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I installed Ubuntu 16.04 and the notebook overheats after a few minutes of light use. Previously I had Ubuntu 14.04.2 and I somehow solved the problem. I tried all the thing I could think of (remember from the 14.04 install) for this updated version of Ubuntu but still no improvement.

Here's what I tried:

lspci | grep VGA
00:02.0 VGA compatible controller: Intel Corporation 2nd Generation Core Processor Family Integrated Graphics Controller (rev 09)
01:00.0 VGA compatible controller: NVIDIA Corporation GF108M [GeForce GT 540M] (rev a1)

I installed the nvidia 367.44 driver and set the profile to intel (power saving mode).

sudo apt-get install tlp tlp-rdw
sudo apt-get install indicator-cpufreq
sudo apt-get install thermald

EDIT:

lspci -k | grep -EA2 'VGA|3D'
00:02.0 VGA compatible controller: Intel Corporation 2nd Generation Core Processor Family Integrated Graphics Controller (rev 09)
    Subsystem: Acer Incorporated [ALI] 2nd Generation Core Processor Family Integrated Graphics Controller
    Kernel driver in use: i915
--
01:00.0 VGA compatible controller: NVIDIA Corporation GF108M [GeForce GT 540M] (rev a1)
    Subsystem: Acer Incorporated [ALI] GF108M [GeForce GT 540M]
    Kernel driver in use: nouveau

The problem seems to be with the graphics drivers. I tried to install different versions and ended up with a black screen on startup. Solved it by doing the steps from Black screen after installing nvidia driver.

Now if I open All Settings -> Displays I have the "Built-in Display" and "Unknown display" , so there's still some problem with the drivers

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Natasha
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2 Answers2

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You need to install Nvidia drivers.

Make sure that Secure Boot is disabled in BIOS.

Run in terminal

sudo apt install nvidia-361 nvidia-prime

and reboot.

For better powersaving state you can switch to the Intel adapter by

sudo prime-select intel

log off and log on to apply.

Pilot6
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  • Just tried this , and I still have a few questions : 1)Could you explain why the 361 version is used ?2) The Displays window shows "Built-in" display , shouldn't I see something like Nvidia GeForce ? – Natasha Aug 29 '16 at 18:06
  • 1) The 361 driver is in Ubuntu repositories. 2) Display is not "video dapter" it is display ;-). It is built in your laptop. What is wrong? – Pilot6 Aug 29 '16 at 18:08
  • See [this](http://askubuntu.com/a/661924/167850) for some more information. – Pilot6 Aug 29 '16 at 18:10
  • what is the difference for example between nvidia-364 and nvidia-361? When I was choosing what to install previously I looked up the nvidia card on the official site and found the version 367 from there, so is there a reason for suggesting 361? I saw several answers that suggest different nvidia driver versions and I can't figure out how they are related to the actual hardware – Natasha Aug 29 '16 at 18:53
  • You have 364, 367 because you have added a 3rd party PPA. Ubuntu has 361. – Pilot6 Aug 29 '16 at 20:27
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Pilot6 instructions are good.

You should also install Bumblebee to reduce overheating.

sudo apt-get install --no-install-recommends bumblebee

There is more information here

https://wiki.ubuntu.com/Bumblebee#Installation

You should also consider checking if your machine supports Intel P-State

http://www.webupd8.org/2014/04/prevent-your-laptop-from-overheating.html

Giovanni Caligaris
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  • Bumblebee is not compatible with `nvidia-prime` and it does not work well on Ubuntu 16.04. This is a bad advice to install bumblebee. it will break the system. – Pilot6 Aug 29 '16 at 21:54
  • I am running nvidia-prime and it works well. Install nvidia first, restart your machine and launch the nvidia settings. Go to PRIME Profiles and switch to Intel. Logout and log back in. Then install Bumblebee. – Giovanni Caligaris Aug 29 '16 at 21:57
  • If you "then install bumblebee" you will remove `nvidia-prime`. – Pilot6 Aug 29 '16 at 21:58
  • Which Nvidia version did you install? – Giovanni Caligaris Aug 29 '16 at 21:59