Help w/CPU-n-voltage scaling on P4 laptop w/8.04???

The easiest way to see the current CPU speed is to look in /proc. For example:

  % grep Hz /proc/cpuinfo
  model name : Intel(R) Pentium(R) M processor 1.86GHz
  cpu MHz : 798.000

This shows that my CPU is running at 798MHz, but is capable of running as fast as 1.86GHz.

To force the speed up artificially, use two terminals. In one, run this:

  % while true ; do ; done

In the other terminal, repeat the grep command:

  % grep Hz /proc/cpuinfo
  model name : Intel(R) Pentium(R) M processor 1.86GHz
  cpu MHz : 1862.000

This may cause your fans to run at a faster speed as the temperature rises. Hit Ctrl-C in the "while true" terminal to stop it, and the fans should eventually slow down again.

You can also monitor CPU (and other) status with programs such as "gkrellm". It has several plugins to add all sorts of system information.

Thanks again Scott, I'll look into "gkrellm". My issue is the CPU is already cookin, according to the temp-applet 114 degrees at idol (ouch). Either the OS is bangin' on it in the background (which I doubt) or the CPU is hosed and just waiting to die. I wanted to see if there is a way to verify/control the freq in the off chance I could slow things down (aka cool things off).
What should I be using to dynamically control the CPU freq on this P4? I tried 'cpudyn', cpufreqd and the default that Ubuntu installs but I don't know if they are doing anything cuz the frequency applet seems to be broken (it displays 10.00 GHz at all times) (Ill try the command lines you suggested too). Or my laptop is on the verve of being fried.

The CPU should scale back its speed by default in Ubuntu, if it supports scaling. Chances are it's working correctly already. Check with the commands I listed earlier, to find out if the scaling is working. (if not, then there's an issue to solve)

It's worth noting that 114 degrees Fahrenheit is not "hot" for a CPU. The system I'm on now idles at 111 F, and my other notebook idles at about 120 F. The temperature on mine gets up to 165 F or so when it's really busy. If it gets up to 180 F or so, I'd be worried about CPU damage, but 114 F is normal.

If it's physically too warm to use comfortably, I've found that USB coolers are quite effective. Several products provide a flat surface with fans blowing air at the bottom of a notebook, powered by USB. This keeps both you and your notebook cooler. Or, if you are worried about it being hot while you're not using it, it works fairly well to rest notebooks on their side (aim the side with air vents up). If I do this, the temperature drops by 10 F - 15 F.

Oh, and be sure to set the screen saver to "blank screen" or "turn screen off". Most of the others eat up CPU time, make the system hot, and waste electricity. :)

So, did you find anything out from /proc/cpuinfo?

I guess if 165 is a busy system then I should be good. I saw on a processor website that this chips max operating temp was 71. That must have been Celsius, the site didn't state.

Heres one for you. This is what I get when I type in the cpuinfo command.
model name : Intel(R) Pentium(R) 4 CPU 2.53GHz
cpu MHz : 9999.000

Ubuntu safely over clocked my my mild-manured 2.5GHz into MONSTER 10GHz laptop. I should have made the switch long ago. Just kidding :-D

This is why the frequency applet displayed 10.00GHz.Ha,
What do you make of this error?

That "cpu MHz : 9999.000" definitely seems like a bug. I didn't see anything like it with a quick google search, so I'd recommend filing a new bug about it. The project name on launchpad is "linux", and I suspect that "cpuinfo says 9999 MHz" would be a decent title. Be sure to include the full output of "cat /proc/cpuinfo" and "uname -a". The output of "lsmod" would probably be helpful too.

Or, if you post that data here, we can convert this question into a bug report. I haven't actually tried that before, but I see a nice-looking link in the menu, called "Create bug report".

You may also be able to get some useful information out of /sys, though I can't really say whether it will be there or not, given how odd the cpuinfo contents are. If it exists, take a peek at this directory...

  /sys/devices/system/cpu/cpu0/cpufreq/

Interesting files there include scaling_cur_freq, cpuinfo_min_freq, cpuinfo_max_freq, and possibly some others. For example, on a P4 3.4GHz machine, I see...

  % cd /sys/devices/system/cpu/cpu0/cpufreq/
  % cat cpuinfo_min_freq cpuinfo_max_freq
  2800000
  3400000
  % cat scaling_cur_freq
  2800000

So, please add the requested info, or add a link to a bug report.

Thanks for all your help Scott.

Here is the link to the bug report I just opened. Someone is already asking for further details. (cool!)
https://bugs.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+bug/225319

THANKS!

I don't want to lead users that an answer for this problem has been found so I will post this addition as 'providing more info'.

Update/FYI

I booted Ubuntu 7.1 and ran
grep Hz /proc/cpuinfo and received the same info as 8.04
model name : Intel(R) Pentium(R) 4 CPU 2.53GHz
cpu MHz : 9999.000

Update/FYI

I booted Ubuntu 8.04 off the disc with acpi=off.
The CPU frequency applet now shows the frequency ACCURATELY at 2.53GHz.
When installing the applet I got a warning that CPU scaling is not supported. I have not seen this previously

grep Hz /proc/cpuinfo now says
model name : Intel(R) Pentium(R) 4 CPU 2.53GHz
cpu MHz : 2532.701

dmidecode.txt has not changed
Max Speed: 1500 MHz
Current Speed: 2500 MHz

dmesg.log has several entries under (maybe due to acpi being disabled?)
acpi_freq: Unknown symbol acpi_processor_notify_smm
acpi_freq: Unknown symbol acpi_processor_unregister_performance
acpi_freq: Unknown symbol acpi_processor_preregister_performance
acpi_freq: Unknown symbol acpi_processor_register_performance

Please be explicit on how to acquire any further requested info. (me nOOb) :-)

Thanks!

Thanks. BTW, you don't need to update this question every time you update the bug. People can just follow the bug link to find out more:

https://bugs.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+source/linux/+bug/225319