Detect and Fix an Overheating Computer

Like every other machine, a computer heats up a little while you use it. The heat produced is blown away through the air vents by natural convention, or forced convention, depending if the electric powered fan is off or not. Electric components are mounted on innovative fin designs that help with dissipating heat energy. Transistors in computer and video chips also add to the heat your system emits. If you have been using a computer for a long time you should be able to tell when your computer is overheating.

Causes

Overheating may be due to bad cooling design—this rarely occur nowadays. Gaming also generates a lot of heat. Severely multi-tasking the PC makes the CPU operate at high capacity and this generates a huge amount of heat in the process. Using your computer in a high temperature environment adds to the energy an average computer produces already and can lead to overheating as well.

Signs

At high temperature, fail safe software, shuts down your system to prevent damage. Blue Screen and frequent memory errors are some of other symptoms of an overheating desktop or laptop. A simple sign to look out for is constant or frequent fan operation. You can also use a program like Speedfan to monitor your CPU and video card temperatures.

How to Fix the Issue

The best way to fix the overheating is by reporting such problem to the manufacturer. That is, if you're still under a warranty. A warranty is supposed to protect you, the costumer, from any problem you may encounter while making good use of your computer over a given period of time. In severe cases, the manufacturer will either fix the problem or get you a new machine.

If you're using a laptop, a laptop cooler may serve a good purpose. Laptop coolers are electrically powered devices that consist of a fan and seat for your laptop. For desktops, some people prefer removing the cover of the casing. While this might improve ventilation, it's not a good way to fight computer overheating as it exposes the internal components of your computer to dust.

You can also disassemble and clean up clogged air vents and pathways of your computer. This is delicate, especially to people of less technical experience, as this exercise may affect the functionality of a computer. You can check out our guide on how to clean your computer for help with this. The best thing to do, if you're under a warranty, is to report to the nearest manufacturer's servicing centre around you. It's important to note, disassembling your PC or any other electronic product, under warranty, could terminate the warranty agreement.

Before you disassemble your computer, here're some few useful tips: First, try reducing screen brightness. This may help. In addition, there're software programs that can be of help too. If you're using DELL, you may want to control the thermal management by using precision fan control utility. Other free software programs are also available online. It's important to add, these software programs are written by people who have no link whatsoever to any computer manufacturer in the world, so it makes common sense to exercise caution with these and only used highly trusted and recommended software.

Dangers of Overheating

Overheating can damage your motherboard or any other vital system components such as your cpu or your video card. Also, a hot computer usually runs slower than a cooler one. Keeping your computer from overheating can also help with slowness or sluggishness.

You may want to check out our related guide on CPU Temperature. This article talks about how to monitor CPU temps and what temperatures are considered normal. Also, many PC overheating problems can be fixed by cleaning the inside of your case.

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-By Dominic

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