Computer Overheats and turns off.

[Lol Froob]

Hi, before I state my problem I will tell you a little about the background of my computer and it's specifications. I have a Dell Studio 1558, 4 gb of ram, an intel core i3 m330 @ 2.13ghZ. I run windows 7 ultimate x64 bit. The laptop is only about a year and a half old.

About early this year I have been noticing problems with my computer overheating to the extent of where it turns off. Some other problems I notice are that:

1) My computer runs very loudly all the time. (compared to my brothers studio which is silent) Once I shut my laptop screen however, the fans stop whirring and everything is silent. When I open the screen back up, all the fans start whirring again. Very rarely does my computer sound like the fans are not running all the time.

2) In general, the left side of my laptop is a lot hotter than the right side. Fan not working on let side maybe???

3) When I play games that require Java, my computer tends to (not always) lag really badly (meaning cpu is at 90%+ in use) and I have to close the computer screen and let it cool down for about 20 minutes. If I open the screen up again within that 20 minutes it just lags again.

4) As I stated in the title, after either, I have my computer on for a long time or it runs cpu intensive processes, it tends to overheat and shut down. Usually it will shut down by itself from overheating in about 4+ hours, sometimes more sometimes less.

Here is the manual link for you guys: Dell Studio 1558 | Setup Guide.

I am leaning towards this being a hardware issue since I have dropped my computer off the side of my 3 foot high bed about 10 times. I also have hardly any junk on my computer and no viruses, so there would really be no reason for it to lag like it does. Could any of you guys give me advice for troubleshooting this problem?

 

[Maguscreed]

yes it's quite obvious the insides are either clogged with dust/particulate matter, or a fan has died.
I would immediately take it in for a cleaning (and have them check the fan while they are at it)

Continuing to use it in this condition may permanently damage core hardware components rendering the laptop useless.

 

[Lol Froob]

yes it's quite obvious the insides are either clogged with dust/particulate matter, or a fan has died.
I would immediately take it in for a cleaning (and have them check the fan while they are at it)

Continuing to use it in this condition may permanently damage core hardware components rendering the laptop useless.

Is there any chance I could clean it and check the fan myself? Should be pretty simple, right?

 

[Maguscreed]

Depends on how gifted you are with small devices. Taking apart a laptop (and it will need to be mostly disassembled to get proper access to the fans) is much more involved than dealing with a desktop unit.
It's also possible the laptop requires torque screwdrivers, which the average person doesn't have (though most of them just use tiny phillips heads)

I would look around online for instructions on breaking down your specific laptop I've seen them for many models perhaps yours is one someone has covered.
Usually a few screws removed will allow the top plate to be popped loose then you can without a ton of difficulty get the keyboard off. That will generally expose most the guts, and possibly the fans depending on design.

 

[suman6792]

you can follow this lis link, watch this one ‪How to Clean a Laptop Fan‬‏ - YouTube

 

[Thorsen]

First if you are not profecient with computers i would not try this yourself. One reason getting a tech to do this is if anything goes wrong the fault is on them not you.

If you do feel confident, this might help put you in the right direction

I would read through this thread: Dell Studio 15 1557 & 1558 plagued with failures - CNET Laptop buying advice Forums

You will see a link to the following two pics in one of the comments:
http://img580.imageshack.us/img580/2562/dsc00325x.jpg
http://img708.imageshack.us/img708/3978/dsc00321k.jpg



This Video shows how to open a lappy to get to the fan (This is for a different dell, but will be close):



And this video shows a full tear down:

 

[Maguscreed]

lol that laptop has a very friendly panel on it. I've never dealt with anything that friendly to being opened up.

 

[Lol Froob]

Thanks for the links and info. I will be trying to clean it later today. I'll get back to everybody on how the cleaning went within a few days at the most. (I am busy with a document based question for History =l )

 

[Solarstarshines]

lol that laptop has a very friendly panel on it. I've never dealt with anything that friendly to being opened up.

That's what i am saying makes you want to play with one just because

Maybe that is why alot of people deal with dell it's almost foolproof

Also the worlds fasted Laptop break down This dude had some Extreme Coffe

 

[Lol Froob]

Well, I just finished cleaning everything out with a compressor. I got a lot of dust and some hair out. It wasn't too too bad though.

My computer is still running the same temperature and around the same amount of loudness as before I cleaned it. Do you think the fan is dead?

 

[Thorsen]

If its loud, then there might be a ball-bearing in the fan that is messed up. If its possible to contact Dell support and order a new fan and it looks easy to replace that might be an option.

Another option would be to do as the post does with undervolting: (original post in SF by SlasherIT)

Guide to Cooling Down Your Notebook Computer

(Be Careful with this though and backup your data and go slow if you do undervolting.)