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Overheating laptop

jmcook79

Android Enthusiast
Jan 1, 2013
471
115
45
Florida
I have an HP g7 laptop that I've only had for a year and the warranty as well as the Best Buy protection plan is just about up. The problem is about once every week or two it will shut down due to overheating. Every time it has done it it's been when I have it hooked up to the HDTV with the lid closed.

I'm starting to think that with the lid closed there's not enough ventilation. I've never had a laptop do this before and it's only happened during the last couple of months. I do notice that on this laptop the fan is almost always constantly running but I had another HP before this one and its fan was running excessively as well.

I can usually figure out most computer problems on my own but I've never ran across this particular issue before. Any help would be greatly appreciated!
 
I have an HP g7 laptop that I've only had for a year and the warranty as well as the Best Buy protection plan is just about up. The problem is about once every week or two it will shut down due to overheating. Every time it has done it it's been when I have it hooked up to the HDTV with the lid closed.

I'm starting to think that with the lid closed there's not enough ventilation. I've never had a laptop do this before and it's only happened during the last couple of months. I do notice that on this laptop the fan is almost always constantly running but I had another HP before this one and its fan was running excessively as well.

I can usually figure out most computer problems on my own but I've never ran across this particular issue before. Any help would be greatly appreciated!

The ventilation on every laptop I've had has been on the bottom or the sides. Perhaps a cooling pad that would work well with this particular use case?
 
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Figure this one out:

Very small fan.
Very poor ducting
Barely enough cooling
GPU pushed to the limit

Sound like a situation asking to overheat to you?

Run Real Temp Real Temp - CPU temperature monitoring and see what the CPU is really doing.

(Also look inside for dust. IF it's full of it, the cooling is going to be impaired. I don't know if BB cleans the insides as part of the extended warranty - after one warranty fiasco I don't buy them from BB any more.)
 
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Figure this one out:

Very small fan.
Very poor ducting
Barely enough cooling
GPU pushed to the limit

Sound like a situation asking to overheat to you?

Run Real Temp Real Temp - CPU temperature monitoring and see what the CPU is really doing.

(Also look inside for dust. IF it's full of it, the cooling is going to be impaired. I don't know if BB cleans the insides as part of the extended warranty - after one warranty fiasco I don't buy them from BB any more.)

Yes that makes sense especially because it's not high end it only cost $300. I used to fix laptops on the side but mostly software issues, replacing hard drives & memory etc. This is beyond my experience.

I will download that program and post the results thanks for the link!
 
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Dumb question, but when the laptop overheats, you don't have it on carpet do you? Most laptops emit a lot of heat from the bottom (some even get too hot to use on the lap): carpet would act like lagging around pipes pushing that heat back into a system that's already struggling (hence the fans running all the time).
 
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Dumb question, but when the laptop overheats, you don't have it on carpet do you? Most laptops emit a lot of heat from the bottom (some even get too hot to use on the lap): carpet would act like lagging around pipes pushing that heat back into a system that's already struggling (hence the fans running all the time).
No I always keep it on a shelf or a lap desk. I ran a test last night with a video playing and the lid closed and it shut down again. I have a temperature monitoring program called Speed Fan and I'm going to do it again and post the log. I really hate the idea of Letting Best Buy have it for 2 weeks because with my luck they won't be able to reproduce the problem lol. Thant and I watch all my TV and Movies on my laptop. If I do have to take it in, I'll probably buy the cheapest laptop they have and return it once I get mine back. I know it's bad but they do have a 30 day return policy lol.
 
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As I recall, some HP models actually have vent holes in the top between the display and the base, the scooped out part or hinge area, if you will.

You could try one of those laptop cooling things, look into some aftermarket cooling hacks for your laptop (which may or may not be available for your model)-- HP uses a putty-like temperature transfer pad between the processor and the heat-sink; they may or may not use the same type of thing for the graphics processor, though usually I see a direct interface for that.

HP also had a recall for bad graphics chips in some of their G-series laptops, if I am remembering correctly, so definitely look into that.

Once it is out of warranty, you could always mod it so that it would work better the way you need it to work... or perhaps you need to get/build yourself a dedicated media machine.
 
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Could be an accumulation of muck and dust, even just a small amount might be enough to push it over. In which case you might have to open it up and blow it out. It's probably a common cause of overheating PC and laptops, the cooling system getting clogged up.

This worked on my previous laptop - after removing some dust it ran noticeably cooler.
 
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Huh, I would have sworn I had mentioned periodically blowing out the vents and using a cooling pad...

I've been doing this stuff for far too long, apparently. :/

I live in an environment which requires me to blow the dust out of my laptop at least once a month... sometimes I forget that most people don't normally do that kind of thing.
 
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Blowing out the vents may not enough I think. Are the internal air ducts, heatsinks and fans completely clear of dust and dirt? Sure even small amount of fluff on a fan could reduce efficiency enough to push it over the edge.

I had a Macbook Pro that was overheating. Disassembled it enough to be able to inspect the cooling system, got it completely clean and clear, and it was fine after that.
 
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I believe that my protection plan covers cleaning dust from the internals of the laptop. If it does, I'll take it in on Monday and let them do it. I hate taking apart laptops they're so fragile lol. I think I'll also order a new battery since the plan allows for one free replacement battery. Mine is still pretty good but it doesn't last as long as it used to. The great thing is they don't even ask for the old battery back so I can keep using this one for as long as possible and then pop the new one in!
 
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