Fixing Linux Mint on Dell 7520 15R SE heating and graphics

So I’ve been struggling to get this laptop to be friendly with Linux for a while now, I seem to have found a fix to most problems online but not all in one place. So here’s my summary of getting this laptop to work with Linux Mint.

Some specifications first:

Using Linux Mint 14 “Nadia”
Dell 7520 15R SE
Intel Core i7-3632QM
AMD Radeon HD 7730M 2GB

Fan

So the problem most people notice running Linux on this laptop is that the fan is running noisily all the time. This is because the fan speed is not correctly managed by default. To fix this I mostly followed the instructions at:

http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=842775

The specific method I used is below, credit to motin in the post above for most of the stages.

Install with:

sudo apt-get install i8kutils

Add “i8k” on a new line in /etc/modules:

sudo emacs /etc/modules

Add “options i8k force=1” on a new line in /etc/modprobe.d/options:

sudo emacs /etc/modprobe.d/options

Run:

sudo modprobe i8k force=1

Open up a new file called /etc/i8kmon.conf:

sudo emacs /etc/i8mon.conf

And save the following to it:

# Run as daemon, override with --daemon option
set config(daemon)      0

# Automatic fan control, override with --auto option
set config(auto)        1

# Report status on stdout, override with --verbose option
set config(verbose)	1

# Status check timeout (seconds), override with --timeout option
set config(timeout)	1

# Temperature thresholds: {fan_speeds low_ac high_ac low_batt high_batt}
set config(0)   {{-1 0}  -1  55  -1  55}
set config(1)   {{-1 1}  45  70  45  70}
set config(3)   {{-1 2}  60  128  60  128}

# For computer with 2 fans, use a variant of this instead:
# Temperature thresholds: {fan_speeds low_ac high_ac low_batt high_batt}
# set config(0)	{{-1 0}  -1  52  -1  65}
# set config(1)	{{-1 1}  41  66  55  75}
# set config(2)	{{-1 1}  55  80  65  85}
# set config(3)	{{-1 2}  70 128  75 128}

To load the i8kmon daemon automatically on startup, make a new file /etc/init.d/i8kmon:

sudo emacs /etc/init.d/i8kmon

then add the following to it:

#!/bin/sh

### BEGIN INIT INFO
# Provides:          i8kmon
# Required-Start:
# Required-Stop:
# Should-Start:      $local_fs
# Should-Stop:       $local_fs
# Default-Start:     2 3 4 5
# Default-Stop:      0 1 6
# Short-Description: Dell Inspiron fan/cpu-temperature monitor
### END INIT INFO

# i8kmon    Dell Inspiron fan/cpu-temperature monitor
#
#        Written by Miquel van Smoorenburg <miquels@cistron.nl>.
#        Modified for Debian GNU/Linux
#        by Ian Murdock <imurdock@gnu.ai.mit.edu>.
#
#        Modified for i8kutils by Karl E. Jørgensen <karl@jorgensen.com>,
#        Massimo Dal Zotto <dz@debian.org> and
#       Bradley Smith <bradsmith@debian.org>

PATH=/sbin:/bin:/usr/sbin:/usr/bin

. /lib/lsb/init-functions

NAME=i8kmon
DAEMON=/usr/bin/i8kmon
PROC_I8K=/proc/i8k
DESC="Dell Inspiron fan/cpu-temperature monitor"
# DAM orig: "--daemon --nouserconfig"
I8KMON_ARGS="--auto --daemon"
PIDFILE=/var/run/$NAME.pid
ENABLED=0

test -x $DAEMON || exit 5

if [ -f /etc/default/$NAME ] ; then
. /etc/default/$NAME
fi

case "$1" in
start)
if [ "$ENABLED" = 0 ]; then
log_warning_msg "Not starting. Disabled via /etc/default/$NAME."
exit 0
fi
log_daemon_msg "Starting $DESC" "$NAME"
modprobe i8k >/dev/null 2>&1 || true
if [ ! -f "$PROC_I8K" ]; then
log_progress_msg "Could not find $PROC_I8K."
log_end_msg 1
exit 1
fi
start-stop-daemon --start --quiet --pidfile $PIDFILE \
--background --make-pidfile --exec $DAEMON -- $I8KMON_ARGS
log_end_msg $?
;;
stop)
log_daemon_msg "Stopping $DESC" "$NAME"
start-stop-daemon --oknodo --stop --quiet --pidfile $PIDFILE
log_end_msg $?
rm -f $PIDFILE
;;
restart|reload|force-reload)
$0 stop && sleep 2 && $0 start
;;
*)
echo "Usage: $0 {start|stop|restart|reload|force-reload}" >&2
exit 2
;;
esac

and that should be it!

Graphics

I haven’t managed to fix this fully yet. Currently I’m planning to try the helpful instructions provided by nyanjay at:

http://forum.notebookreview.com/dell-inspiron-dell-studio/668584-dell-inspiron-15r-special-edition-7520-a-91.html#post8980083

and the information here:

https://help.ubuntu.com/community/HybridGraphics

Currently the best bet seems to be using the default open source radeon driver rather than installing fglrx (which I’ve had trouble with). Then using vgaswitcheroo to switch between integrated and discrete graphics (these commands usually need to be run as a super user, so start with “sudo -s”)

Get vgaswitcheroo status:

cat /sys/kernel/debug/vgaswitcheroo/switch

Turn on disconnected GPU:

echo ON > /sys/kernel/debug/vgaswitcheroo/switch

Connect integrated graphics with outputs:

echo IGD > /sys/kernel/debug/vgaswitcheroo/switch

Connect discrete graphics with outputs:

 echo DIS > /sys/kernel/debug/vgaswitcheroo/switch

Turn off disconnected GPU:

echo OFF > /sys/kernel/debug/vgaswitcheroo/switch