Compaq F720 overheats and shutdown

[amorde]

Hi There,  I purchased a Compaq F720 from Staples. However, exactly one year after the purchse, the computer started to routinely overheat and shut down by itself. I even installed an colling fan/mat under the laptop to disspate the heat to no effect. After researching online, I've found the cause to be the NVIDIA chipset that powers the graphic engine. However, HP never offered any recourse or recall for this, any idea when and how we can resolve this situation?

I'm staying away from HP products until HP resolves this particular issues.

[Knute]

Many times a laptop overheating is directly related to the cooling of the processor. The main culprit is the fan. The fan sucks in air from the bottom and blows it out the side. It will also suck in hair, dust, and other debris. That stuff often gets trapped by the heat sink and over time builds up in a layer which chokes off the cool air going to the processor making the fan work harder.



Check this out:

http://h10025.www1.hp.com/ewfrf/wc/document?docname=c01657439&tmp_track_link=ot_faqs/top_issues/en_u...



What I recommend is getting some canned air and blowing out the vents in the side and bottom of the laptop. If after doing this you still have problems with over-heating, and your laptop is in warranty, you can take your laptop to a HP Authorized Service Center and ask them to clean the fan and heatsink. You can check your warranty here:

http://www13.itrc.hp.com/service/ewarranty/warrantyResults.do?admit=109447627+1286541891570+28353475



If it is out of warranty, consider searching for the maintenance manual for your specific model, in the manual there are schematics for taking apart the laptop. Cleaning the fan is much easier that removing a motherboard, so don't feel to intimidated by the idea. Also you can remove the heatsink and then remove the thermal grease and apply a new layer which also helps alleviate heat related issues.