Laptop Overheating Has a Simple Solution

Get the Compressed Gas for an Easy Fix for Laptop Overheating

A few years after using my Toshiba laptop without any troubles, my unit started to shutdown frequently, much to my consternation. I spent a lot of time trying to find problems with my software. Eventually, I noticed that the bottom of the unit, in the cornet
 where the cooling system is located was very hot even though the system was operating. After awhile it became clear that it was laptop overheating that was causing the shutdowns, despite the cooling system being set at maximum.

My next step was to ask computer-literate people about my overheating problem. The usual response was laughter, because laptop overheating was very widespread. As to solutions, every person, including workers at Best Buy and their Geek Squad agents, talked about buying devices marketed as adjuncts to the laptop's cooling system. These are essentially platforms on which you place the laptop.� There are many such devices for sale.� They range in price from about $40 to $200.

My homemade solution, at first, was to place ice packs underneath the hot corner of my laptop. But that only worked to a limited degree and was messy.

The more I reflected on my problem the more I thought that it was pertinent that my overheating problem had started after several years of trouble-free operation. Plus it seemed quite important that the intake openings for the cooling system were on the bottom of the laptop, which seemed to me to be terrible design. Oddly enough, laptop makers generally advise consumers in the fine print not to use their laptops on soft surfaces, but that seems ridiculous. Keep the "lap" out of laptop use? Yet it certainly seemed likely that over time dust and dirt could enter, clog and reduce the efficiency of the cooling system.

Related information
  • When faced with laptop shutdows consider overheating.
  • Solving laptop overheating has a simple solution.
  • Other than not using a laptop on your lap, compressed gas is the answer.
 
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Hmm . . . I hope this'll help mine. I don't know if it will because I leave the fan off and open into the air, and it still overheated in less than an hour! I don't know what to do. It used to work for hours at a time and now it just shuts down immediately. BTW: Please come and read my articles, I really need all the page views that I can get! I definitely don't have enough to even just pay my bills each month. That'll take a long while yet.

Posted on 06/01/2009 at 12:06:56 PM

excellent. a blast is far easier than disassembly and a brush. but there is a more basic reason for overheating. i also discovered the hard way that the "laptop" won't work on a lap. but since it worked fine on a table top, i built a skinny airinlet to let the fan work while on a lap. works fine. unit is never hot. put up photos on my website. hobby shop parts. http://1journey.net/1candle/cp/cooling.htm

Posted on 03/26/2009 at 2:03:07 PM

Compressed air may be temporary solution but in fact you are not removing the dirt. Simply open the laptop(few screws to remove), unscrew fan and clean it throughly as shown here: http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=143168 There should be no warranty stickers so no warranty void. It works beautifuly - I had plenty of thick duct. I prefer to vacuum dirt instead of blowing it with compressed air - just tape small tube to the end of vacuum cleaner and you can enter all this tiny gaps. Good luck

Posted on 03/10/2009 at 4:03:14 PM

I'm gonna have to try this! I've been having similar issues, where my laptop just.. powers down out of nowhere! At one point I took it downstairs, shoved my laptop in the fridge for a few minutes and took it out :P It worked fine for a bit, but then the overheating returned... I nearly bought a laptop cooling fan platform.. thingy.. but then I stumbled on this page :D Thankfully I DO have a can of compressed air, so I'll give it a shot. Anything to cure my overheating problems... P.S.: I've noticed that, among everything on the bottom of my laptop, my hard drive gets the hottest o.O Anyone know why that is? It's probably near the failing cooling system I suppose.. P.P.S.: I have a Dell, so yeah.. they suck with heat issues.

Posted on 03/08/2009 at 12:03:04 PM

Omg your so great my laptop just started overheating on me a few days ago and it would shut off..its not even a year old, im so glad the solution is that easy. ty

Posted on 01/16/2009 at 8:01:40 PM

could you please leave the adress of the page that cuass laptop overheating i'd be extremely grateful you see my dad spent over $2,ooo bucks on an amazing laptop but now it shuts down within 20 minutes thanks to over heating.

Posted on 01/05/2009 at 9:01:41 AM

Using compressed air or a little bit of vacuum suction can help clean out a laptop with clogged airways. So long as you can do it without opening the machine and thereby voiding your warranty, it's a good thing to do on a routine basis. But that's not the whole story or the only cause of laptop overheating. You can block the vents if you use the laptop on a soft surface; you don't need to buy a fancy chillpad but you do want to use something that won't fold up against the vents and block the air. It wasn't the case with yours, but in a lot of cases - such as the original MacBook Air - it can be a design flaw that lends itself to overheating. It can be a lot of things. We've got a page on the causes of laptop overheating. For other people, the cause and therefore the cure can be completely different.

Posted on 12/16/2008 at 8:12:49 PM

The reason it says to use a hard surface not a soft surface is not to stop dust getting in, its because there are feet and stuff moulded into the design of the laptop to keep it raised so air can flow underneath to the air intake. If you use it on a soft surface it can block the vents causing it to overheat. Its generally a good idea to periodically clean out the dust though.

Posted on 11/27/2008 at 3:11:48 AM

wr dd u ppl Lrn 2 spl ???

Posted on 11/25/2008 at 12:11:15 AM

...because the dust wont enter the ventilation. if ur on a bed put a large but thin hard cover book under it or even a flat piece of wood. the goal is to keep out dust and debris. thats the simplest solution.

Posted on 09/28/2008 at 8:09:44 PM

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