My laptop was running really hot, fan blasting away...then the fix!

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SweetDan
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Joined: Mon Feb 13, 2017 3:09 pm
Location: Colorado, USA

My laptop was running really hot, fan blasting away...then the fix!

Post by SweetDan »

For a long time now my laptop has been running pretty hot, and the fan would kick into high-gear within minutes of me starting up the machine. This had been going on at least a year. I assumed it was all the operating-system updates or something, and that my machine was on its last legs. (I bought it when Windows 7 had just come out, and it's still running Win 7, after all...)

But the current lack of budget for a major upgrade forced me to consider that it just might be something else: dust, dirt and crud in the heat-sink and cooling fan.

So, today I tore it apart (pretty scary! I'd never taken apart a laptop before) with the intention of just cleaning it. Once inside, however, I discovered that there wasn't enough thermal paste globbed between the cpu and the heat-sink to allow it to do it's job.

Now that I cleaned out the dust and gunk, wiped off the old paste, added new, then re-assembled the whole mess, I can't believe how much quieter it is. I had forgotten that the fan had a low-speed.

So, just a friendly reminder: dust out (or have a computer tech do it) your computers once in a while (be careful about static and breaking things, of course), and remember to re-up the thermal paste between the cpu and heat-sink every few years or so. I'm not sure its shelf life, but I imagine that it can eventually break down and stop transferring heat.

---

Now, what do I do with this leftover screw? :nyuk:
(I actually remembered where it goes...if/when I get around to tearing it apart again, it helps hold down some piece of plastic/metal/who-knows-what two layers deep in the guts of the machine, and I didn't feel like tearing it down twice today.)
awesome youtube comment of the day
Lol it's still less satanic than whatever rituals Katie Perry and Taylor Swift do in their performances. šŸ˜‚
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rayc
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Joined: Wed Jan 04, 2017 6:31 pm
Location: South of Bundaberg North of Brisbane

Re: My laptop was running really hot, fan blasting away...then the fix!

Post by rayc »

I've not p;ulled apart a laptop of my own. I've done some work on several work machines but am disinclined to fiddle with my own. can't afford to get it wrong I suppose. Well done & ta for the heat sink info.
Cheers
rayc
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