comp getting too hot

random456

i know i need more ram..but the base of the comp gets roasting when its in use for some time. its an ibm thinkpad laptop, and it gets so hot i dont like putting it on a surface. im backing up all the software today just in case, (the fan seems to be permanently running)...anything i should do, i know theres some sort of test to see if the fan is running correctly...ta.

rmg1

If you can get into BIOS, I would check the fan speeds and post them on here. It shouldn't get that hot, although I have heard that laptops do seem to get hotter than desktops.

JonnyThunder

Does it only get hot when connected to the mains, or when it's running from battery too?

random456

i have to run it permanently from the mains cos the battery life is nothing! ill try that bios thing, ta.

Little_John

As it has been said above laptops do get hot, mainly due to the fact there is very little room in there for air to move about.

I have a stand for my laptop, it is on my bedside table which has a radiator at the back of it, it is warm but not as hot as it was without the stand. It just allows air to circulate better under it. It is possible to buy pads for laptops that have cooling fans in them, they are pretty good and do work well.

do you have a problem with it shutting down or switching off? if you do then it is getting too hot, and usually just needs a clean go buy a can of air (air duster) and give all the gaps inside a blast of air to get shut of the dust it can make a different as well.

The other thing is where you use a laptop, like I said earlier air flow around it is key so if it is on a carpet or your lap yeah they call them laptops but you cant really use them on there, the heat doesn't really get taken away it goes in to the carpet or legs and stays there then the heat in the laptop stays and builds until they over heat.

Browntoa

this sort of thing will cool it down

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=170097921739

or a top notch one

http://www.kustompcs.co.uk/acatalog/info_2839.html

wakandem

It sounds as if there may be a componant about to fail. But check that there air holes are dust free. Also check on task manager the cpu usage when you are doing nothing. If this is higher than 3-5% continuosly then you may have a nasty bit of software that is using all your resources. If componant failure is the problem then the pc will get hot just displaying the bios. If the pc does not get hot on the bios page then it could well be a naughty bit of software.