dell 5160 - over heating

jimbo 22

hi first post

The fan in my laptop seems to be going flat out when i use programs like microsoft word and when i run heaveier programs on it , it gets worse...

Think its only lately its been doin this. Theres a p4 3.1 ghz chip in it and put extra ram ~(an extra 512 to its original 256)



Is the heat sink not performing properly??? - it crackles a bit when the machine boots also

Thanks in advance.

majiktripp

Have you air dusted each of the vents on the back or side of the laptop to make sure theres no dust stopping the fans spinning properly? Its worth a try,just use a can of compressed air.

Linoge

jimbo 22 wrote:

hi first post

The fan in my laptop seems to be going flat out when i use programs like microsoft word and when i run heaveier programs on it , it gets worse...

Think its only lately its been doin this. Theres a p4 3.1 ghz chip in it and put extra ram ~(an extra 512 to its original 256)



Is the heat sink not performing properly??? - it crackles a bit when the machine boots also

Thanks in advance.

As Majik was saying, it is dust only its probably not on your fan, its probably on your heatsink and unfortunately this may only be the start of your problems.

http://forums.us.dell.com/supportforums/board/message?board.id=insp_general&message.id=166703&view=by_date_ascending&page=27

jimbo 22

will i need to dissassemble the casings or should i just blast some air into the vents and hope it does the trick ???

What other problems could i run into???

Also how difficult is it to dissassemble the casings???

Linoge

jimbo 22 wrote:

will i need to dissassemble the casings or should i just blast some air into the vents and hope it does the trick ???

What other problems could i run into???

Also how difficult is it to dissassemble the casings???

Read the thread I linked you to!

A blast wont do. You to clean the heatsink specifically. Then a blast through the vents every week will keep the dust off.

Its not that hard to dissassemble the casing. Just get small screwdriver and have a clear bench with a few bowls to put screws in.

Very Briefly
1. Remove battery
2. Unscrew all screws on bottom inc 1 almost hidden where battery was
3. Clip off panel (below screen and above keyboard, where power button is)
4. Unscrew screws holding down keyboard and remove keyboard and motherboard cover
5. Unscrew screws holding heatsink in place.
6. Lift the casing slightly in order to remove heatsink and fan
7. Blast heatsink and remove all dirt. Be careful not to get dust onto the CPU, there may be conductive gel on it. (Of course you could wipe this and apply more if worst comes to worst)
8. Now follow steps 7 through to 1!

And lastly, read that thread if its the only thing you do!! You will get an idea of what you're dealing with (before your problem gets even worse, which it will). It will also give you other tips on how to keep laptop cool.

Main ways summary
1. Use a laptop board to allow good circulation of air
2. Blast out dust every week
3. Remove CD's when not in use
4. Try not to run several apps at same time
5. Remove any big scerensavers wasting power (and creating heat.)

And read that thread!!!

Ruu_Old

Only if you are comfortable with opening the laptop, the above should be fine, otherwise bring it to your local computer shop. If its under warranty, get Dell to sort it out.

Capt'n Midnight

Don't forget to check that you have the latest BIOS. /EDIT

Linoge wrote:

Do NOT update bios past version A35, as A36 and A37 cause operation at elevated temperatures.

Ok check that you have the best BIOS then ( why do they keep changing the rules )

Also do a spyware check - maybe it's not your programs that are taking all the cpu cycles.

Turn down the central heating ! - if the room is warm then it's harder for the laptop to cool down.

Make sure the laptop is on a flat surface and air vents arent blocked. You can get sticky foam feet in the pound shops, gives you a few mm more air space and a little shock absorbance (most laptops loose their little rubber feet so may be a mm closer to flat surface than they were designed to be)

Considering the cost of laptops, you'd think they could make an alumium base, be slightly stronger than plastic but a huge heatsink area.

You can also get gel pads to cool laptops - but I've no idea if that's snake oil or not.

Linoge

Capt'n Midnight wrote:

Don't forget to check that you have the latest BIOS.

Do NOT update bios past version A35, as A36 and A37 cause operation at elevated temperatures.

jimbo 22

thanks guys for all that help.

One more question what is BIOS & what software could do a spy ware check - I have SPY BOT Somewhere will that do the trick???

Linoge

jimbo 22 wrote:

thanks guys for all that help.

One more question what is BIOS & what software could do a spy ware check - I have SPY BOT Somewhere will that do the trick???

lol, if you don't know what a BIOS is, stay well away from updating it. You don't need to know!

Spy Bot will work for the spyware.

jimbo 22

Done a scan this morning - discovered 100 cookies and adware

Would that cause the machine to create more processess and hence more heat ???

Bogus

Also got a 5160 and used this link on US Dell site to dismantle everything!

Quite comprehensive for Dell

http://support.dell.com/support/edocs/systems/ins5160/en/SM/index.htm

Linoge

jimbo 22 wrote:

Done a scan this morning - discovered 100 cookies and adware

Would that cause the machine to create more processess and hence more heat ???

Cookies - no, adware - uses up a small bit of memory but not CPU so it would not make it overheat.