problem loading i8k module upon boot

[Juan R. de Silva]

I need to load i8k module upon boot for lm-sensors to be able to read 
data from my Dell laptop fan. In Ubuntu 12.04 I just added line "i8k" to 
/etc/modules file and everything works just fine. 

However in Kubuntu 12.10 added the same line to the same file has no 
effect. That is the i8k module is not loaded upon boot. The only thing I 
can see in kernel log is the following error:"i8k: unable to get SMM BIOS 
version". Tried to add line "i8k force=1" without any results either.

Running 'modprobe i8k' in CLI loads the module and 'sensors' reads the 
fan data as expected. But this rightfully does not survive a reboot.

What's the heck makes Kubuntu so different from its "big brother"? Any 
suggestions, please?