I am going to offer a couple of quick questions to get you thinking about this problem. Are you using the same power outlet each time? Is the computer on for roughly the same amount of time while experiencing overheating as it is when it doesn’t experience overheating? Is the battery very old? What is the computer resting on? Is hot air coming out of the computer?
Tips to Prevent Overheating
- Keep the area clear around the computer. The air needs to circulate in order to keep the computer cool.
- When using a laptop, never sit it on soft, fluffy surfaces such as upholstered furniture or bedding. This will cause the laptop to overheat and create problems for you.
- Remove dust and loose dirt from the computer. It’s important to use a can of compressed air to do so.
Too Much Voltage
If you are using different electrical outlets to supply power to the computer at different times, that could account for the fact that the overheating only occurs some of the time. If the voltage is too high, the power lead will heat up to the point where it might melt the plastic. This is something that you want to avoid at all costs. The outlet might be supplying too much voltage. For example, you might be getting 240 volts instead of the 120 volts that the computer is probably designed to use. The transformer or the bulky part of the power cord should indicate the voltage that it has been designed to use.
In order to check out the voltage coming from the outlet, you can get a licensed electrician to check it out. I had to have an electrician rewire one of my outlets that was acting hot and cold. I wasn’t using it for my computer, but the scenario is similar. Sometimes the electrical item that I had plugged into it worked fine and sometimes it didn’t. The electrician discovered that the wires had loosened themselves behind the outlet and they would occasionally spark. I had that fixed quickly. You can also check into getting a voltage regulator for the outlet that you will be using with the computer.
Faulty Fan
Every computer comes with an internal fan to help maintain the computer’s temperature at an optimal level. The fan typically comes with the power supply. It should be operating in a way that releases the hot air out of the computer’s case. Check to see if you can feel hot air being released. If not and you can’t hear the fan, then you might have a faulty fan and need to replace it in order to bring back proper ventilation.
Faulty Power Supply
If none of the above seem to be at issue here, you might just have a faulty power supply. If you think this is the case, get a replacement and try it out.
Faulty Computer
I also want to suggest that you google your specific model of computer or visit the manufacturer’s websites. In the last 3 or 4 years, at least two major brands (Toshiba and Dell) have had issues with some of their computers. In some cases, these problems involved power or battery issues. Even if your warranty is no longer any good, you might be able to discover what is causing the problem with your particular computer.
Susan Keenan | November 18th, 2008
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