Laptop heat issues = Major headache

[Ebondale]

Right.

So when I had the funds to purchase a computer last summer I decided to get a laptop instead of a desktop because at the time I was scheduled to deploy to Kuwait which was later cancelled, but I still had purchased a laptop.

I got a Toshiba Satellite P-30 with all of the best upgrades on it that Toshiba could install. Came to a little over $1800 which I figured wasn't bad for a mobile P4 3.2GHz machine with a gig of RAM and a Radeon 9700 video card in it. Gaming quality, in any case. I can play Half-Life 2. I can play World of Warcraft. Well, at least I -could- at one point.

Recently my laptop has been suffering from major heating issues. I can't do much of anything on this laptop for more than five minutes without the damn thing shutting off. It was so frustrating that I ended up cancelling my WoW accounts in hopes that less heat from the video card would stop the laptop from shutting itself off.

Nope.

There aren't any dust bunnies in the exhaust fans or anything like that. I've cleaned it with a can of compressed air. I have even tried opening five or more windows and two doors on the main floor of my house. In Alaska. In the winter... just to try to keep this damn laptop from overheating. It still doesn't work.

I've contacted Toshiba about the problem and they say that I "probably have a bad motherboard".

Bastards. The reason I got a Toshiba at all was because Toshiba laptops were supposedly the ones that have the fewest reported problems.

A buddy of mine at work has the same model of laptop and I've seen his shut off, albeit not as often as mine does. A friend of mine back home has a Satellite A-75 and she says her laptop was doing the same thing but she had a colony of dust bunnies living inside of it which she removed.

Well, what the crap? Toshiba's solution is that I have to send my laptop back to them and they'll replace the motherboard and send it back to me. A process that will take an unspecified number of weeks. I really don't want to be without a computer for an unspecified number of weeks.

Anyone know any fixes to this? Propping the laptop up and having fans blow on the damn thing to vent heat away from it is doing nothing.

Don't buy a Toshiba laptop. :/ I seriously want my money back. As a matter of fact, does anyone know of a way to get Toshiba to fix this laptop and give me a refund? *grin*

[Ebondale]

As a side note: The fact that this thing keeps shutting off is the reason I haven't tried to get in with you folks on a game of Civilization 4. ;)

Damn Toshiba.

[Skirmisher]

Perhaps something like THIS (http://www.staples.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/StaplesProductDisplay?prodCatType=1&storeId=10001& catalogId=10051&langId=-1&productId=101316) may help.

[Ebondale]

Thats pretty much my last resort now before sending this big bastard laptop (17" widescreen) back to Toshiba. I've been trying to find one around here. :)

[Sean of the Thread]

Just so you know laptop heat sinks are almost a "can't live without" addon.

[Drew]

Take the laptop apart. Use compressed air to remove dust. Problem solved.


I do this monthly with my ginormous hot laptop and it runs very cool until it get more dust bunnies again.

[Ebondale]

I've thought about doing that but I'm concerned about voiding my warranty and then Toshiba telling me "Sorry, now we can't replace that motherboard. You're scewed, guy."

That would suck real bad. :)

[Shari]

Um. Is it bad if I've never cleaned the dust out of my laptop?

That being said, do I take the laptop apart in order to blast it out with compressed air?

[Ebondale]

Depends. Some laptops are just designed better than others. I know people who own Dell laptops and have never had to blast the dust out of them. I have a 6-month old Toshiba and the damn thing won't stay on.

Its best to do preventative maintenance inspections on most electronic equipment though, Shari. Its surprising how much off a difference taking apart a PS2 and cleaning it can make, for example.

[Skirmisher]

Originally posted by Shari
Um. Is it bad if I've never cleaned the dust out of my laptop?

That being said, do I take the laptop apart in order to blast it out with compressed air?

As was said earlier beware opening any laptop as it will most likely void any warranty you may have.

[Shari]

Well, lets see....I got my laptop my freshman or sophmore year in college. So it's about 4 or 5 years old. So I'm pretty sure the warranty is done. :D Its never gotten so hot I can't have it on my lap, nor has it shut off. I just wondered if I should think about blasting it out for saftey's sake.

[Ebondale]

I wouldn't risk it, personally. A laptop that old doesn't produce nearly as much heat as modern processors do. If it were a P4, then maybe. :)

If it starts to become problematic then have a go at it but otherwise, again, I wouldn't bother.

[Shari]

K, thanks.

[Wezas]

My laptop got hot as hell after playing WoW for a while, and it would affect performance.

I recommend something like what Skirm suggested. You'd be suprised how well it works.

I used the Targus Chill Mat (http://www.targus.com/us/product_details.asp?sku=PA248U) (avail on Amazon for $23) but the one Skirm linked looks nicer. Almost all my heating problems were gone.

[Drew]

There should be an area to open your laptop that lets you replace your hard drive and RAM, opening this will not void your warranty (if there isn't a seal they can't tell anyway). Anyway, if you don't want to open it up just get some compressed air and shoot it in the various vents around your laptop. You'll probably be shocked how dusty it is.

[Ebondale]

I've already sprayed air into (yet kind of away from in a way, if that makes sense) the obvious exhaust vents and came up with hardly any dust.