Laptop too hot and shuts down?

Question

my laptop is too hot, it gets even hotter when i run AVG scan and sometimes shuts down. what can i do to cool it down a bit?

Answer 1

Best Answer - Chosen by Asker

Hi,

Firstly your laptop is shutting down to protect your processor, the reason it shuts down faster when running avg or other programs is that the process is working harder and overheating faster.

There are 2 cures, the first is the fastest but only a quick cure, look and see where your vent is for the fan this will be blocked on the inside with dust etc, get a bicycle pump or something with compressed air and blow into the air vent, this will clear a passage and will allow your processor to cool down.

The recommended cure is a bit more tricky and involves removing some screws on the laptop. Turn the laptop upside down and where the vent is you should see a small panel that you can remove, when you remove the panel it will expose the fan, you need to unscrew the fan carefully (usually held with 3 screws) and move it to one side, the problem will then be obvious, clean out all the gunge and make sure that all is free of dust. Reconnect the fan and the cover. power up and you should have no further problems.

If you get stuck then drop me a line with the model number and I will advise further.

All the best
Ken

Source(s):

Computer Engineer

Asker's Rating:

Asker's Comment:

very informative and thorough, thanks

Answer 2

Get it off your knees/lap and onto a table! they aren't really deisgned for laps - it obstructs the fan usually.

Answer 3

If your laptop is shutting down, you have a hardware issue. Since AV software works hard on the hard disk doing a lot of I/O, it's going to heat things up. Shutting down indicates that there's a problem with the venting (have you cleaned the vents recently?) or the cooling fan is bad. Have it checked immediately.

Answer 4

This happened to me once, I was using the laptop on the bed, and the heat was trapped in the case, by the Duvet under it. Most laptops that I've seen have air vents or grills on the underside. Covering these could be the reason for your overheating problem.

Try using it in a place where the air can flow under it. If I use mine now, for a long period of time, I put a book under it to make room for the air to circulate around it.

Answer 5

try leaving it shut down for a while, then call someone to come in and try to fix the problem. Or just stop running AVG scans.

Answer 6

Make sure you place your laptop so the air vents are not obstructed. If the air flow is restricted it will overheat and shut down to prevent frying the CPU/graphics card. Also make sure to check and see that the cooling vents on the underside are free of dust. Clean them if they have dust ingress.

If your laptop is over 2 years old and you live in a country which has high ambient temp then renew thermal paste on your CPU/GPU. Also make sure the fans are actually working properly.

Answer 7

Use it on a fan cooling base they cost less than £20 and they keep it really cool, a laptop is a misdemeanour they are not suitable for lap use. That is why they are now called notebooks.