Urgent help required please.

[Pandah]

Hello, my computer is only 1.5years old so its not that bad, i think its got heat issues which causes frequent and without warning. im in the middle of working and it goes black, it happens often. ive asked a few tech people but im not sure if its a driver problem or not, my computer gets really hot and i dont know how to fix that. i also dont have the latest version of win7 for i cannot afford it...
thanks in advance,
ryan

 

[gregrocker]

Look into free Speedfan program. It will control the speed of all fans and monitor the temps. It also has an alarm if the temps get too high, and/or will shut down the computer at a certain programmed temp.

On one box I switched to Motherboard Monitor to get the temps in the SysTray so I could watch them.

If your CPU temps are reading high, then you may need to carefully remove the CPU heatsink and replace the paste. Remove the old with tool that comes with new tube. Read and understand fully how to do it first, ask around.

Check if you have a case fan if P.C.. It's cheap and easy to add.

If laptop, elevate the back for better circulation. Look into a cooling pad. Never set it on a bed or tablecloth as it blocks the bottom air vents.

 

[Wrinkledlion]

What kind of computer do you have, and how long has this been going on?

I have a Shuttle XPC, and a couple years ago I ran into this problem, too. It turned out that I had a defective cooling fan, and I had to rewire it to get it working. (You'd probably do best to buy a new one, if the fan is to blame.)

 

[Pandah]

i have a toshiba satellite A300 laptop, if that makes a difference about the case fan, im downloading the speed fan now, thanks
ill elevate it and see if it makes a difference,
the speed fan says that core 1 is 67degres and core 0 is 64 degrees

 

[gregrocker]

Never had this problem on laptops, but I would first make sure to turn off all programs freeloading on startup. Run msconfig, on startup tab you can uncheck In Win7 everything except AV or MS stiky notes and gadgets if you use em. All others can start when you click them to save CPU. Vidcard listings are for special control panels few use.

We have always elevated the back of our laptops to get circulation in and notice less heat buildup. Never had to buy the cooling pads I see for cheap on buy.com but would if we needed.

I don't know how Speedfan runs on laptops but it will at least monitor temps for you if not control fan speeds. I found Motherboard Monitor interacts better with the mobo to tap temp sensors and fan. Try both to see which you like best.

 

[gregrocker]

i have a toshiba satellite A300 laptop, if that makes a difference about the case fan, im downloading the speed fan now, thanks
ill elevate it and see if it makes a difference,
the speed fan says that core 1 is 67degres and core 0 is 64 degrees

That's centigrade: 152 farenheit.

There are several versions of A300 listed on Toshiba Support/ Specs page, but the first one has a Intel® Pentium® Dual-Core processor T2390. You can do a more thorough search for processor using exact tag model of your laptop, then Google maximum temp. Here it says the max temp for that processor in A300 is 100c: http://www.cpu-world.com/CPUs/Pentium_Dual-Core/Intel-Pentium%20Dual-Core%20Mobile%20T2390%20LF80537GE0361M.html

This is the best guide I have found for controlling heat on CPU, with a guide to look up your processor once you determine exactly which it is: http://www.hardwaresecrets.com/article/143

 

[Pandah]

thanks for all your help greg

 

[Etihtsarom]

That's pretty hot for a P8600. I would think your laptop has some issues with cooling which can be any number of things: clogged vents, dried up TIM, badly seated CPU/HSF, etc. You might have to brave it and open it up unless you've got extended warranty.

 

[gregrocker]

Make sure the fans show that they are actually running (check RPM speed in Speedfan) or they will need to be replaced.

The idea to open the case to see if it has obvious dust clogging vents or blocking fan, is a good one. I would even seek help from a techie friend or inexpensive shop to do this simple step.

If that doesn't fix it then maybe go a bit deeper and reseat the heat sink, requiring repasting. I did it myself as a newbie on a Pentium 4, just took my time to control all movements and my heat issues disappeared.

 

[tims31]

Sometimes with a laptop, you can just get a can of compressed air and blow that through the vents where the fan is located and this will clear out alot of dust without having to open the case up. If the machine has been run in a dusty environment the cooling vents and fans do get clogged.

Wortha try

 

[Pandah]

thanks everyone i will work on it and post whether or not it worked

 

[RogerR]

There was aline of laptops a couple of years ago that had bad capacitors on the mobo adjacent to the cpu ... Sony I think.

I just had to replace a desktop motherboard (EVGA) that had a similar issue. Speedfan reported the cpu itself was within spec but the board sensors adjacent would overheat as soon as cpu usage hit about 40%. So the machine could surf along for a long time and then crash after a more intensive app was opened.

Either way, speedfan should give you clues.