc/acpi/processor/CPU0 directory, I have this information regarding the CPU. I have one of those laptops that need acpi in order to even complete a booting of the system.
My condolences.
My processor runs cooler with acpi enabled in linux.
Yes. Sorry. I over-simplified.
AFAIK:
* some computers have the ability to dynamically reduce CPU speed and voltage based on current system load *to improve battery life*. This does use ACPI, and is configurable. It will normally have the effect of reducing the heat output, for obvious reasons.
* more computers have the ability to dynamically throttle back CPU speed based on how hot the CPU is, to prevent damage to the CPU. This is separate to the ACPI-based scaling, and is done in hardware.
In theory, this is only supposed to be for use in emergency (if, for example, the fan fails).
James.
Thanks James for the explanation. It is nice that the computers have some protection with no help from the OS.
Some have reported older pre-FC3 kernels would allow the computers to shut down properly. I haven't pulled in a pre-FC3 kernel yet to test the theory.
Jim
-- It would save me a lot of time if you just gave up and went mad now.
