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Laptop overheating

post #1 of 11
2/27/11 at 11:50am
Thread Starter 
It overheats and then randomly shuts off. I have to wait for it to cool down, but normally it doesn't shut off unless I'm doing something like playing a game. I want to get it fixed but i don't know if you can fix that on a laptop... Any ideas?
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post #2 of 11
2/27/11 at 1:18pm
A computer will overheat if the fan is either not strong enough to keep the computer cool, or has stopped working altogether.

Laptops do tend to get overheated faster than desk tops, which is why I prefer a good desktop to a laptop computer. Also, laptops are not easy to fix or upgrade, whereas a desktop is for both.

Make sure the vents for the laptop are not blocked when you are using the laptop. Putting the laptop on a bed or a blanket can cause the vents to get blocked. Always use the laptop on a hard surface and keep the surrounding area free from obstacles to allow air to enter the vents.

Is the area you are working in near a fire, heater or other heat source? If so, move the location of where you use the laptop, or turn off the heat source.

You can also try placing a fan nearby and have it directed at the laptop. Turn it on high. It might not be very comfortable for you having air blown on you, but it might help the computer.

I remember a couple years ago a girl from another forum was having problems with her desktop turning off. After I grilled her, it turns out that she had a space heater sitting near her because she was always cold. Well, needless to say the space heater was doing absolutely nothing GOOD for her computer. She likely melted parts of her motherboard because of it. Once she moved the space heater away, the computer worked fine.
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post #3 of 11
2/27/11 at 1:45pm
It could be that it needs to be cleaned out, but you could also have a bad ram chip. iirc, you have onboard graphics so it's sharing with the system. I've not had ram do that when it's onboard but I've dealt with it in desktops when the graphics card has a chip going/gone bad. During a game the bad ram isn't functioning properly and causes overheating.
try memtest on it. If you put mint on there (and not just on the netbook) you already have it.

Another possibility is that the bearings in a fan is drying out or the housing for it's cracked.
And last but not least, the OS. Something could be causing a problem with power management or the fan speed. You can get diagnostic tools to check that as well as starting at windows own event viewer and dumps to see if it's tracking anything. Likewise you can try a game under linux and see if you have the same problem.

Last but not least, what are you trying to play?

For what it's worth, my bet is on memory or an issue with the game, having dealt with and seen what that does.
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post #4 of 11
2/27/11 at 2:13pm
When my two month old laptop started overheating after being on for about 30 minutes I took it back to the shop and they sent it to be fixed. It was the fan malfunctioning.
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post #5 of 11
2/27/11 at 2:51pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by jennyranson View Post
When my two month old laptop started overheating after being on for about 30 minutes
That points pretty directly to a fan problem, vs utopia's issue of it over heating during game play. The latter tends to be an onboard graphic/graphic card or ram problem, an issue with the fans not being told to go to the proper rpm as the computer gets hotter, or with the game itself.

For example if she tried playing a game that's too much for her laptop it would do this. While many games will read as if your computer meets the requirements, often due to programming issues (ie, poor programming) it will max out and overheat a computer. Usually around the same time into a game or when certain effects are applied. Sometimes turning everything down within the game fixes the problem and other times nothing does. Some examples of this are Crysis and StarCraft 2 (dealt with that here personally). Patching fixed some of the issues for many. Hence why I asked what game.

I can't remember what graphics she listed in the thread TigerOnTheProwl made in the lounge a while back (I could probably find it, though), but iirc it was midrange.
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post #6 of 11
2/27/11 at 2:57pm
Mine used to do that, dh hoovered all the vents out, the one where the fan is and it seems to be ok now, it was so annoying when I was playing a game and it switched off.x
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post #7 of 11
2/27/11 at 3:09pm
Thread Starter 
I don't know, this laptop is turning into a POS super quickly
A few months ago, it started making noises, I thought the hard drive was failing but it seems okay. I've been meaning to do a back up because I feel like it will permanently die on me really soon.
And, the game I play is farmville on facebook ... Definitely not something that's too much for it...
My first instinct tells me there is too much dust in the fans and it's stopping them from working at full rpm..But, I don't even know how to fix that!
I will check out memtest, I do have linux mint on this and the same thing happens on mint also, so it can't be the OS I guess I should correct myself, playing the game makes it shut off much quicker- if I am doing something that's just typing up a word document or browsing, I have a few hours before it shuts off, but with the game it's like 30 minutes.
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post #8 of 11
2/27/11 at 3:22pm
okay, I'm joking here, so probably not a good idea to follow my solution ... how about sitting it on a cool surface, like a frozen cool pak?
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post #9 of 11
2/27/11 at 3:32pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by GloriaJH View Post
okay, I'm joking here, so probably not a good idea to follow my solution ... how about sitting it on a cool surface, like a frozen cool pak?
Well it might actually work with something cool that's not ice, because the ice will also get water on it...
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post #10 of 11
2/27/11 at 4:10pm
Ok, flash then. That can explain a lot. Do memtest and check out your cpu. Flash tends to eat up cpu on many computers and since flash is a POS to begin with it's not very forgiving on a system with something wrong with it. Do a hard drive check just in case, too.
Monitor cpu temp.

It could be dust, it could be the overheating already caused damage or a worst case scenario- that the board is the root of this.
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post #11 of 11
3/1/11 at 3:10pm
I've noticed that my computer's fan will run harder when I'm playing games, too. I'm sure the thing needs to be cleaned (probably full of cat hair! ), but I have no idea how to do it. It worries me sometimes because it seems to run so hard.
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