Notebook Overheating? Read this

[mrdel83]

Hi

If you are facing overheating problem with your laptop/notebook then this might help you..plz read it.

I am among all those who are facing overheating problems with their laptops.notebooks.

My new HP Pavilion DV5 notebook with AMD Turion RM 74 processor gets too hot and finally goes to hybernate.

I am trying to find a solution for my problem for the last few days(around a week) and i would like to share my experience with you.

First of all i would like to bring to your notice that almost every notebook/laptop is tested for overheating issue by the manufacturer, so if you are facing overheating problem then flaw is in your system and not in the design.

Why Notebooks/Laptops get hot?

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1. If your laptop is old then there might be problem of dust clogging the air vents..i suggest you to clean air vents.

2. Air fan is not working of required speed.. Problem might be with the bios setting for fan speed or fan might need to be replaced.

3. If you use your laptop/notebook on such a surface that it block air inlets then that could be a problem for overheating. and this goes for new notebooks too.

      -> i have noticed that almost every notebook made by hp has air inlets at the bottom and if you block them it will get hot.

4. Most Importantly -- when your notebook/laptop gets hot there is a good chance that it might melt thermal pad on the heatsink/processor and this will cause your notebook get hot whenever you use it.

      ->once heatpad gets melted you should get it replaced by new heatpad.

     -> if your notebook was working fine when you bought it and after few months if its getting overheating problem then this might be the reason.

5. There might be some hardware related problem(i dont think it happens with lots of ppl).

Solutions for overheating

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1. Clean air vents and check if air fan is working or not.

2. Use some software dn check if your system's fan is working at right speed.

3. Do not use your notebook/laptop on a surface that block air vents.

4. Try updating BIOS(if you know how to do it).

5. Thermal pads might be burnt ..try replacing them with new one.

6. There might be some fault with the hardware ..get it checked with professional expert.

I personally feel AMD processor get much hotter than Intel so if you are using AMD then be ready to feel hot.

Please note i am not an expert/professional and all these views/solutions are my personal views, please consult a professional before you do anything to your system.

Note - If your notebook/laptop is under warranty ..do not try to fix it yourself and contact support immediately.

[DT845]

You point # 3 mentioned above seems to me like a design flaw. Air-intake at the bottom. Other brand laptops don't have this problem and HP is known for this problem that tells me again that it is a design flaw. I have bought three HP Laptops all different models at various times in last three years and every single one of them have overheating problem. I own other brands like Sony and Lenovo and they never have overheating problems.

One more thing since we are on this topic - Why does HP love to factory install all the garbage, bloated software on their laptops? Why can't they just give us bare minimum OS and may be Antivirus program?

[virnir]

my laptop dv6 3124tx is also start overheating 1 week back , 2 days ago while working on a project ,i found that my task manger is now disabled ,and then i try registry solution ,and find out that it is fine , than i download antimalwarebytes software and scan my pc and i found the culprit it was a virus blocking my task manager ,when i deleted the virus and restart my pc its working like other laptop of mine. 

if your task manager is disabled or not just perform a quick scan from anti malware bytes once

hope this can help u

[blzbubba2]

If you go to the following internet address in Amazon.com:

http://www.amazon.com/Sorbothane-Hemisphere-Non-skid-Adhesive-Durometer/dp/B0042U6ZDU/ref=pd_sbs_ind...

You can buy the 1" Sorbothane Hemisphere Rubber Bumper Non-skid Feet with Adhesive 50 Durometer - 4-Pack to attach to the bottom of your computer (without blocking any vents) for $12.95 plus shipping.

The feet are one inch round by 1/2 inch tall.  Just peel and stick on the bottom of your computer in strategic places to raise it far enough to allow air to flow thru below the computer as needed.  No plugs or ports needed, no extra junk to carry around in your laptop bag.  My computer still fit into my laptop bag afterward. The computer sits level on a computer lapsurface.

I've used this method on several laptops that got hotter than I wanted them to be and it doesn't matter what make or model, the method works cheaply and efficiently.

If you need something fast, you can also try Home Depot or Lowes for similar products.  Good luck!

