Overheating laptop

[reflexreaction]

HELP!

I just got this awesome laptop one week ago and it is overheating really bad. It is a PIII 650, 256 ram, 14.1 screen. The guy will give me my money back if I return it, but I got such a great deal on it I wonder if I should try working with it some more to get it working.

Basically, it overheats after 20 minutes to three hours. The only way to turn off the laptop is to unplug it and remove the battery. Let it cool off for a little while then turn it back on.

I have installed CPUIdle to help cut off idle processes, and I will install a new fan tomorrow, with thermal grease, but I'm wondering if there is anything else that I can do.

I have even tried to prop up the laptop so that there is more airflow. Nothing works.


Could it be a defective processor?
Does overheating make it more susceptible to future overheats?
Is there a large heatsink/fan combo that can be attached to a laptop that will help cool it down even more?

Any help is greatly appreciated

[Rat]

You might want ot verify that the CPU is indeed a 650 and not an overclocked something else...

Rat...

[reflexreaction]

I have checked the bios and i'm reading 650.

[brandon184]

A lot of BIOS's will state the speed at which the processor is running at. Not its actual/intended speed.

[reflexreaction]

Ok, but why would you overclock a PIII 650 LAPTOP?

[Rat]

To speed it up and sell it as a faster machine than what it is..... You want to make sure it's not a 500 overclocked to 650 or something like that.

Rat...

[This message has been edited by Rat (edited 11-28-2000).]

[CujoRbd]

I have a laptop as well, and it is prone to overheating.

I bought this little PC Card slot fan, and it really cools the computer down alot. The company that made it no longer sells it, but now sells a new thing that is made up of 3 seperate fans, so it's much better than this.

You can check it out here: http://store.yahoo.com/justcoolerusa/notcoolpad1.html

Also, a suggestion. Take out the battery unless you are using it. I find that the battery gets REALLY hot when it's in and makes the computer really hot. Plus, when you take it out, the air inside is now circulating there, so it really cools it down alot.


I hope this helps!


Cujo

[thekingofpain]

Have ya looked inside???
Could it be full of cathair or ???

[LordLocksley]

I would be suspicious that it is over clocked. Unless it is brand new, PIII 650 in portable just got released not too long ago. When I bought this PIII 500 for school in late Aug. I don't remember seeing anything above 500 mhz.

[voogru]

He probally overclocked it try underclocking it tooo 500Mhz and see what happens.

-voogru

[amour]

Why not try going to the guy and have him give you a different laptop, this one is maybe defective ?..is that possible ?.

amour.

[Ollie46]

What brand of laptop do you have? I have a Kapok which is OEM for Prostar and Sager laptops. Mine runs very warm but it's because the case that they use has very poor ventilation. I have also noticed that my hard drive is extremely hot...That might be your problem.

Ollie

[socalgal]

Moved to Tech Support.