David Esp Video Technical Blog

Problem:

• MacBook Pro, when in Boot Camp Windows 7, gets uncomfortably hot (in its heatsink areas, the bar above keyboard and also the chassis underside).  In comparison, it runs pretty cool (temperature) under Mac OS.

Reason:

• No fan control when in Boot Camp Windows mode.

Popular Solution (does not imply any recommendation):

• When in Boot Camp windows, use Lubbo’s Fan Control [http://sourceforge.net/projects/lubbofancontrol]

Some good links (as of 2010-03-27):

• http://www.almico.com/sfdownload.php
• http://sourceforge.net/projects/lubbofancontrol
• http://www.sevenforums.com/general-discussion/17177-fan-control-macbook-pro-15-inch-under-windows-7-a.html
• http://www.lokiman.com/blog/2009/12/13/fan-control-for-macbook-pro-under-snow-leopard-or-windows-7-and-more

Experiences:

• Just copied the contents of the zip file to  [C:\Program Files (x86)\Lubbo’s Fan Control] and ran it from there.  It has files [inpout32.dll] and [inpoutx64.dll].
• Ran it but it gave error messages:
  • (The) Following process(es) is/are using SMC:
    • kbdmgr
  • It’s not an error, but Lubbo’s Fan Control cannot share apple SMC access.
  • Do you want to kill it/them?
  • NO = the system may freeze.  Try only if you are running BootCamp 3.1
  • YES = the incompatible process(es) will bekilled and the program will start.
    • But I have read elsewhere that this means function keys won’t then work (for that session).
    • Didn’t work – it said “It was not possible to load IO driver.  Retry?” and “(May be better to press CANCEL and reopen the program)”
  • CANCEL = this program will exit
• Someone else had the same problem but found a solution that appeared to work for them:
  • “…upon updating to .NET 4 and running with “administrator control” or whatever, it appears to be working. [http://sourceforge.net/projects/lubbofancontrol/forums/forum/970570/topic/3507393]
  • Further confirmation that (for Windows 7),  .NET v4 is needed [http://sourceforge.net/projects/lubbofancontrol/forums/forum/970570/topic/3444415]
    • “…I have the same problem with the error about the IO drivers. When I try to install .NET framework 3.5 using the setup file, the screen just flashes and nothing happens. I have a feeling win7 did not install it.  This is in win7 64 bit professional”
    • “The problem was fixed after I installed .NET framework 4.0 Beta for windows “
• So it seems that to get Lubbo’s utility working I have to:
  • Kill a system process
  • Install a version of .NET that is not yet officially supported.
    • I’ll write a separate blog post about .NET
• Life on the edge, huh?