DIY How to Solve Laptop Overheating Shutdown Problem

Is your laptop overheating frequently? There may be several reasons for an overheating laptop, but in this post we’re going to learn about the most common cause and its solution.

 Why does a laptop generate heat? Is it supposed to get overheated normally?

There is a high density of electronic equipment inside such a tiny box, using your notebook PC. This causes heat generation in several parts – CPU, Graphics card, Hard Disk (HDD) or Solid State Drive (SSD). In combination, all these heat generating parts make the laptop hot. These days most notebook PCs come with decent cooling systems like a fan or liquid cooling system. So, normally a laptop should not get overheated.

What causes laptop overheating?

There could be several reasons –

• High frequency usage of the CPU or graphics card. This could be because of a stuck program or service, insufficient Processor speed or RAM capacity or just a resource hogging software application like games and media players.

 

• Prolonged reading and writing operations in the HDD /SSD, such as when you are transferring movies, games and songs from one storage device to another.

 

• Continuous charging of the laptop battery – This is a common problem in places suffering from frequent power cuts and for people who need to move around with their notebook PCs.

 

• Faulty Cooling System – The fan or liquid cooling system might not be working properly, leading to heat accumulation.

 

Most commonly, and the focus of this post:

Dust and moisture gathered inside the laptop, especially in the cooling fan and vents.

Unless you always keep the laptop in an air conditioned and clean and dust and moisture-free room, it must be cleaned once in a while. Otherwise, the cooling fan and vents get choked with dirt, leading to laptop overheating and shutdown abruptly. Even normal computer usage like word processing, playing Solitaire or Facebook games can cause overheating of your dirty notebook PC!

 

HOW to solve the problem?

Simple. Clean your laptop thoroughly once in 2-3 months or when its starts overheating frequently. Unless you are 100% sure that you won’t damage the laptop, ask a professional or experienced person to clean it up!

 

What do you need?

Some people advise using a non-magnetic screwdriver, but you might accidentally drop a screw somewhere. If you want to take the risk – go ahead. Otherwise, use a magnetic screwdriver (you can get a set of commonly shaped heads quite cheaply!).

• Keep a piece of cotton cloth handy – I always use an old vest. Also, a soft toothbrush or paintbrush to reach narrow places. Cotton earbuds are also an option.
• An electronic device cleaning spray can (this is optional, use it if you want to clean up thoroughly).
• A bowl of filtered water – preferably distilled, but RO purified would be just fine.
• A flat surface like a table or slab. Otherwise just place a few newspapers on the ground! Set up the flat surface in a clean, cool and dry room.

Before you proceed – in case you decide to clean the laptop yourself – make sure which types of screws go where and which cord was connected to which port using a guide from the manufacturer’s website or user manual. It would be best if you could download and print the guide.

I have used this particular solution dozens of times, without damaging my notebook PC and with excellent results in terms of restoring the cooling system.

Let us know whether your laptop overheating and abrupt shutdown problem was solved via comments below.