[LeoTB]

I have used these semi-spherical stick-on legs on my other laptops and they work fine. Will be trying them on my HP Pavilion dv5 that runs very hot on the bottom panel. Today, I used my Pavilion dv5 on a laptop base with built in USB-powered cooling fan and felt it is much cooler and it did not hybernate like it did before. I don't hear the fan spinning sound on my dv5. Is the fan noise fon the Pavilion dv5 loud and can you feel the air flow when the fan blows?

[Anonym0us]

Honestly, I will never buy an HP Laptop again.

This is obserd, that we have to deal with a fire hazard and saftey issue, in our own house.

Not only do I have to keep the kids away from fire causing materials, but the laptop too!

P.S If you dont want the HP Bloatware, I suggest you format quicktimes and install Ubuntu Linux, instead of Winblows 7 HP whored out edition. 

Just my two cents. 

[laptopmumbai]

Problem

Overheating and related shutdown problems are very common in laptops, especially in home use. Common symptoms include some or all from this list;
- Laptop is extremely hot to the touch, especially around the fan area
- Fan seems to be running constantly, and at high speed
- Laptop shuts off by itself when doing nothing
- Laptop shuts off when playing games
- These heating or shutdown problems become worse over time, rather than getting better.

Solution

Clean Out Your Laptop’s Fan and Vents
Use a Cooling Pad
If your laptop is still overheating and shutting itself down, there may be a malfunction with the actual hardware. It might be time to call in professional help. You can contact laptopsmumbai

[ftjeffries]

This simply the type of BS I think HP would push.  Overheating is caused primarily by the CPU.  I doubted you would say that is actually a design flaw. 

Only with HP and DEll.  Lenovo and Sony seemingly do not share these flaws. 

To somewhat help with the issue remove the systemboard and clean the CPU thermal grease and replace it with artic silver 5. 

[Kujobro]

The number 3 note isn't so much for blocking the fan intake at the bottom as it is for blocking exhaust on the sides/ rear. nearly all overheating issues are due to clogged heat sinks from dust clogs because the air gets trapped inside and cant get out. It continues to get hotter and hotter because it has nowhere to go. Soft surfaces like pillows or blankets can block the exhaust ports doing the same thing as a clogged heat sink would do. Its not a design flaw. All computers have intake, in some form or another, and an exhaust...exhaust being the MOST important. Intake is good to have but air will find a way in regardless of having a bottom intake or not.

Number one rule to keep temps low is clean them out at least once a month by blowing canned air into the exhaust ports when the system is off. This gets any dust buildup off the heat sink. If your home is very dusty, have pets that shed or you smoke you might do this more often. If bad enough the system may need to be opened to be cleaned.

From the comment above regarding bloatware: People don't realize this but the "bloatware" subsidizes the cost of any pc. If you don't want it uninstall the apps you don't use, simple as that. If it wasn't there your computer would cost more.


Other misconceptions.

Your computer will not get hot enough to be a fire hazard from just heat. They are all designed to shutoff if they get too hot and regardless it would take an insane amount of heat for something to catch fire just from heat alone. I don't even think computers can get hot enough to do this.

Another thing people do is buy cooling pads to " fix overheating" issues. These do nothing useful but add a layer between the notebook and the user ( if sitting on your lap ) . While good in the sense you shouldn't have a system in direct contact with you , regardless of the manufacturer/ brand, it does nothing to fix an overheating problem. Again it goes back to the clogged heatsink or blocked exhaust being the main cause of overheating.

[Pelican1218]

All the suggestions above are helpful but my solution came from a no-budget utube video.

During the video the gentlemen pointed out that whenever your laptop is plugged in it is charging the battery. He also suggested proping up the processor end of the computer to increase ventilation (not new).

It occurred to me that I had been using my laptop "with power cord" to save the battery.  It must have been constanly charging the battery which, I am not sure why, led to overheating (enough to flake the vanish on my desk 1 1/4 inches away).

So, I removed the battery while using the power cord.  The laptop still gets pretty warm but not what I would call seriously hot.