Hot Laptop.. how to avoid

Have a hot laptop? In a previous post, we talked about why computers overheat and why Fans are important. When I wrote that I did not think about writing about the common mistakes people make that cause their computers to overheat. Here are some mistakes that I have seen. Talk about hot laptops

Stickers over the Vents

We all love stickers on laptops. I have one that is covered with stickers that I use when programming. 99% of the time this is not going to be a problem at all. However now and then someone brings me a laptop that has a sticker that covers a vent.

The problem with covering a vent is that it stops all the airflow that the computer needs to cool down.

If you are going to have stickers on your computer just make sure they do not cover a vent.

Computers on doonas

When I worked at Apple in 2010 we got a lot of people coming in with Macbooks that had the rubber bottom pealing off. That model of the Macbook had a thin rubber coating on the bottom that would prevent the laptop from slipping off tables etc. While that was a good idea we had a noticeable number of Macbooks coming in for repair where that coating was peeling off.

This is when I noticed something. All the laptops belonged to teens. When teens do homework they will often put their computers on their doona. Laptops are designed to be used on a flat surface. This allows the bottom of the computer to have proper airflow.

As for the Macbook, the vents would be covered by the soft folds of fabric. This would make the computer get really warm (Not always overheating) and the adhesive keeping the rubber bottom on the computer would start to come off.

Leaving the computer on while in your backpack

This is another one of those rare occasions. Most of the time when you close the lid of your laptop the computer goes into sleep mode. This shuts down all but the memory of your computer. This means the computer will not use much power at all.

However, there are ways to disable this feature. (Clamshell mode etc.). The problem with that is that a Laptop can not get proper airflow in a backpack. If the computer is still running a process while in your backpack this can cause trouble. One hot laptop

TOO MUCH DUST

Dust is not as big of a problem as it used to be. Most computers are protected from dust from causing harm … but only if they can still breathe. If your computer is so chalked full of dust that it can not get proper airflow you are going to have problems.

This does not mean you need to take your computer apart to clean the fans. Most of the time just keeping the vents clean is enough.

But if you do need to get your computer serviced we can help.