Laptop heating

[Marzipan]

Please, I need help!

 

My lappy is only 6 months ols and it has recently started to over heat, actually so much that it leaves burn marks on my thights if I dont use a pillow under it.

 

Is my lappy doomed? Should I take it to get check up? Is the hardrive in danger (I'm making back up copies all the time to my gmail account)?

 

What could cause the problem and is there anyway to solve by myself?

[TalonRider]

Check to see if the internal fan is working. You should be able to feel air coming from a side vent. If there is air, then it may be possible that since you place it on your lap, you are covering the bottom vents not allowing air to be pulled in to cool it off.

 

I would suggest getting a lap pad to set the laptop on. This would allow air to flow. The also make these lap pads with fan built into them circulate air underneath.

[Tiger]

It sounds like you might need to replace the fans. Find someone who is certified in computer repair and who doesn't charge an lot of money. Have him or her check it out. However, the problem may be something else. It could be dust. Dust can cause fans to clog. Use a dust removal spray like this. Turn your laptop over and spray anywhere you see openings. Finally, consider buying a laptop cooler. I hope that helps.

[Nephylim]

Whatever you do don't try to cool it off by pouring coffee on it... it just simply won't appreciate it.

[Y_B]

My lappy is only 6 months ols and it has recently started to over heat, actually so much that it leaves burn marks on my thights if I dont use a pillow under it.

 

You'd let it sit there long enough to actually burn you?

[Tiger]

You'd let it sit there long enough to actually burn you?

I seriously doubt it was intentional. Still, a laptop cooler would help.

[Westie]

Hmmmmmm, what make is the laptop? Is it a Dell by any chance? this is a notorious problem for dell laptops you see....

[One Cheap Suit]

Potential causes:

- Fans not running

- Bad battery

- Fans jammed up with something - see #1

- Clogged vents - i.e something is covering them

 

Diagnosing:

- Give a make and a model and if you aren't sure, take a picture of it - including the bottom - and post them here.

 

- When a laptop is hot the fans should run. The hotter it gets, the louder the fans are. You should feel hot air coming from side or top vents, if you don't, look for somethng clogging them and clear the obstruction. If you don't hear fans, you need to call the manufacturer/make a warranty call.

 

- If the fans are running and you feel hot air coming from the vents, then look at the battery. Shut it down and pull the battery. Is it hot, I mean, HOT? Warm is okay, HOT = BAD and you should not, not not run the laptop with a bad battery - it could catch fire. Contact the laptop maker for a replacement.

 

- If it is a Mac, cooling happens through the keyboard and a vent located just under the display. Check to see there's nothing blocking those areas. Macs run hot by nature and yeah, you can get a burn from them.

 

- Make sure the laptop's vents are clear. They vent heat actively from side vents and passively through vent holes in the case and keyboard. Don't leave a laptop running on a bed, for example. With the machine off, put that edge extension on the vacuum cleaner and give it a good suck. Then reverse the vacuum cleaner and give it a good blow. Make sure you serve it ice cream afterward.

 

If your video card is overheating, you'll have a hotspot near the video card, which is probably dead-center or off to the left under your keyboard. An overheated video card will probably flake out and crash before it burns you, BUT it can cause heat build up in the case even though it's running fine. Most video cards have fans, you should hear them running, and they have a high-pitched whine compared to laptop case fans. An overheating video card is probably bad and needs to be replaced, it's a warranty item.

 

TL;DR: Look for air from the vents and make sure they are clear. Check the temperature of the battery. If it's a Mac, don't use it (j/k).

Edited April 11, 2011 by bigdave976

[hh5]

hehe if the surrounding air isn't cool enough then it gets hot too - the newer laptops with the solid state HD makes it cooler - not counting the CPU

 

you might wanna invest in a lap cooler

 

http://www.amazon.com/Weight-Cooler-Built-Pavilion-Laptop/dp/B001QGINY2

 

this is an example

[rustle]

Putting the computer on a pillow or any soft surface will block the cooling fans from doing what they must. Either put it on a solid, flat surface, or get a cooler, or both.

[Marzipan]

Thank you everyone!

 

Due to some weird divine intervention (?) I have managed to get rid of SmartScreen, which is apparently some kind of tool brought in with windowslive. All the heating problems, Microsoft Office problems etc. are now gone. I think it was too effective in blocking files and stuff (very hightech interperation)...

 

Do you have ny idea if the SmartScreen can cause these kinds of troubles? I did the diagnosis myself so I'm likely wrong.

 

Now I'm following your instructions to prevent the overheating.

[hh5]

bad name for a anti-spam filtering

 

bad news this will be natively part of windows 8

this will be bad with McAfee and Norton ... hopefully it will be removable or dormant??

 

I do notice the anti-whatevers(mcafee) running more and more sometimes when there is alot of files being accessed or copied

this comes with real time scanning